The University of Regina, with support from the Government of Saskatchewan, have introduced a new online course designed to help new and expecting parents manage change and challenging times. The course is currently being offered through the university’s online therapy unit. Online Therapy Unit founder and director Heather Hadjistavropoulos says the virtual option offers an alternative to in-person services, which not everyone can access. “There are so many barriers, so there’s common ones that exist for lots of people, so maybe a remote location, financial concerns or concerns about stigma. But then also for them it’s just the difficulty of managing to get to care,” she said. The province contributed $380,000 in funding, $280,000 for the course’s development and $100,000 annually for its delivery and promotion. “We want to get the word out to new parents in the province,” Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill said. “Let’s get the word out to grandparents and aunts and uncles, people that may be related to new parents and seeing that they might be struggling.” Hadjistavropoulos says studies have shown online therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy. The new well-being course aims to have new and expecting parents understand what they can take away from an online method of therapy. “We’ve really focused on helping people learn those strategies that we know make a difference. Through that course, they get support, they get insight and then they actually get help in making these small manageable changes over time,” Hadjistavropoulos said. Hadjistavropoulos said they are expecting around 100 new and expecting parents to signup for the program this year. That number could increase though, given that the program also has a Non-Birthing Parents Resource available, that will continue to be enhanced heading into 2026. Cockrill is not putting a ceiling on the amount of people that the program could help moving forward. “I think the sky is the limit on this one, I mean quite frankly, you look at how the materials are accessible at any hour of the day, anywhere in the province for free without a referral, there’s a really great opportunity,” he said. The online well-being course for new and expecting parents welcomed its first clients in February.
