OTTAWA (May 3, 2021) – This week marks the Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) Mental Health Week around the theme #GetReal about how you feel, a campaign to help Canadians focus on how naming, expressing and dealing with our emotions is important for our mental health. The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) supports this initiative to recognize the importance of emotional self-awareness and openness in managing our mental health.

The core objective of Mental Health Week is to promote mental health as something we can promote and protect, not just something we can lose. When we are emotionally literate, we are better able to manage and regulate our emotions. This practice can help strengthen and maintain mental health.

However, people are experiencing unprecedented stresses and feelings of anxiety related to COVID-19, and these events can trigger emotions very quickly, automatically, and even unconsciously. In fact, 40% of Canadians say their mental health has deteriorated since the onset of the pandemic1. When emotions are overwhelming, persistent, and/or are interfering with daily life, it is important to seek mental health supports.

“CCPA believes that good mental health can be proactively built and maintained through self-care, awareness, and support from family and friends,” said Dr. Kathy Offet-Gartner, incoming CCPA President. “As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to limit our access to our support systems, it’s essential that Canadians know that counsellors and psychotherapists across the country have transitioned to virtual care (by phone or video), and are ready to provide their services.”

The services of counsellors and psychotherapists are cost-effective and complementary to the work of other health professionals. To learn more or find a counsellor near you, please visit the CCPA directory of Canadian Certified Counsellors across Canada at https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/.

“We need to continue to advocate for the prioritizing of mental health and better access to services for Canadians,” said Cynthia Schoppman, CCPA Ontario Francophone Director. “We want to make sure individuals receive the help they need, when they need it.”