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Mental Health

Mental Health Services

24-hour Crisis Line (for after hours): 1-888-893-8333 or 1-855-310-COPE

Main Contact Line: 705-434-5140

the reception area in the SMH Mental Health Office

To complete a Counselling and Psychiatric Consultation Referral Form, please download the form below:

Counselling & Psychiatric Consultation Referral Form

To view our current Mary McGill Mental Health Program Group Counselling Calendar, click the button below:

Summer 2026 Group Counselling Calendar 

CBT & DBT Groups Available In Person at Matthews House.

We offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) groups in person at Matthews House. These evidence-based therapies provide support for managing emotions, improving coping skills, and enhancing overall well-being. Contact us to learn more or to join a group!   

NEW Structured Peer Support Group 2026

The Mary McGill Mental Health Program is offering a new Structured Peer Support Group designed to provide a safe, supportive space for meaningful discussion and shared connection.

Facilitated by a social worker, this virtual group explores a range of mental health and wellness themes to support participants in building coping strategies, resilience, and self-awareness.

Who can attend:

Adults (16+) looking for peer connection and support in a guided group setting.

When:

Twice monthly on Fridays 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Virtual (Microsoft Teams)

Upcoming Topics Include:

  • August 14 – Building a Safe Space
  • September 4 – Living with uncertainty
  • September 11 – Letting go of perfectionism
  • October 2 – Boundary setting and assertiveness
  • October 9 – Mindfulness
  • Additional themes to be announced

How to join:

To express interest or learn more, please contact: 📧 mmcgill@smhosp.on.ca

This group is facilitated through the Mary McGill Health Program – Group Counselling (Adult 16+).

Download the Structured Peer Support Group Flyer

About the Mary McGill Community Mental Health Program

The Mary McGill Community Mental Health Program (MMCMHP) opened in 1980 after a psychiatric nurse recognized the need for dedicated mental health services within the community. This nurse was Mary McGill, who was dedicated to ensuring that local community members in south Simcoe had mental health services close to home. She advocated for the program for two years before getting the green light to open the Community Mental Health Centre at Stevenson Memorial Hospital and became the program's coordinator. Sadly, Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer and in 1987, lost her life to the disease. The Centre has then renamed the Mary McGill Community Mental Health Centre in honour of its founder.

The MMCMHP provides individual and group services offered using a variety of modalities including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and mindfulness meditation approaches. The main focus of counselling is identifying goals for change to improve coping abilities and increase skills training to achieve these goals.

The MMCMHP is a separately funded program of the Ministry of Health; working collaboratively with Stevenson Memorial Hospital to provide community-based mental health and psychiatric services, focusing on providing timely and accessible services for the community.

Staff

The Mental Health Team at Stevenson Memorial Hospital is comprised of social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists who work in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary outpatient environment driving a holistic approach that promotes recovery, health, and wellness.

Services available

Adult mental health – ages 16+

Individual Counselling:

  • Focus on self-directed goals of recovery and personal change.
  • One-on-one collaboration between client and counsellor to identify areas of concern, and the skills required to achieve lasting and positive change.
  • Physician referral or self-referral.
  • The course of treatment is usually limited to 8 sessions, or as identified by the clinician.

Group counselling:
  • Skills-based/psychotherapy groups
  • Clients are referred based on clinician recommendation or self-referral
  • Clients often complete a pre-group meeting with a facilitator to determine the appropriateness of the group
  • Groups are closed once they begin
  • Offered on a rotating basis, and typically runs from 8 to 12 sessions

Consultative Psychiatric Services

  • Physician referral required.
  • Assessment and diagnosis (if necessary) upon referral from a family physician.
  • Consultative in nature, follow-up in terms of medication and treatment to be completed by a family physician.
  • Psychiatry is available two afternoons per week (by appointment only).

Quick Response (Crisis Services)

  • Provide support to the Emergency Department for clients in crisis
  • Quick response crisis worker available from 0800-2000 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.), 7 days a week.
  • Crisis workers can provide follow-up
  • Quick response times
  • Provides assessment for potential transfers to Schedule 1 facility (Provides follow-up after release from Schedule 1 facility).
  • Urgent response services: On-site crisis services are available 7 days a week.

Service Access

Physician referral for psychiatry; Self-referral for same/next day crisis, counselling and group.


Catchment: Simcoe County, New Tecumseth (Alliston, Beeton, Tottenham), Baxter, Angus, Cookstown, Innisfil.

Collaborative Program Partnerships

  • Stevenson Memorial Hospital
  • Southlake Regional Health Centre
  • Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care – Penetanguishene
  • Ontario Provincial Police – Nottawasaga Detachment
  • Matthew’s House Hospice
  • Krasman Centre
  • Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – York and South Simcoe
  • Athena’s Sexual Assault Counselling Centre

Additional Resources