Victoria company uses team-based online approach to treat mental health
A Victoria pharmacist has teamed up with a local doctor and a psychologist to create an online healthcare platform to treat people suffering with mild to moderate effects of anxiety and depression.
Launched in May, Cognito pairs people with a psychiatric nurse who helps assess their mental health needs before referring them to a physician.
The team behind Cognito says once people register for the online mental health-care service they are able to begin treatment within 24 hours.
"People living in Greater Victoria were having difficulty accessing care for their mental health pre-pandemic," said Cognito CEO Jason Cridge. "The pandemic’s made that so much worse and access is at all-time lows."
According to Cridge, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic Canadians are experiencing a high level of mental distress.
He says 20 per cent of Canadians report feeling moderate to severe depression and anxiety since the start of the pandemic as opposed to 10 per cent prior to the pandemic.
"It's likely that even less than 50 per cent of Canadians are getting adequate care for their mental health," said Cridge.
"What we do at Cognito is we integrate therapy, physician and medication in the same platform," he said. "The reason that we do that is there’s a lot of evidence showing that medication, plus a doctor, plus therapy, is far more effective than any of those things alone."
Cridge says prospective patients register online and complete two clinically validated diagnostic questionnaires for depression and anxiety disorders. He says once the patient has met virtually with a registered psychiatric nurse, they will see a nurse practitioner or a physician.
"Then you start 'care coaching' which is cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness training," said Cridge. "A lot of clients find that really effective in helping control depressive thoughts or anxious thoughts."
Cridge says the team behind Cognito was able to design a product that took the best of what they could offer and make it available on one online platform.
He says that Cognito is able to help people far faster than traditional face-to-face treatment options.
"B.C. and Ontario have the longest wait lists for counselling in all of Canada," said Cridge. "Often it ranges up to a year in B.C. depending on the service you’re trying to access. With Cognito there‘s no wait."
The cost for Cognito is not covered by provincial or private medical insurance. The cost of the service is priced at $30 for the first month and then $99 for every month the client continues the online mental health service.
Cridge says Cognito is the only service in the country to offer counselling, medication and physician oversight on the same online platform.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.