Mental health walk-in clinics for children and families: a provincial survey

ABSTRACT

Mental health walk-in clinics (MHWCs) provide unscheduled and immediate support to children and families and remove common administrative barriers. This study explored the implementation of MHWCs across Ontario, CA. A brief provincial survey was conducted to identify agencies that provided MHWCs, which were then invited to complete an in-depth survey. The in-depth survey questions were formatted as multiple choice, yes/no, Likert scale, and open-ended questions, taking 20–25 min with the option of online or phone-based completion. A total of 18 (86%) agencies participated in the in-depth survey between September 2020 and April 2021. MHWCs are being used to provide timely and accessible services, as well as to serve as a point of intake. MHWCs are provided in different locations (e.g. agencies, schools) using different modalities (e.g. consulting break) and approaches (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy, narrative therapy, solution focused therapy). Most agencies quickly adapted to COVID-19 restrictions by providing virtual MHWCs. The most common reasons for implementing MHWCs were to reduce waitlists, the strong evidence base, and an effort to meet families' needs. Different benefits and challenges associated with the implementation of MHWCs were reported. The results of this provincial study help better understand the implementation of MHWCs and how agencies adapted to COVID-19 and associated restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Advances in Mental Health is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)