Mental Health Articles and Blog

Feel like talking to somebody? If you've never been to a counsellor or a therapist in British Columbia, here's what you need to know to get started.

Psychology Today is the most popular therapist directory—but is it the best? A founder who built a competing platform weighs in.

Here's everything you need to know when looking for a therapist in Ottawa.

Learn how childhood parentification impacts nervous system regulation and how somatic therapy can help Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) heal and thrive.

Looking for a therapist in Vancouver? Here's everything you need to know to get started with counselling.

The aim of couples counselling is to strengthen and improve the relationship between two people. Some couples seek out a therapist because there’s conflict in their relationship, and they’ve reached an impasse they believe therapy may resolve. Others do so because ongoing counselling makes their relationship deeper, closer, or more stable. There are as many reasons to attend couples counselling as there are to attend individual counselling.

Confused by the term MSW RSW in Canada? Learn what it means, how it affects your insurance, and how to find a qualified therapist who fits your needs.

What does "Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)" mean in Ontario? Learn about RP(Q) licensing, insurance, supervision, and how to choose the right therapist.

Learn how to find a therapist in Canada covered by your insurance plan, including what credentials are reimbursed, and how to decode your benefits booklet.

Laid off and feeling anxious? Learn how to manage job loss with self-care, therapy, community, and personal growth strategies.

MDMA therapy is an increasingly popular form of of psychedelic therapy. Here's everything you need to know about MDMA therapy in Canada.

Psilocybin therapy is an increasingly popular form of psychedelic therapy. Here's everything you need to know about psilocybin therapy in Canada.

People start and continue with therapy for a variety of reasons. Often, the factors leading us to seek help often intersect. In other words, more than one aspect of our lives will be relevant to finding the right therapy and therapist that works for us.

How to know if you’ve found the right therapist—what to look for, what it should feel like, and why the right fit matters more than you might think.

US-based BetterHelp threatens Canadian mental healthcare. Discover why choosing local therapists protects quality, confidentiality, and Canada's sovereignty.

Can therapists in Canada use client testimonials? Learn the rules, why reviews are restricted, and ethical ways to market your practice with confidence.

Discover how somatic therapy methods like EMDR, tapping, and Havening help process trauma and stress by engaging the body-mind connection for lasting healing.

Everyone experiences moments when they’re low on energy because of stress or sadness. It can be difficult during those times to keep up with the day-to-day. Many people in Canada struggle consistently with their mental health, and it can deeply impact daily life, including when it comes to employment.

Using ChatGPT and other platforms as an "AI therapist" is an increasingly popular and instantly accessible option. But can it replace human therapists, and deliver the same results?

Psychedelic therapy is an increasingly popular option for individuals struggling with depression and treatment-resistant depression. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your journey.

Psychedelic therapy is an increasingly popular option for individuals struggling with PTSD. If you’re interested in exploring psychedelic therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you’re probably wondering: “Does psychedelic therapy for PTSD work?” or, “Should I take psychedelics for PTSD?” and, “Where can I find psychedelic therapy for trauma?” Here's what to know before you start your journey.

Learn how to become a psychedelic therapist in Canada.

Learn how to create an authentic video for your therapy practice.

A company's mental health policy can make or break its reputation (and ability to attract talent). We sat down with one of the leading companies for mental wellness at work in Canada: Wealthsimple.

Psychedelic therapy can be life-changing. Here's everything you need to know about psychedelic therapy in Canada.

Self-advocacy in healthcare and therapy can be the difference between life-changing and ineffective care. Here's what anyone seeking healthcare support or therapy can learn from one woman's story.

Discover 9 essential tips for coping with the stress of moving. Prioritize your mental health during this transition. Find the right therapist at firstsession.com.

Is BetterHelp worth it? While thousands BetterHelp reviews (and ads) may reveal a bright picture, the reality is much different. From BetterHelp reddit posts to survey results, here's what we learned.

Wondering if your Desjardins insurance covers therapy, counselling, and other mental health services? There’s no simple rule for what Desjardins insurance covers, so here's what to know.

Wondering if your Blue Cross Insurance covers therapy, counselling, and other mental health services? There’s no hard and fast rule for what Blue Cross covers, but here is everything you need to know.

Does Manulife insurance cover therapy? Confused by your health benefits and what they mean? This guide is for you.

Learnings and what's next after 5 years of First Session

Wondering if your Canada Life Insurance covers therapy, counselling, and other mental health services? There’s no simple rule for what Cana Life Insurance covers, so here's what to know.

Wondering if your Sun Life Insurance covers therapy, counselling, and other mental health services? There’s no hard and fast rule for what Sun Life covers, but here is everything you need to know.

We’ve created this guide filled with practical steps to help you not only find an Ontario therapist, but to find the right therapist for you, so you can get the most out of therapy and improve your mental health. So let’s get started.

This guide offers practical steps to finding a therapist in Calgary and tips on how to choose the right therapist for you.

This guide offers practical steps to finding a therapist in Alberta and tips on how to choose the right therapist for you.

This guide aims to demystify the process of finding a therapist in Toronto, offering practical steps and supporting you in starting this exciting new chapter. 

There are plenty of reasons people start therapy, and many ways therapy can help us overcome challenges, and to feel good. Some good things do come to an end—yes, there can be an end to therapy.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, we are crowd-sourcing real stories like yours—meaningful moments, breakthrough moments, transformational moments.

You and your partner both need to feel supported by your therapist, and have an open, honest relationship with them. Relationship therapy fails when one partner feels the therapist has a bias.

