Inkblot Therapy and Green Shield Association Launch Free Room for Her Digital Hub

TORONTO, Ontario, March 8, 2022 – Today, on International Women’s Day, Inkblot Therapy (Inkblot) and the Green Shield Association announce the launch of the new Room for Her digital hub. The hub will provide participants with mental health guidance using Inkblot’s team of clinical professionals, as well as external experts. Visitors will have access to short expert Q&A videos, quick reads, resilience-building activities, webinars and podcasts, all at no cost. The hub will also be the primary access point for the free Room for Her counselling program, which will be expanded in the coming months.

Funded by the Green Shield Association and delivered by Inkblot, Room for Her was launched on November 9, 2021. The initiative focuses on promoting mental health and well-being for all Canadian women – with an emphasis on women of colour in the workplace in the first year of the program. Data shows that women of colour not only face disproportionate barriers in the workplace, but also experience higher rates of mental health struggles and/or illness, and significant challenges to accessing mental health support.

“The Room for Her digital hub represents an exciting next step in this groundbreaking initiative and a one-stop experience, with resources, insights and counselling all at visitors’ fingertips,” says Harriet Ekperigin, Vice President, Mental Health, Green Shield Holdings Inc. “With the disproportionate mental health burden facing women today, it has never been more important to provide access to multi-faceted support.”

The Room for Her digital hub will specifically include the following resources:

• Mental Health educational materials: The hub will focus on enhancing protective factors (e.g. resilience, coping, social support and social networks) and addressing risk factors (e.g. social isolation, discrimination, stigma and substance use). Educational materials will take the form of short expert Q&As, videos, quick reads and resilience-building activities. The hub will also include links to appropriate resources, tools and apps delivered by publicly-funded organizations.
  
  
• Webinar and podcast series: In the coming weeks and months, the hub will introduce regular webinars and podcasts focused on specific issues or topics relevant to women’s mental health – with a focus on women of colour in the workplace. Inkblot will use the webinars and podcasts to engage outside experts in women’s mental health, including academics, public policy experts and mental health professionals.
  
  
• Free counselling support: The hub will be the primary access point for the free Room for Her counselling program. In November 2021, Inkblot released 10,000 free one-hour counselling sessions for anyone in Canada who identifies as a woman. Some hours remain. Those who qualify also receive an initial consultation appointment with a certified therapist of their choice, along with one 60-minute or two 30-minute sessions of additional online counselling. In the coming months, Inkblot and the Green Shield Association will expand this program.

“Pairing counselling services with a suite of educational resources is a formula that we strongly believe in,” explains Dr. Rachel Toledano, Inkblot’s vice president of clinical services. “It has been incredibly rewarding to see the impact of the free counselling hours over the past few months, and we continue to be here for women facing mental health challenges.”   Inkblot is also seeking out content and research partners for Room for Her, as well as writers interested in showcasing validated mental health research, tools or commentary. If you’re interested in contributing, please contact: sarah@inkblottherapy.com.

Inkblot Named a “Best Workplace for Women” by Great Place to Work

Inkblot’s commitment to women’s mental health starts within its own workforce. The company has consistently prioritized hiring, empowering and promoting women – with nearly two-thirds of Inkblot’s senior leadership team made up of women. This week, in recognition of this approach, Inkblot was named a Best Workplace for Women by Great Place to Work.

“We take great pride in fostering a diverse, collaborative workplace,” says Luke Vigeant, President of Inkblot. “This award speaks volumes for the talented team of women at Inkblot who continue to drive our business forward.”

For more information:

Inkblot contact:
Sarah Mortimer, Marketing Manager
647-518-7106
sarah@inkblottherapy.com 

GSC contact:
Deb Quinn, SPPR
647.985.7162
debquinn@sppublicrelations.com

About Inkblot Therapy

Inkblot is on a mission to improve your mental health at home, at work and beyond. From our affordable digital counselling services to our innovative EAP program, we offer effective and accessible solutions for individuals and organizations that care. Our corporate mental health program focuses on offering secure, easy-to-access video counselling that is available anytime, any place. Through our advanced matching technology, individuals can easily find the best counsellors to suit their needs and preferences in just a few easy steps. With mental health insights employers can actually learn from and care that's built for you, we've already helped over a million people start feeling better without the wait.

About Green Shield Canada (GSC)

Green Shield Canada (GSC) is shaping the health care landscape of the future with a unique brand of expertise and innovation. That starts with decades of health and dental benefits expertise and extends – through the GSC group of companies’ strategic investments and commercial partnerships – to health services delivery, via an ever-expanding digital health ecosystem, and health and benefits administration. GSC believes all Canadians should have access to services they need to improve their health and well-being, but for too many that’s not a reality. With a focus on filling gaps in the Canadian health care system in oral and mental health, GSC will invest $75M in oral and mental health initiatives by 2025 to drive measurable improvements in health outcomes for Canadians – and support a commitment to Better Health for All.

About Green Shield Holdings Inc.

Part of the Green Shield Canada (GSC) group of companies, Green Shield Holdings Inc. is the primary company used to house subsidiaries.  Green Shield Holdings Inc. is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Green Shield Association.