You, your partner or your children may be concerned about:
How can we help?
For children, youth, adults and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area, Counselling Connect provides quick access to free:
Individual
Counselling
Quick access to 1-3 free counselling sessions. You choose a convenient date and time. No waiting list.
Services available in English
Services offerts en français
Servicio disponible en español
الخدمات المتوفّرة بالعربية
提供普通话服务
Support Groups
Free mental health and addictions support in a group setting. Available in English and French. Led by peers or staff.
Counselling Connect provides free individual counselling and support groups. Our services are for people of all ages in Ottawa and the surrounding area, from Renfrew to Cornwall and the places in between.
We offer each person 1-3 individual counselling sessions. Most clients tell us just one session is enough.
We don’t offer on-going long-term counselling beyond 1-3 sessions. We are also not able to offer documentation for court-involved individuals.
You can also book a Counselling Connect session by
calling 2-1-1.
211 Ontario is a confidential service.
Our Partners
About Counselling Connect
Before the pandemic, people received free counselling services mainly through community walk-in services. During the pandemic, all our counselling services have remained available, even as access to in-office counselling changes.
There is a critical need for quick and easy access to counselling. With planning and development support from the Ottawa Health Team-Équipe Santé Ottawa, community-based mental health and addiction counselling providers responded.
Counselling Connect launched in May 2020 to provide free phone and video counselling. More than 100 counsellors from more than 20 organizations make free counselling appointments available to book through this website.
We are client-led and focused on equity. This service is for everyone: children, youth, adults and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Counselling Connect services are provided by counsellors of diverse backgrounds and experience including Indigenous communities; African, Caribbean and Black communities; other racialized communities; and LGBT2SQ+ communities. In English, French or Arabic.
Thank you to the City of Ottawa, Ontario Health, Ottawa Community Foundation, and United Way East Ontario for their generous financial support.
Learn more and access our
reports.
We acknowledge that we live and work on unceded Algonquin territory; We are committed to reconciliation efforts.
