Care Providers

Are your clients feeling low, stressed or anxious?

BounceBack® is a free, evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program designed to assist primary care providers in providing support to adults who need help managing low mood, mild to moderate depression and anxiety, stress or worry.

It’s free, there is no wait period, and no travel is required. Help your clients choose the support that’s right for them.

BounceBack® Coaching

A trained BounceBack® coach will help participants learn skills to improve their mental health in up to six telephone sessions over three to six months. The coach is there to help motivate and support clients as they work through a series of CBT workbooks that are personalized to their needs.

While BounceBack® coaches are working with your clients on their individual workbooks, they remain primarily under your care. The coaches will inform you if your clients have been accepted into the program and will provide you with information on their progress. They will also notify you if your clients are identified as at risk of suicide during any of the routine risk assessments completed during every telephone session.

Because coaches are not clinicians, they don’t provide counselling. A clinical psychologist extensively trains coaches in delivering the BounceBack® program. They also receive ongoing support from the clinical psychologists, who are responsible for making clinical decisions around eligibility and next steps, any time a participant discloses they are at risk of suicide.

Our coaches come from a variety of backgrounds, including psychology, social work, and people with lived experience. All coaches receive extensive training from clinical psychologists in delivering the BounceBack® program. They also receive ongoing support from the clinical psychologists and are regularly monitored once their formal training is completed. In addition, all team members receive training in other areas, including Youth BounceBack®, Mental Health First Aid, cultural and LGBTQ+ competencies, and trauma-informed care.

Coaching and workbooks are available in English and French.

Materials at a glance

The workbooks are adaptable and flexible to meet your clients’ needs. Adults can choose from over 20 workbooks (find them here) or 12 short format booklets (find them here). For youth ages 15-18 they can choose from nine different booklets to use with coaching (find them here). Each booklet includes supportive worksheets designed to help them reflect and apply the materials to daily life.

How to refer a client

At this time, only primary care providers (family doctors, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists) or a secondary referrer (home care nurses, social workers, psychologists, counsellors, or mental health & addiction services) can refer clients into the BounceBack® program. This is because the BounceBack program has been developed as a shared-care model with primary care. The provider (most responsible practitioner) retains clinical responsibility of the client, meaning they have the necessary training to assess suicide risk, determine next steps, and ensure that appropriate follow-up and treatments are provided. However, if you are a health care professional other than a primary care provider (e.g., social worker, case manager, school counsellor) who is supporting your clients’ well-being, you may assist your clients in completing the referral form and submitting it on their behalf. Just be sure to include their primary care provider’s contact information so that we can follow-up with them.

Complete the BounceBack® referral form to ensure your client meets all eligibility criteria:

• 15 years or older
• Has mild to moderate depression (PHQ-9 range of 0-21) with or without anxiety
• Ensure client is not at risk to harm themselves or others; not significantly misusing alcohol or drugs; does not have a personality disorder; has not had manic episodes or psychosis within the past six months; and has sufficient concentration and motivation to engage in the program
• In addition, the referral cannot be sent directly from a hospital emergency department or in-patient psychiatric unit

The form can be filled out and submitted to us in a number of ways:

• DOWNLOAD REFERRAL FORM:
  You can send the referral to BounceBack by email [email protected] or by fax to (506) 459-3878.
• Patients can self-refer here

If you need help completing the referral form, please call 1-888-357-8442.

FAQs

What is the key difference between the mental health coaching that BounceBack provides and counselling services?

The main objective of the BounceBack® telephone coaching sessions is to help clients get the most out of the program by providing them with educational and motivational support. Individual coaching sessions are shorter (usually 15-20 minutes), compared to hour-long counselling sessions. This shorter timeframe does not give coaches enough time to get into the details of the clients’ experiences. Rather, coaches guide clients in working through the program materials, checking in with them, answering their questions, and helping them to problem-solve if they have trouble applying what they’re learning. This single flow of communication is also different from the open conversation typical of therapy sessions.

How is quality assured through telephone coaching?

All coaches complete an intensive training program to deliver CBT and how to assess for risk of suicide. BounceBack® coaches are trained and overseen by registered clinical psychologists, who provide clinical support as well as reinforce their CBT knowledge and skill development once formal training is complete.

How do you assess and manage the risk of participants harming themselves or others?

Every telephone coaching session begins with the coach asking the PHQ-9 questionnaire to assess the participant’s mood and determine if they are at risk. BounceBack® coaches are required to contact the clinical psychologists who make a decision around next steps any time an issue arises that would put the clients at risk of harming themselves or others. As the primary care provider, you remain in control of your clients’ care. Family doctors and nurse practitioners who refer clients to the BounceBack® program will be notified if their clients are identified as at risk during any of the routine assessments. They will also receive a progress report detailing the work completed, the workbooks used, and the final clinical outcomes.

What does BounceBack Coaching entail?

The BounceBack® program involves up to six telephone sessions with a coach. The first contact with the coach is a 15-minute information session, where the participant has an opportunity to learn more about the program and receives a sample workbook. The assessment session lasts about 30 minutes and includes a client assessment to ensure program eligibility. After the assessment, the client is sent a package of materials, which includes a program information sheet and introductory workbooks. Subsequent calls are 15-20 minutes in length, with the coach providing the client with additional workbooks that best support the client’s current needs. The program takes anywhere from three to six months to complete.

Are clients eligible for BounceBack if they are on anti-depressant medication or participating in other mental health support programs?

Yes. The use of mental health medications or involvement in other mental health support programs does not preclude clients from participating in BounceBack®. You decide if BounceBack® is a useful addition to, or replacement for, other treatments or services you’re offering your clients.

How can a caregiver support a child or family member who is currently using BounceBack Coaching?

It can be challenging navigating how to provide helpful support to someone you care about. A good place to start is for the caregiver to ask their family member how they can support them on their journey. Some may want to share things, such as the booklets they are working on, whereas others may want to do it completely on their own. If a caregiver is interested in learning more about how to provide helpful support to a loved one, our online program has a workbook called “Information for Family and Friends” which provides helpful tips.