Find a Therapist for Depression
Therapy is available on weekdays, evenings, and weekends. In-person or virtual, depending on your location. Covered by most benefits providers.
Content on this page has been clinically reviewed by Valerie Tsang, Registered Psychotherapist, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Understanding depression
Feeling low or unmotivated can be hard to carry on your own. When that feeling deepens, or is affecting your daily life, therapy can help.Working with a therapist gives you a safe space to understand what you’re experiencing and find ways to feel better supported.
Common depression symptoms you might notice:
- Persistent low mood or loss of motivation
- Fatigue or irritability
- Changes in sleep or appetite
- Feelings of hopelessness or low self-worth
If this sounds familiar, know that help is available — and therapeutic treatment is a helpful approach to working through depression.
If you’re having thoughts of suicide or feel unsafe, support is available at 24/7 via call or text through 988, the Suicide Crisis Helpline. It is free and confidential.
Therapy approaches for depression
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are connected
- Learn practical coping tools to manage negative thinking
- Build skills that support a greater sense of control in daily life
Interpersonal Therapy
- Explore how life events and relationships affect your mood
- Develop healthy ways to express emotions and resolve conflict
- Build stronger connections in your social support network
Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Deepen emotional awareness and understanding
- Rebuild trust and connection in key relationships
- Work toward more emotional balance and resilience
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Learn mindfulness and self-compassion strategies
- Develop flexibility in responding to challenging thoughts or feelings
- Explore what gives your life meaning and purpose
How Layla supports you in finding a therapist for depression
How Layla makes it easier
Complete our brief intake form and connect with a care coordinator who will support with finding the best therapist match for you.
Therapy through Layla may be eligible for reimbursement under your health or workplace benefits plan. Please explore our FAQs if you have questions.
How Layla guides you towards finding a therapist for depression
Tell us what you’re looking for
Complete our intake form to help us understand what your goals, preferences and needs are.
Complete the therapist matching call
Over the phone, a Care Coordinator will ask a few questions to guide their selection of therapists who they think best align with you.
Start your first session
After you choose your therapist, you’ll book your first online or in-person therapy session.
Take the first step
Then you'll connect with a Care Coordinator who will support you through the matching process.
Depression Support Resources
Depression overview and resources
Depression is much more than simple unhappiness. Clinical depression, sometimes called major depression, is a complex mood disorder caused by various factors, including genetic predisposition, personality, stress and brain chemistry.
Fast facts about mental health and mental illness
Mental health and mental illness are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. “Mental health” is a concept similar to “physical health”: it refers to a state of well-being.
Psychological treatments
The APA identifies “best research evidence” as a key element of evidence-based practice (APA Presidential Task Force, 2006). This resource lists psychological treatments supported by published efficacy data, based on criteria from the Society of Clinical Psychology
Frequently asked questions
Layla's therapists use a range of evidence-based approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), internal family systems (IFS), somatic therapy approaches, mindfulness-based, trauma-focused, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), psychodynamic approaches and emotion-focused therapy (EFT). The approach used is tailored to each person's needs and you don’t need to know how these work before starting, your therapist can help explain and guide you to the approach that’s right for you.
Our therapists operate out of their own location, provide sessions in-person, online, or by phone.
Today, our therapists are located in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia
We are across many cities, including: Toronto, Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ajax, Barrie, Beamsville, Brampton, Burlington, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kitchener, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, North York, Oakville, Orangeville, Oshawa, Ottawa, Petawawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, St. Catherines, Thornhill, Vaughan, Whitby, and Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Sherwood Park, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax and many more.
We are continuously building out our community.
At Layla we do not offer direct billing yet. If you are planning to use health benefits, our network of therapists includes Registered Social Workers (RSW), Registered Psychotherapists (RP) and Registered Psychologists (C.Psych), Psychological Associates (C.Psych.Assoc.), Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC), and Registered Counselling Therapists (RCT) in select regions. When looking at your benefits package, we advise that you check to see if you are covered for any of those providers.
View our guide to finding a therapist covered by your health benefits.
Learn more in our Guide to Canadian Mental Health Care Providers.
View our detailed breakdown of student mental health coverage by universities and colleges across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.
Please reach out to info@layla.care for help figuring out your benefits coverage.
Individual and Couples Therapy sessions are typically 50 minutes long. In some cases, your first session with the therapist will be a little longer.
Therapy can range from short-term to longer term depending on the client’s case and their goals. This can be discussed with your therapist, and the two of you can always collaboratively assess your timeline and progression.
There are several approaches that can be used for depression, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). However, there is no single answer for the best therapy approach for depression, because everyone's experience and what feels right for them is different. Layla's care coordinators take your specific needs into account to help find a therapist suited to your needs.
Ultimately, you decide which therapist you want to proceed with based on your care coordinator's recommendations that are informed by the details you provide in your intake form and in your matching call. If you don't feel like the options suggested match what you are looking for, your care coordinator will be happy to discuss other options.
Several of our therapists offer sessions on weekends, and you can let us know of that preference when you sign up and we will do our best to accommodate.
Layla takes your privacy and the security of your information seriously. Electronic personal information shared with Layla is stored in a secure and encrypted way. Video sessions are not recorded. You can learn more about our privacy practices here.
Layla's support for therapist matching extends to re-matching when needed. Simply let us know what wasn’t quite working and we will match you with a therapist who better aligns with what you're looking for. We are also very interested in client feedback after instances such as these. Feedback will help us improve our matching process for future clients.
No, you don’t need a formal referral or diagnosis from another provider to access our therapy services. Fill out our intake form to book a call with a care coordinator who will discuss how we can assist you with your unique challenges and/or goals.