Over three million Canadians—about 11% of the population—have reported they have anxiety disorders. For many of those people, their illness makes basic tasks like leaving the house or going to work difficult or even painful.

If you used to see a therapist, but quit, there’s no need to feel ashamed. Many people go through similar experiences. And just because you stopped going doesn’t mean can’t start seeing a therapist again.

Do you know someone struggling with their mental health? According to the most up to date statistics, you probably do. In 2018, 5.3 million Canadians—about one in every seven—needed help with their mental wellbeing. 

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), an estimated 21% of Canadians will face problems with addiction during their lifetimes. On top of that, one million Canadians meet the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders.

By the time they’ve turned 40, one in every two Canadians has experienced mental illness. Many of them fail to seek professional help, because they’re unconvinced they really need it.

Looking for a therapist, and feeling overwhelmed? As you shop around for a mental health professional, make it a priority to find someone you connect with personally.According to Registered Psychotherapist Juliann Rasanayagam, one of the best methods is to use your first session as a barometer.

Many companies are implementing a 4-day work week. Explore the benefits and potential pitfalls.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a widely recognized and effective therapeutic approach for addressing mental health concerns.

Explore the types of physical symptoms that may arise from anxiety. Learn to deal with anxiety effectively with our step by step guide.

Curious about sliding scale therapy? Explore this detailed guide on how sliding scale therapy works at firstsession.com

Gain insights into the distinctions between prevalent talk therapies - CBT and DBT - for managing anxiety, depression, and mental health concerns. Find your perfect therapist at firstsession.com.

If you are going through a separation or divorce, it can be a very challenging time. It’s important to remember that it’s normal to go through a process of mourning after a relationship has ended. You don’t have to “bounce back” immediately. 

Like physical health, mental health can vary person-to-person and ebb and flow depending on our own unique circumstances – family mental health history, body and brain chemistry, life experiences, traumatic events, and more. Also like physical health, sometimes we can manage our wellbeing on our own, and sometimes we can’t; that’s when it can be beneficial to seek the help of a professional.

It’s normal to experience sadness, or to retreat into some solitude when going through something particularly upsetting or difficult. It’s actually healthy to allow ourselves to feel negative emotions, instead of burying or ignoring them.

If you’re working with a therapist regularly now, you’ve likely already spent some time finding a therapist or counsellor who is a good fit for you and you’ve invested time, energy, and money into your work together.

Making the decision to reach out to a therapist can be nerve wracking. When you start to the process of finding a therapist, it’s likely you’ll come across several different kinds of professionals, each one with their own therapy speciality, such as anxiety therapy, and method (known as a therapy modality), such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). You might start to worry you’ll choose the wrong “kind” of therapist or counsellor. 

First Session’s founder reflects on a decade of working on his mental health

The season of love is upon us! More accurately, that one day of the year laser focused on romantic love—Valentine’s Day.

Do you ring in every new year with a laundry list of life-changing resolutions? Then, by mid-January you’re already feeling behind, you’re disappointed, or you’ve simply forgotten about them?

Sara Jones, First Session staff member, shares about anxiety, depression, fear, and loneliness during the Christmas holiday season.

In light of the women’s protests in Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, we reached out to one of our therapists who grew up in Iran.

You may have noticed some colleagues around you or, yourself, ‘quiet-quitting’ - just doing your duties, the bare minimum to coast through, a lack of engagement in work or reduced engagement in work.

Are you someone who kept a diary as a teen? Maybe as an adult, you live by your to-do lists. There are reasons we turn to writing down ideas and tasks — it gets thought clutter out of our heads and allows us to see it in a more organized way. The same applies to keeping a journal for therapy or for overall better mental health.

It’s hard for everyone to ask for help. But, the idea of asking for help creates intense vulnerability for the man who has been attempting to do his best impression of “classic masculinity.”

It’s been just over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Millions of people have fled the country, thousands of people have died, and those in Canada (home to some of the largest populations of both Ukrainian and Russian diasporas) have watched the conflict progress.

Beat overthinking: Understanding rumination and actionable coping strategies. Find the right therapist for you.

A letter to my 2-month-old, Anderson. This is my personal story about struggle, asking for help, and the power of support.‍

One of the reasons therapy is so effective is that it’s a space where you are talking to someone who is trained to listen. 

It’s important to know that mental health and mental illness are not the same thing. Think of it in terms of your body health: everyone has physical health but not everyone has a physical illness. Still, you can take action to build strength and practice good health habits to keep yourself functioning day-to-day and to prevent more serious illness later in life.

Feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt are totally normal in life, especially when we’re striving for something new or are levelling up in some way (e.g. working toward higher education, preparing for a promotion, or training for a competition). Sometimes, though, those thoughts are so constant that we have trouble getting through regular tasks, and it can be really discouraging.

In recent years, the stigma around therapy has been reversing and as a result the appetite for mental health support has increased. 

Mental health belongs to everyone; no one exists without it. Mental health can be strained when there is increased stress, when underlying mental health issues are not being addressed, and many other reasons

As described by sociologist Cory Keyes, languishing is the opposite of flourishing. In the context of mental health and individual wellbeing, to flourish is to feel good, function well, and pursue an authentic existence. 

In our most recent Instagram Live, Hamza Khan, award-winning marketer, professor, and entrepreneur, shared how he overcame burnout and depressive episodes using techniques he learned from his therapist. As a result, he was able to rewire how he speaks to himself and find success, but it was a long road to get there.