Mental Health Articles and Blog

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.

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.

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

Don’t let the prefix “psycho” throw you off. “Psycho” means “of the mind.” A physiotherapist improves their patients’ physical wellbeing. A psychotherapist improves their mental wellbeing.You don’t need to suffer from debilitating mental health issues in order to see a psychotherapist. Many people you might consider “normal” have benefited from one.

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? While Manulife frequently provides coverage for therapy, there are a few things to check before booking that first session. Here's what to know

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.

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.

In this IG Live, we explore Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and a demonstration of tapping. The idea behind tapping is to simultaneously address a specific issue verbally while physically tapping endpoints of meridians in our body.

Carolina Rzeznikiewiz is the co-founder of Momjo, a blog about education, entertaining, and supporting moms at all stages of their journeys.

Pooja Handa is an award-winning broadcaster and the co-host of Toronto’s number one morning show, CP 24 Breakfast. She also makes regular appearances on CTV’s The Social, and the Marilyn Dennis show.

With over 250K followers across Instagram and YouTube, influencer and entrepreneur Nina Huynh inspires her followers to dress boldly, love deeply, and live freely. 

Stefania Rossi, the creator of @dearmyanxiety, was live with us on Instagram to share her story as part of our #mentalhealthweek series.

“I'm a mom, I have a young daughter, and in my work as a therapist, I'm always showing up for others. Sometimes that means that I have very little time for myself, and I can quickly see how my mood can change how I can feel.

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.

If you’re queer, you have your own, individual experience when it comes to mental health issues. That being said, information collected by Statistics Canada suggests that LGBTQ+ individuals are at a higher risk of experiencing mental illness than the rest of the population.

“Anger has got a bad rep,” says Registered Psychotherapist Juliann Rasanagayam. “It’s actually a very functional emotion. … [But] the way we end up reacting to anger becomes inappropriate.”

You know you or a loved one needs the help of a mental health professional. But who do you turn to? The exact type of professional you see will depend on your needs.

“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable,” writes best-selling self-help author Brené Brown, “we feel used and mistreated.” Setting healthy boundaries is essential to maintaining healthy relationships. Registered Social Worker Paula Fernández often treats clients who have issues setting boundaries.