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New online group medical therapy targets mental health issues

Comox Valley Record - 12/16/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has been emotionally challenging for many people, which is why a group comprising general practitioners and psychiatrists from the Comox Valley, Campbell River, and Victoria wants people to know that it is offering assistance to people dealing with issues such as anxiety and depression.

The CBT Skills Group Society is offering group medical visits online. The program, which is covered by MSP, teaches cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which aims to give people practical tools to improve their mental health by changing problematic patterns of thinking or behaviour.

Three Comox Valley family physicians, Dr. Marie-clare Hopwood, Dr. John Law and Dr. Deni Hawley have been trained to facilitate the group skills courses.

"It is rewarding to witness the weekly progress of the participants. I often hear how this program has changed the participants' lives," said Law.

The CBT Skills Group Society was started in 2015 in Victoria by local family doctors who wanted to do more for patients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression. For the most part, the patients are able to cope with daily life, but they were struggling and needed support. Family doctors knew about how cognitive behaviour therapy could help and worked with a couple of Victoria physiatrists to design the program.

"Everyone realized at the same time that there was a need. Psychiatrists were looking for something and so were the family physicians," said Chrissy Tomori, CBT Skills Society board member.

Since 2015 over 6,000 patients on South Vancouver Island have learned practical tools to recognize, understand and manage patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving. Now the program is expanding to the North Island.

Groups meet once a week for 90 minutes, and during the COVID pandemic, these groups are held on Zoom.

Patients pay for a workbook and refer to it throughout the eight-week course. The patients do homework and apply concepts they've learned that week in their life. Then they come back to class and share what they have learned.

"Participants pay $75 at the time of registering for the program," explained Jacquie Kinney, spokesperson for the Comox Valley Division of Family Practice. "$35 is for the workbook, with a pay-as-you-can option. $40 is a no show deposit that will be returned to patients who attend seven or more of the sessions. The sessions themselves are covered by MSP."

As the courses are virtual, clients can select a day and time that works for them.

"I love hearing each week how people have tried different skills, what works for them and what doesn't," said Hopwood. "We work to ensure that people feel able to share their experiences of applying CBT without them having to disclose anything that they do not want to. This really allows people to focus on techniques that they have identified that work for them."

Currently, the CBT Skills Groups Society is expanding the program so it can offer the service to anyone in the province. Winter registration for groups has started with space for up to 600 participants with over 40 more groups being offered in the spring.

So far, feedback from the virtual sessions has been positive, said Tomori. "Some patients are more comfortable in their homes. The online program also increases the level of accessibility," she said.

Participants must be referred to the program by their personal physician.