Ottawa – If you are in need of psychological support, please reach out. Get support now from a mental health professional by calling 1-800-268-7708. You are not alone. The VAC Assistance Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to all Veterans, former RCMP members, families, and caregivers.
Support for your mental health
The VAC Assistance Service provides free, short-term psychological support with a mental health professional.
When you contact the VAC Assistance Service, you will speak to a mental health professional. They will help identify your needs and make an appropriate referral to a local mental health professional. You can usually receive an appointment within five working days.
You can receive between one and up to 20 hours of confidential support through this service. The number of hours will depend on the nature, severity and urgency of the issue.
For immediate support, call 1-800-268-7708 to speak to a mental health professional right now.
Many kinds of help
The VAC Assistance Service provides support for issues that affect your well-being. These could include:
- Work-related issues
- Health concerns
- Family and marital problems
- Psychological difficulties
- Bereavement
- Other problems that affect your well-being
Scenarios
Here are some scenarios that describe what could happen, who might be affected, and how problems could be addressed through support services.
A family of five, where one parent is a Veteran: The Veteran is experiencing marital difficulties, work-related issues, and problems with one of their school-aged children. The Veteran, their spouse and child can each attend their own sessions with a professional. They can each receive between one and up to 20 hours of psychological support for each issue. For example, the spouse may require 15 hours of support while the Veteran and child may only require five and eight hours of support, respectively.
A single, former RCMP member who lives with a 28-year-old extended family member: The former RCMP member was seriously ill and recently hospitalized. His 28-year-old niece takes care of him and supported him during his hospitalization and during his recovery. The former RCMP member and his niece, as caregiver, can both receive support. Each person can receive between one and up to 20 hours of psychological support for their issues.
After receiving support for one issue, another issue arises: A Veteran and their family previously used the VAC Assistance Service for family issues and now need support for health concerns. The Veteran and family members can each receive between one and up to 20 hours of psychological support services for the health concern. In this example, the Veteran may need 17 hours of support to resolve the issue, and a family member may need 10 hours of support.
A former RCMP member living in an isolated region: The former RCMP member cannot regularly get to an urban area to see a mental health professional in person. The VAC Assistance Service can provide telephone psychological support to them and each of their family members.