Sacred Journey Therapy Blog

Despite growing awareness around mental health, many people continue to mask their struggles due to fear of judgment, discrimination, or social exclusion. In fact, 60% of people with a mental health problem or illness won’t seek help for fear of being labelled.[1] This Mental Health Week (May 5-11, 2025), the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is unmasking mental health, so more people get the support they need, when they need it.  Read More Here

🆘 Crisis Helpline Options in Peterborough

• 🌐 988 – National Suicide Crisis Helpline

  • Dial or text 9‑8‑8, available in English and French, anytime, day or night.

  • Connects you directly to trained responders in the local CMHA HKPR centre

• 📞 Telecare Distress Centre of Peterborough

  • Local 24/7 line: 705‑745‑2273.

  • Offers volunteer listening, emotional support, and referrals

• 🚓 Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT)

  • A partnership between Peterborough Police and CMHA.

  • Responds daily, 7 a.m.–midnight (Mon–Sat) for mental health crises.

  • Contact: 705‑876‑1122 x297, or email mcit@peterborough.ca (not monitored 24/7)

PETERBOROUGH — The Ontario government is making it faster and easier for people in Peterborough and surrounding communities to connect to high-quality, comprehensive mental health and addiction care services by expanding the mental health crisis unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

“This investment to enhance the PRHC Crisis Response Unit showcases our government’s commitment to addressing mental health challenges,” said Dave Smith Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha. It will significantly impact the lives of patients and their families in Peterborough and nearby regions, allowing our healthcare professionals to maintain exceptional care for those in need.” Added MPP Smith.

The province’s investment will support the expansion of the mental health crisis unit to ensure the hospital is better equipped to deliver responsive and comprehensive care to those in crisis.

Once opened, the expanded mental health crisis unit will include:

• Additional capacity to address high volumes of acute mental health and substance abuse incidents
• New crisis unit beds
• Separation for adult and youth mental health patients to enhance the delivery of care, so they can receive the appropriate and high-quality care in a safe space

As a next step, the ministry is working with Peterborough Regional Health Centre to complete early planning and design for this project. Once further planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded, a construction schedule will be confirmed.

“Our government is making record investments to connect more people to the care they need, when they need it, no matter where they live,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By expanding the mental health crisis unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, our government is ensuring people and families in Peterborough and across Eastern Ontario have faster access to mental health and addictions support services, for years to come.”

Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding and modernizing Ontario’s hospitals, making it faster and easier for people of all ages to connect to the high-quality care they need, where and when they need it. In 2020, the province introduced the Roadmap to Wellness, a plan to build a modern, world-class mental health and addictions care system. The government continues to introduce and expand on innovative new programs to ensure access to connected and convenient care to support the health and well-being of all Ontarians.

QUICK FACTS

• from last year. This includes over $95,000 to Peterborough Regional Health Centre in 2024-25.

• Ontario is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years to fill gaps in mental health and addictions care, creating new services and expanding programs through Roadmap to Wellness.
• Through the Roadmap to Wellness and the Addictions Recovery Fund the province is adding over 550 new addictions treatment beds to build capacity across the mental health and

This TED talk features Tricia Walsh and her personal journey of recovery from childhood challenges with the use and support of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

We have difficult experiences on a regular basis and most people are able to deal with them in a healthy way. The problem occurs when we are overloaded to such an extent that our systems are traumatized. This has historically been a significant problem but now there are many good therapy processes that help to process the trauma so it no longer hinders your life.

A trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk shares his video (6.5 minutes)

Peter Levine, PhD, talks about trauma and safety,

Peter Levine, PhD, offers  body-oriented techniques that clients can use to make themselves feel safe outside of your session … containment, soothing, safety.

1. Self Hug
2. Connect head and heart and abdomen
3. Tapping the body, self-squeezing the body

The video is about 6 minutes long

Somatic Experiencing and Trauma Response

How to Heal Trauma with Somatic Experiencing

This is a very informative video about the healing process and the mechanism relating to trauma and the fight flight response.

Our systems are really very brilliant and they are designed to keep us safe. The problem occurs when we are in environments that constantly overload our nervous systems or when we experience specific events that overload us.

Our conditioning and social structures restrict our natural healing capacity but all is not lost we can follow some simple steps to work through profound healing. The following video is about 30 minutes but it is well work the time ….. enjoy.

Opioid medications help control acute pain, such as pain you experience after surgery, back pain, joint pain, etc. There are risks  when the medications are used incorrectly. When opioids  travel through your blood system and attach to receptors in your brain, cells release signals that silence your perception of pain and boost your feelings of pleasure.

And that is what becomes very addictive in a short period of time.

Suicide affects every community (some more than others) and it leaves in its wake a tsunami of mixed emotions, pain, and grief. Some age groups are more susceptible, some demographics are more susceptible, and the unfortunate truth is that some people continue to take their own lives in a variety of ways.

“In Canada, approximately 6000 suicides take place annually, slightly below deaths due to cancers of the colon and breast. Suicide is the seventh-most common cause of death among Canadian males and tenth-highest among both sexes combined.” (Ontario Association for Suicide Prevention)

Some Helpful Links

SUICIDETALK

Suicide Prevention

Distress Centres – dcontario.org
– go to services and then member organizations to find the closest Distress Centre to you

Canadian Mental Health – cmha.ca
– go to Find your CMHA

Call 211 or 211.ca

LGBTQ Youth Line 1-800-268-9688

Kids Help Phone – kidshelpphone.ca or phone 1-800-668-6860

Connex – 1-866-531-2600

Shame is a complicated emotion that can affect our lives in both positive and negative ways. Brené Brown shares her thoughts about shame in this 20 minute TED talk. I recommend listening to her perspective and thinking about how shame shows up in your life.