Defence Team COVID-19 – Mental Health and Wellness

The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a high degree of uncertainty and disruption to our lives, and it is not unusual to feel a heightened degree of anxiety and worry about the potential impact on yourself and your family.

As we continue to navigate through this uncertain time, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and Department of National Defence (DND) public service employees can access a variety of resources and information to help maintain and improve our mental health and overall personal well-being.

On this page:

• Resources for CAF members
• Resources for DND public service employees
• Wellness courses and learning events
• Additional resources and articles

Resources for CAF members

There are a range of services available to help you and your family members get the care and support you need. You’re not alone, help is available.

• Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program (CFMAP) – Provides free and confidential, short-term professional counselling and crisis services to members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), veterans, and their families. You have two ways to access CFMAP to set up counselling:
  • By Phone, call the Crisis and Referral Centre available 24/7, at 1-800-268-7708 or 1-800-567-5803 (for people with hearing impairments).
  • By Chat at www.canada.ca/eap-chat (password: canada), available Monday to Friday, from 0800-1930 (Eastern time), excluding statutory holidays.

    The Chat Service is only for making an appointment for professional counselling, not for immediate counselling. If you need immediate support, call the Crisis and Referral Centre.

• Military Mental Health. You’re not alone – The Canadian Armed Forces offers exceptional medical and mental health care, support for families, and return to work programs.
  • Get immediate help
  • Mental health and wellness 
  • Effects of mental health on your career
  • Programs and services
• The Family Information Line (FIL) – Speak to friendly, experienced professionals who are well-versed on CAF communities and services. FIL counsellors are available to handle calls in confidence 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To speak with a FIL counsellor, call 1-800-866-4546 (toll-free in North America) or 1-613-995-5234 (collect calls accepted).
• The HOPE Program- Provides CAF members and their families who have recently lost a loved one with peer support. Members and families are eligible for this service if they have lost a loved one who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, either active or retired, Regular or Reserve Force. Contact HOPE by email or by calling 1-800-883-6094.
• Military Family Resource Centres (MFRCs) – CAF members and their families have access to dedicated, frontline service providers, responsible for connecting military families to a wide range of programs and services.
• Military Medical Centres – Locate a medical and dental centre anywhere in Canada.
• Sexual Misconduct Response Centre – Confidential support services for CAF members affected by sexual misconduct and those who want to support them.
• Integrated Conflict and Complaint Management – service that helps CAF members submit, track, and resolve complaints.
• Chaplain Services – Spiritual guidance and support is available.

Resources for DND public service employees

Whether you are looking to improve your well-being, increase your awareness, or access any of the many services and programs that are available to you, support is available when and how you need it.

• Health Canada - Employee Assistance Services (EAS) – Provides free and confidential, short-term professional counselling and crisis services to public service employees and their families. You have two ways to access EAS to set up counselling:
  • By Phone, call the Crisis and Referral Centre available 24/7, at 1-800-268-7708 or 1-800-567-5803 (for people with hearing impairments).
  • By Chat at www.canada.ca/eap-chat (password: canada), available Monday to Friday, from 0800-1930 (Eastern time), excluding statutory holidays.

    The Chat Service is only for making an appointment for professional counselling, not for immediate counselling. If you need immediate support, call the Crisis and Referral Centre.

• EAP Peer Advisors (accessible only on the National Defence network) – Fellow DND employees who are available to help employees navigate through different community resources and support. Email the EAP positional mailbox to be connected with a readily available colleague within 24 hours.
• The Office of Disability Management (accessible only on the National Defence network) was created to be an impartial, collaborative and inclusive group that supports employees and supervisors/managers dealing with disability-related matter due to illness, impairment and injury
• The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Centre of Expertise provides guidance to Defence Team personnel, develops training, and focuses on prevention initiatives.
• Sexual Misconduct Response Centre - Confidential support services for DND public service employees affected by sexual misconduct and those who want to support them.
• Organizational Well-Being Resource Catalogue (accessible only on the National Defence network) – A repository of resources for individuals, managers, and many more.

Wellness courses and learning events

Discover ways to support your personal well-being through courses, events, and interactive activities.

• Mental Health Learning Series | Canada School of Public Service
• Defence Learning Network Fall Catalogue (accessible only on the National Defence network)
• Workplace Strategies for managers and employees
• Webinars and virtual events:
  • Register for wellness webinars (You are now leaving Canada.ca, for internal audiences only) brought by ADM HR-Civ’s Organizational Well-Being Team. The recording of the webinars are available on the ADM(HR-Civ) YouTube channel (You are now leaving Canada.ca. This site is not accessible on the National Defence network).
• CAF Community:
  • National PSP Virtual Fitness Schedule
  • PSP Virtual Health Promotion

Commemorative Events

• Bell Let’s Talk Day
• Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month
• Mental Health Week

Additional resources and articles

• LifeSpeak: A digital library offering hundreds of short videos, podcasts and blog posts by experts on everyday issues and on wellness topics. (username: canada, password: canada)
• Wellness Together Canada provides tools and resources to help get Canadians back on track, including free counselling, peer support, and opportunities for learning.
• Health and wellness articles on The Maple Leaf:
  • Uncertainty and change
  • Talking to youth about mental health
  • Parenting while maintaining a healthy work-life balance
  • Avoiding burnout
  • Communicating with kindness during a pandemic
• Road to Mental Readiness poster for information on signs and indicators, and actions to take at each phase of the mental health continuum.
• Protect your mental health covers topics such as mental health in the workplace, coping with stress, self-care and resilience, and financial well-being.
• Newsletters:
  • Subscribe to DND’s Organizational Well-Being distribution list to stay informed on mental health and wellness topics, learn about upcoming webinars, and much more.
  • Subscribe to get the latest healthy eating updates and monthly newsletter from Health Canada