AFHTO Conference: Lowering Barriers to Mental Health Care

October 17, 2023

Our team was happy to represent CarePoint Health at the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario's (AFHTO) 2023 Conference. We were happy to be selected to share a poster display of our on-going work to reduce barriers to evidence-based mental health care through the OSP program.

two women standing in front of a sign that says lowering barriers to evidence-based mental health care

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two people standing in front of a sign that says lowering barriers to evidence-based mental health care

three people standing in front of a poster that says lowering barriers to evidence-based mental health care

Attendees had the chance to speak to Lu Rodrigues, Director, OSP Program, and Andrew Bilton, Executive Director, CarePoint Health, to learn some of the ways we’re increasing access to mental health services in the Brampton, Halton, Mississauga, and South Etobicoke region.

This includes:

introducing self-referral options at launch
partnering with local centralized access programs
removing the need for primary care attachment
offering in-person and virtual options
establishing partnerships with mental health and social service providers

Primary Care Insights

The team was happy to share insights on how launching the program from a primary care setting brought a unique lens to our engagement and communication strategies.

Some of the ways that CarePoint Health has integrated physician engagement and understanding of the OSP program, includes:

receiving input from primary care physicians
leveraging local primary care networks
ensuring key stakeholder perspectives were incorporated

A special thank you to our OSP partners MindBeacon and Queen Square Family Health Team for stopping by and showing your support.

a poster titled lowering barriers to evidence-based mental health care

OSP Materials for Your Office

If you are a primary care physician and would like to learn more about the OSP program, or have materials delivered to your office that you can share with patients, please reach out to us at osp@carepointhealth.ca.

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The Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) program offers free, evidence-based, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) to adults (18+) in Ontario who are experiencing depression or anxiety related concerns.

CarePoint Health leads and coordinates access for Ontarians to the free OSP program for the regions of Brampton, Halton, Mississauga, and South Etobicoke. In collaboration with our partners, we deliver mental health services and improve access to care.

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