One Stop Talk is a free, confidential service that lets children and youth up to 18 years of age call or connect online from anywhere in Ontario to get brief mental health services. Parents seeking services are encouraged to visit One Stop Talk with their child to ensure access to a session.

During the session, a certified therapist will talk to you and work together with you to develop a plan that will help you move forward with the issue(s) you have raised.

You can contact One Stop Talk each and every time you think require any support; there’s no limit to how many times you can use this service.

Any child, youth up to 18 years of age  and parents along with their child can call or connect online from anywhere in Ontario.

No matter your race, orientation, origin, identity, or struggle – big or small, if it’s important to you, it’s important to us.

One Stop Talk is a free provincial, confidential, virtual counselling support for children and young people (0-17 years of age).

If you are an adult/ caregiver or a parent looking for support, here are some resources that might help, to start with:

Good2Talk:
Good2Talk is a free, confidential service providing professional counselling, crisis support and information and referrals to post-secondary students in Ontario and Nova Scotia, 24/7.

211 Ontario

211 is a helpline that easily connects people to the social services, programs and community supports they need.

Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7 e-mental health service offering free, confidential support to young people in English and French.

Ontario Health:
Ontario Health’s Mental Health and Addictions Centre is working with partners across the health care system to develop programs and resources to support people who need care and their families.

Kids Mental Health:
Kids Mental Health offers informational articles and guides relating to children’s mental health.

Wellness Together Canada:

Wellness Together Canada is a collaborative project with a mission to provide high-quality resources for all. The services range from basic wellness information to one-on-one sessions with a counsellor, to community support.

PLEO:

PLEO is a non-profit family peer support organization for parents whose children to age 25 are facing mental health challenges.

Ontario Caregiver Organization:

The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) exists to support Ontario’s 4 million caregivers; who provide physical and emotional support to a family member, partner, friend or neighbour. OCO supports caregivers by being their one point of access to resources and toolkits. Also, you can call 1-833-416-2273 (CARE) to access the Ontario Caregiver 24-hour Helpline.

CMHO FIND HELP TOOL:

Our FIND HELP tool can help you locate your nearest child and youth mental health services. Depending on your needs this can lead you to be able to connect with child and youth mental health professionals that will help you and your family, including psychiatrists, therapists, and psychologists.

FAMILY CARE CENTRE:

Our Family Care Centre is full of resources for parents and caregivers, such as how to help your child or youth with challenges like school avoidance, and anxiety, or how to manage a crisis. Parents for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH) is a network of peer support chapters for parents and caregivers across the province of Ontario – our volunteer Family Peer Supporters are ready to help you connect with other parents who understand what you’re going through and can help you navigate the next steps. You can also email us directly at support@pcmh.ca.

While our navigation team helps connect you with mental health service providers from your community, we also have a directory of mental health agencies from all regions across Ontario to support children, youth and caregivers/parents. Click here to view or download the directory.

One Stop Talk is not a crisis line. It provides you with one hour of professional therapy at no cost to work through your current issue or problem. Together, a certified therapist and you co-design a plan to help you move forward.

Currently, One Stop Talk is available Monday to Friday from 12PM to 8PM, and Saturday from 12PM to 4PM EST.

To ensure you receive full advantage of the Single Session Therapy, we highly recommend you connect with us at least one hour before closing. As more agencies and clinicians join One Stop Talk, the hours of operation will expand.

One Stop Talk is not anonymous. This is to ensure that we can provide continuity of service for clients who may need referral to additional services. However, the program adheres to strict privacy and confidentiality obligations and does not disclose any personal information without your consent, unless required by law. View our privacy policy here.

There are two ways you can connect with us: through the online chat or by calling 1-855-416-8255.

On the website, an automated chat bot will gather some of your initial information and then connect to a registered therapist for a one-hour session.

Similarly, when you call us, you are connected to a smart system that gathers your information before connecting you with a therapist who will work to develop a plan that will help you move forward with the issue(s) you have raised.

 

The therapists working with the One Stop Talk program are regulated professionals who work for provincially funded infant, child and youth mental health agencies in Ontario. They are experienced with and empathetic to the many multicultural, diverse issues children and youth are up against.

Yes! This is single session therapy and it’s intended to help with you a specific issue or problem you currently face. You may be connected to a therapist from your existing organization, or you may receive support from a therapist at another participating organization.

Connecting with One Stop Talk will ensure you:

• Receive counselling from experienced and registered therapists located across the province.
• Have access to service after hours and on Saturdays (in-the-moment interpretation is also always available).
• Self-select service when it’s right for you to get help for a current issue.
• Connected to additional services if needed, in the same interaction without having to call another organization.

Please note: One Stop Talk does not refer callers to doctors for assessments or medication requests

When needed, our navigation services help connect you to additional programs and services that have been identified as potentially beneficial to you.

You can decline this service, however,  they can, with your permission, connect you to a One Stop Talk navigator who will support you to get access to the services you may need without you having to call back or call another agency. The navigator will work with you to find the right services and forward any necessary paperwork to get you started with a service provider for additional or ongoing support.

The One Stop Talk intake system collects personal information about clients to support their care and referral to other services. Data is also used to evaluate and improve the program. All staff associated with the program adhere to strict privacy and confidentiality obligations in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) . Unless required by law, personal information is not disclosed without client consent.

Electronic communication is used to provide services to clients of One Stop Talk. Clients understand that if they choose to communicate electronically, One Stop Talk cannot guarantee complete confidentiality as all electronic communication is potentially vulnerable to security breaches.

It is a time limited therapy focusing on the client’s immediate symptoms and current life circumstances, and emphasizes the client’s strengths, resources and coping abilities that can help in reaching future goals. There is strong evidence that brief therapy is an effective treatment for behavioural and psychological conditions, and a shorter and less costly alternative to other treatments. One Stop Talk offers you an opportunity to try single-session therapy to you move forward.

We would love to hear about your experiences and feedback on using our service and platform. While you will have the opportunity to share your feedback in a survey at the end of your session with the therapist, you can also write to us at communications@onestoptalk.ca to help us learn more about how we can improve the program.

One Stop Talk doesn’t post job openings on our website. Since this is a collaborative effort between various mental health agencies across the province, job vacancies will be posted on the partner agencies’ websites.