Canadian Women not Spending Enough Time on their Mental Health; Women from Marginalized and Racialized Communities spending Significantlt Less on Self-Care

Press Release

May 01, 2023

GreenShield Cares’ national women’s mental health program offers free therapy and mental health services to Canadian women 18+

TORONTO – A recent study by GreenShield, revealed that women believe they should spend one hour a day on their mental health, yet they spend only half that time caring for themselves. In fact, they spend nearly seven times more hours taking care of others and on household chores. The limited time for self-care is heightened among women who identify as part of a marginalized and/or racialized group, who spend 31 per cent less time on self-care activities than their peers.

GreenShield Cares’ women’s mental health program is the only one of its kind, offering national, free, culturally safe therapy and mental health services to Canadians 18+ who identify as women. In response to the study findings, the enhanced program, announced today, now includes two free hours of talk therapy with a licensed mental health professional, a one-year subscription to online cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) guided by a coach, and access to an online wellness hub ensuring women can find the support that’s right for them. While this program supports all Canadian women, it was also designed to offer culturally appropriate support for marginalized and/or racialized women, who are underserved by the current system.  Further, recognizing the specialized needs of women in situations of vulnerability, GreenShield Cares is providing five free hours of talk therapy to women with limited access to resources, through community partnerships.

“Despite the best of intentions, when women prioritize everyone above themselves, it can create a negative impact on their health, their family, and their work,” says Harriet Ekperigin, Vice President of Mental Health, GreenShield. “But, asking women to make this time, is complex and it’s not a one-size fits all solution. We need to provide women with the right tools, that consider their unique needs – especially those from marginalized and/or racialized communities. Having a therapist who shares a similar cultural background can be very helpful for one’s healing journey. Representation at this level will further break down barriers, create access, and provide meaningful solutions.”

Therapists are not one size fits all. The GreenShield Cares program’s personalized counselling matching tool includes over 50 matching options, including culture, race, language, and religion, to ensure women can find a mental health professional who shares and/or can relate to their identity and lived experiences. The program offers virtual access to psychotherapists, Masters of Social Work, psychologists and other professionals whose specialties range from sex therapy, relationship counselling, and trauma, including therapists who specialize in Indigenous mental health services. Intersectionality is at the forefront of the matching process, and the diversity of Canadians is reflected in the diversity of the program’s certified practitioners, with hundreds of the program’s certified practitioners having identified as a person of colour, Indigenous, or Black.

Top findings from GreenShield’s research also indicated that life circumstances dictate women’s mental health experiences, and women from specific groups have unique challenges:

• Women who immigrated to Canada spend 31 per cent less time on self-care activities and 15 per cent less time on their mental health than women who were born in Canada. Additionally, women who are new to Canada believe that the appropriate amount of time to spend on their mental health is 35 per cent less than what women born in Canada believe.
• Mothers spend 44 per cent more time taking care of others and doing household chores and spend 21 per cent less time on their mental health than their peers.
• Single mothers spend 38 per cent less time on self-care activities and 18 per cent less time on their mental health than women overall.
• Women with an annual income lower than $35,000 spend 23 per cent less time on their mental health than women who earn more.
• Women in the LGBTQ2S+ community are more conscious of mental health, spending 11 per cent more time on their mental health than women overall.
• Women in Atlantic Canada reported spending 21 per cent less time on their mental health than women in other regions.

GreenShield Cares about better health for all

As Canada’s only national not-for-profit social enterprise focused on championing better health for all, helping to improve access to healthcare for all is rooted in GreenShield’s DNA. Through GreenShield’s social impact brand GreenShield Cares, the company reinvests its earnings and self-funds the deployment of its wholly owned health services to support underserved and marginalized communities. The organization’s goal is to invest $75 million to improve the lives of at least one million Canadians by 2025. This goal will be achieved through GreenShield Cares initiatives like this women’s mental health program, which in just over a year has already helped nearly 60,000 women access free mental health services.

GreenShield Cares continues to identify opportunities to reduce the mental health treatment gap and build partnerships, like the one it holds with The Canadian Women’s Foundation, to further support racialized and marginalized women. “GreenShield’s investment in the Canadian Women’s Foundation helps increase access to mental health support and provide the resources survivors of gender-based violence need to rebuild their lives after abuse,” says Paulette Senior, President & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. “We are thrilled to partner with an organization whose mission is to empower all women in their mental health journey.”

Tips from the experts

Telling women what they ‘should’ be doing can be counterproductive, as it puts pressure on them to do more when they’re already overextended. The GreenShield Cares team of experts offer tools to help women figure out how to prioritize themselves in digestible, customized ways that add value. These tips include:

• Start small: Many women don’t have an extra hour in their day to fill with self-care and mental health. Try carving out 20 minutes and build from there, working up to a one-hour therapy session.
• Know your worth: Women have been conditioned to believe they need to earn love and attention, often through serving others. Using affirmations and meditations to reframe internal dialogue can be a powerful tool in helping women understand they are worthy just as they are.
• Find the right fit: When looking for a therapist, opt for a screening tool like the one from the GreenShield Cares program to ensure your therapist is right for you. This could include race, culture, language, and other intersecting elements of women’s identities, in addition to clinical needs. Talking to someone that understands your diverse background and point of view is key to success.

To learn more about GreenShield Cares or to sign up for the free women’s mental health program services, visit www.greenshield.ca/en-ca/cares/womens-mental-health

About GreenShield

GreenShield is an integrated health and benefits organization and the first organization in Canada to operate as a payer-provider – offering insurance, administering benefits, and paying claims as a ‘payer’, while offering mental health, pharmacy, and medical services as a ‘provider’. Integrating both sides of the payer-provider equation enables GreenShield to simplify access to care, remove administrative barriers, and improve health outcomes for its customers.

GreenShield is uniquely structured as a not-for-profit social enterprise that reinvests its earnings and redeploys its services to support underserved Canadian communities via its social impact brand, GreenShield Cares. The company’s overarching goal is to generate $75 million of social impact investments to improve the lives of at least 1 million Canadians by 2025, with a focus on mental and oral health. As the industry’s noble challenger GreenShield continues to innovate, evolving its offerings and services to deepen its purpose of championing better health for all.

GreenShield.ca

GreenShield means, collectively, Green Shield Canada (GSC), Green Shield Association, and Green Shield Holdings Inc., which is the primary company that houses health services and benefits administration businesses, including Inkblot Therapy, Tranquility, BCH Consultants, NKS Health Canada, The Health Depot Pharmacy, Benecaid, and Computer Workware Inc. Green Shield Holdings Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the not-for-profit Green Shield Association.

About the Study

Methodology: The study was conducted by SAGO through an online survey between April 21 and 23, 2023, on behalf of GreenShield, among a random selection of 820 women aged 18+ who live in Canada and who are members of the AskingCanadians community.

Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census data on education, age, gender, and region (and in Quebec, language). For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. Respondents could respond in either English or French and the median time for completion was 2.41 minutes.  Discrepancies in or between totals when compared to the data tables are due to rounding. Excerpts from this release of findings should be properly attributed, with interpretation subject to clarification or correction.

SAGO is the global research and data partner that connects human answers to business questions. Combining a legacy of impact, global reach, and innovative spirit, SAGO enables clients to solve business problems through extensive audience access and an adaptive range of qualitative and quantitative solutions.

For further information: For media inquiries: Sheril Bose, sheril@headsandtales.ca , (613) 879-7034

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