Montreal clinic helps teens in crisis get mental health support without long wait times

Melanie, 14, says therapy at Le Spot, a mental health clinic at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, helped her regain control of her life after a crisis.

Just a few months ago, 14-year-old Melanie was in a dark place and struggling with her mental health.

“I was experiencing depression; I was struggling with it a lot. I was very sad a lot. I was very nervous. I had trouble speaking to people,” she said. “I had a suicide attempt so that was the breaking point.”

In November, she started therapy at Le Spot, a mental health clinic that is part of the Montreal Children’s Hospital. It completely changed her life.

“The Spot helped me get my life back on track. I learned techniques on how to handle stress, how to regulate it, tips for school,” Melanie said. “People at school like bullies, my grades. I’m not as stressed out about that stuff now.”

Teenagers in crisis who end up in the Children’s emergency room are referred to Le Spot, an outpatient centre.

Within 10 days a team of social workers and child psychiatrists are there to support them and their family.

“The number one goal is to understand what brought the patient and the whole system to that crisis and to try to understand what’s the contributing factor,” Jean-Philippe Carmel, a child psychiatrist at Le Spot, said.

Carmel says before Le Spot existed, a teen suffering a mental health crisis could be placed on a waitlist. Carmel says some end up back in hospital.

“The goal of Le Spot is to prevent those admission, allowing patients to stay in their home to stay with their family, and to try to still receive those acute weekly, sessions to help them,” he said.

Melanie has a message for other teenagers, who may be struggling with mental health issues.

“I’d say open up to the people who support you. They will want to listen to you,” she said. “They will never say that you’re not good enough, you can’t be doing this. It’s important to get your feelings out.”