By enhancing services, training service providers, fostering community involvement, and establishing the Mental Wellness & Addictions Recovery Advisory Group, the introduction of Stepped Care 2.0© (SC2.0) has elevated the delivery of services to residents in Canada’s Northwest Territories. There has been a substantial augmentation in the outreach, diversity, and adaptability of services, leading to improved accessibility to counseling. Residents now have access to a range of digital mental health supports to complement their counseling experience.
The latest report on Stepped Care 2.0’s implementation describes “why the SC2.0 model was implemented, the approach to this system transformation, the outcomes to date, and the way forward for Northwest Territories (NWT).”
Key takeaways
- Access has improved as “…people looking for support are now able to choose from a wider menu of options, including same-day drop-in appointments that can be accessed virtually, and/or in person or through eMH (eMental Health)/online options. “
- “Wait times for mental wellness services were reduced by 79% between 2020 and 2022, and long intake processes and precursors to care have been removed.”
- “…81% of the respondents who said they accessed virtual care tools used the telephone to access care, 30% used videoconferencing, and 3% used apps or web-based tools.”
- “81% of Indigenous service users surveyed were satisfied with the safety of the counselling environment.”
- It was highlighted that there is a “…need for ongoing communications and engagement to ensure people know about the variety of (counseling) options available to them.”
- “…while eMH has enhanced service variety and supported CCP staff working in remote locations, it is subject to some limitations — most notably, the lack of reliable, stable internet service…”
