More than 450 youths walked through the Atlantic Wellness doors in Moncton, N.B., last year and the clinic provided more than 4,500 hours of free professional mental health counselling. No doubt there's a need for their services and now Atlantic Wellness has launched a new program in partnership with GreenShield Health called Tranquility for youth ages 16 to 21. The online self-study program is based on cognitive behaviour therapy and it will benefit those struggling with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Andrew LeBlanc, the clinic’s executive director, said it can be used to manage wait lists and to supplement services they already provide. “As clients are coming in and looking to be assigned to see a therapist, this might be an alternative to them,” said LeBlanc. LeBlanc said the goal is to break down as many barriers when accessing resources to support mental health. “Whether it's counselling or whether it's an online program like this, anything we can do to help gain more access to mental health services, that's what we want to do,” said LeBlanc. It's a first for New Brunswick, but the program has been available to people 16 and older in Nova Scotia for about a year. Joel Muise is the senior director of ICBT and Atlantic growth for GreenShield Health and the founder of Tranquility. “The reason why we built this product was to make getting help for anxiety and depression affordable and in this case free of charge,” said Muise. “Personalized, as well as stigma free.” Muise said the feedback has been very positive. “Four out of five of our clients are seeing a decrease in their symptoms and a large majority of those people are seeing that in a clinically valid way,” said Muise. The fallout from COVID is still affecting youth today while housing and security issues are also causing mental health issues according to the staff at Atlantic Wellness. “We're seeing a lot of anxiety being reported from clients who come in. Clients who are dealing with depression. I think it's about 24 per cent of the clients who come to us are experiencing suicidal ideation,” said LeBlanc. Counselling therapist Jason Jones isn’t surprised to hear that number. “It's unfortunate, but it's so overwhelming to them and sometimes they feel a lack of support that unfortunately death seems like the only way out,” said Jones. Jones said kids come to him with a variety of different issues. “The family dynamics at home are changing, the school culture, the world culture. The information that the young people are exposed to,” said Jones. “I'm seeing people younger and younger come in with really big world concerns and fears and anxieties.” There’s also been a spike in the request for services from the LGBTQ+ community as well. “Sometimes I feel like we've taken some steps forward and then other times I feel like recently we’re starting to take some steps backward as well because I'm hearing from young people that the division and conflict and hatred and stuff is increasing in the schools and in the communities,” said Jones. Jones said there can be barriers for youth who are trying to access mental health services but the hope is Tranquility will help. Program participants will receive support from an online coach who will check-in while offering encouraging support and motivation. The online tool can be accessed 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Eligible youth can use the program free of charge, but a referral from their therapist is needed.
