During the pandemic, Envision Counselling and Support Centre noted a rise in mental health issues and in demand for their service throughout the southeast. It was a common thread in their conversations with other mental health professionals around Saskatchewan. 

For some people who are in crisis mode, however, there may come a moment in which even counselling is not enough. If that ever happens to you, Envision has a simple message for anyone who is in a mental health emergency: get to the hospital. 

"That's exactly what they should do is go to the emergency, because they have psychiatry on-call to deal with them," said Christa Daku, Envision's executive director. "Or call 911. It just depends on the circumstances, obviously." 

While Envision won't comment on specific details of individual cases, some of their clients have reached a point where more emergent mental health supports are needed. When that happens, a referral to an emergency room may be in order. 

"Again, it's circumstantial, but we are always looking at the best interests of the client," Daku said. "So we do referrals to psychiatry, and that's part of the safety plan that we've set up with a client that may be experiencing some mental health issues, to get them in line with that system so they can get the appropriate support they need."

Envision might make such a referral in case of a wellness check, for example. Though they do their best to ensure that things do not get to that point, sometimes people need supports beyond what they can give in the moment. 

"We've had times in the past where we've had to do wellness checks on people when we know they are not in a stable place," said Daku. "If we can't make contact with them, we will contact police to do a wellness check with them. It is circumstantial but I think one of the biggest things is to get to the emergency services. The hospital is the ideal place to go."

Daku added they have seen more calls for support during the pandemic but have not necessarily had to make more referrals to psychiatry so far.