Adults & Youth FAQ

Call 9-1-1, go to the nearest emergency room, or follow the emergency instructions provided by your doctor, mental health professional, or care team.

Talk to someone right away

Call or text 24/7 9-8-8

Call 24/7 Kids Help Phone Canada at 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868

Call 24/7 Hope for Wellness at 1-855-242-3310

Crisis lines aren’t only for people in crisis. You can call for information on local services or if you just need someone to talk to.

Nothing at all. The BounceBack® program and materials are free. We believe that BounceBack® provides core skills that all individuals should have access to, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

BounceBack® is based on research evidence which shows that skills and techniques are effective in helping people to overcome low mood and worry. The BounceBack® approach is based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT has also been shown to be just as effective as medication for treating depression and anxiety disorders.

People who participated in BounceBack® said they felt less worry, experienced less symptoms of depression and anxiety, and felt they had improved confidence – especially those who felt mild to moderate amounts of these feelings.

As the name suggests, CBT focuses on the way we think (“cognitive”) and act (“behavioural”). The concept behind CBT is that our thoughts about a situation affect how we feel and how we behave in that situation. Skills you learn in CBT are useful, practical and helpful strategies that can be incorporated into everyday life to help you cope better with future stressors and difficulties. One example of CBT in practice would be to imagine you’re walking in a park. While in the park, a friend walks by, but doesn’t acknowledge you. We may think our friend doesn’t like us and we may get angry. BUT we could also assume that our friend is having a tough day and missed us while pre-occupied with a difficult problem they were having. The second thought might not lead you to feel angry, but rather concerned for your friend.

CBT breaks down the situation to help us understand how the way we think (“cognitive”) and the way we respond (“behavioural”) affect each other. By separating the way we feel from the way we act, we gain more control of our mind and therefore choose healthier behaviours.

You do not have to finish the program. An excellent way to think of BounceBack® is like a buffet: take the skills you need and leave the rest.

Click here to learn more about which BounceBack® programming is available in your province or territory and how to register.

No diagnosis is needed to participate in BounceBack®.

Protecting your privacy is very important to us. All information that we collect from you in the BounceBack® program is stored electronically on a highly secure Canadian-based server. This site meets the privacy standards for electronic medical records. Our coaches are trained to ensure that your privacy and confidentiality are upheld to the highest standard.

You can learn more about improving mental health, stress, depression and anxiety to support yourself or someone you care about on the CMHA website here.

Many options are available, here are a few we suggest:

Talk to your doctor or visit a health clinic.

Contact the CMHA in your community. There are 330 CMHA locations across the country. Each CMHA offers its own programs and services unique to the community it serves. To find the CMHA in your community, please go to Find Your CMHA.

For information about other services in your area contact 211 or visit 211.ca. 211 is Canada’s primary source of information for government and community-based, non-clinical health and social services. The free and confidential service can be accessed 24/7, in more than 150 languages, by phone, chat, text, and web. Toll-Free Help Line: 2-1-1 (anywhere in Canada; options for French or English support). Note: This is not a Crisis

Anxiety Canada
Expert tools and resources to help Canadians manage anxiety. This website has specific materials for adults, youth and children living with anxiety.

Talk Suicide Canada
Toll-free phone support available in English and French for anyone in Canada that is thinking about, is or has been affected by suicide. Text and Chat Support also available.
• Toll-free 9-8-8
• Visit 988.ca

Kids Help Phone
Crisis support and access to professional counselling for young people in both English and French. First nations, Inuk and Métis crisis responders available via texting and messaging options (upon request).
• Toll-free Crisis line (24/7): 1-800-668-6868
• Text Support (24/7): text CONNECT to 686868
• Facebook Messaging Support (24/7)

Hope for Wellness Help Line
The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate help to all Indigenous peoples across Canada via the toll-free Help Line or online chat (available on the website). This service provides culturally competent counselling and crisis intervention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Toll-free Crisis Line (24/7): 1-855-242-3310
• Chat Support (24/7)

The National BounceBack® program launched in 2020 and made BounceBack® coaching available to every province and territory in Canada. Funding for the National program ended in 2025, and so coaching is no longer available in Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, parts of Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. You can still access the online videos and modules if you live in these provinces or territories. To learn more about the videos and modules, click here.

If you live in any of the provinces below, you can access the provincial BounceBack® programs by clicking the province you live in below:

• British Columbia
• Saskatchewan
• Manitoba
• Ontario
• Quebec
• New Brunswick