The CBT Skills Groups are administered by the CBT Skills Groups Society, a non-profit society that was formed by a small and passionate team of family physicians and psychiatrists.

Virtual CBT Skills Group Medical Visits are now available for patients across the province. Physicians can now refer to the CBT Skills Group program directly and patients enroll and participate online, with little to no waitlist.

Various Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Skills Groups for patients (17.5 – 75 years old) with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and children.

The following CBT groups are offered:

• The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Skills Group: An 8-week psycho-educational class for adults age 17.5 – 75. They are designed to teach practical tools to recognize, understand, and manage patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving aimed at improving an individual’s mental health. MSP covered except $65 no-show fee paid as a deposit, and refunded after attendance. The CBT Skills Group program is a transdiagnostic course that integrates basic neuroscience concepts with introductory mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy teaching. It is delivered as an eight-week series of 90-minute group medical visits, with 15 patients per group. Patients learn practical tools to recognize, understand and manage patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving. They learn to be conscious of their choices as they respond to life stressors and explore options for living a fuller, richer life, more aligned with what they value most. The CBT group is also offered as a womens only group and a new parents group.
• Raising Resilient Kids: Raising Resilient Kids groups are for parents with kids 0-6 years old. In this group, they teach skills to prepare and support parents in raising a secure, resilient child based on the best evidence from child development, mindfulness, attachment, and reflective parenting. This is a preventative care program designed to strengthen caregiver-child relationships. Caregivers who attend the groups must be referred by a doctor, but the child does not have to have any particular diagnosis for the caregiver to be eligible to participate.
• Intro to Mindfulness: In this 8 week course, you will be introduced to a variety of mindfulness and compassion practices to support your wellbeing. Each session will be 1 hour and 45 minutes long and will include an opportunity to check in with the group, try different forms of mindfulness practice in session, share about your experiences in small groups, and explore how mindfulness may fit into your daily life. The emphasis will be on experiential learning and each session will include one longer practice (about 15-20 min in length typically) and several shorter practices. The course will be of most benefit to you if you are able to try some daily home practice between sessions.
• Mindfulness CBT : In this 8-week course, you will be introduced to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy skills for managing anxiety and depression.
• Booster Groups: Booster Groups are groups that delve deeper into specific areas that were taught in the CBT Skills Foundations course. In these groups, you will be encouraged to take more responsibility for learning and applying skills, with more home practice exercises and participation in small group discussions. These courses span 4 weeks with each session being 1 hour 30 minutes in length.
• CBT for Insomnia: The goal of this course is to help participants acquire a better understanding of sleep in general, of insomnia, and the obstacles which can interfere with restorative sleep. We will discuss the structure of sleep and the ways in which you may be able to more successfully manage any difficulties you experience. You will be asked to complete a weekly bedtime sleep diary and morning sleep log to help you to keep track of what skills you are able to successfully apply and the benefits you, hopefully, begin to experience.

Patients who could benefit from these programs include those with:

• Anxiety
• Depression (PHQ <19)
• Chronic medical conditions with associated mental distress
• Insomnia
• Chronic pain
• Addictions
• Eating disorders
• Hormonal disorders
• Adjustment disorders (stress causing symptoms, and/or affecting ability to function in relationships, parenting, or at work/school)
• Problems with spending, overeating, or other out-of-control behaviors
• Attention regulation problems

Cost: Participants are required to make a $65 no-show deposit that is refunded if participants attend 7 of the 8 sessions, or miss only one. A hard copy of the workbook is recommended, which is an additional $35, or patients can access an online version. If a hard copy is preferred, but there is financial hardship, the fee can be reduced. Refunds for the $65 can take up to 4 weeks after the group ends to be processed.

Referral Details: Physicians and Nurse Practitioners can now refer to the CBT Skills Group program directly and patients enroll and participate online, with little to no waitlist. To enrol an individual needs to go to their family physician, nurse practitioner, or a walk-in clinic to complete a screening questionnaire to determine if the group is suitable. If it is, a referral will be sent to the CBT Skills Groups Society and the patient will receive an email with the list if upcoming groups to choose from. Your referral will expire 6 months from the date of your last session attended. If you do not start a new group within that time frame please ask your physician or NP for a new referral so that you can continue to be contacted with future group offerings.

Click link to find out more about how you can join a group starting in your area.

Public Phone: 778-746-1705

Public e-mail: info@cbtskills.ca

Website: https://cbtskills.ca/

Referral options: Physician or Nurse Practitioner referral required