Mental Health and Addictions

Central Connect allows patients and health-care providers to easily make new referrals into the Mental Health and Addictions (MHA) program.

Health-care providers and patients can:

A member of the Central Connect team will begin the intake process to find the right services, delivered by the right people, in the right place.

Patients who are currently receiving care in the MHA program and their health care providers can continue to contact those services directly.

Central Connect is an important part of Together, Best Mental Health – our multi-year plan to deliver an integrated system of mental health and substance use care in Durham Region.

If you are in crisis, please call the Durham Mental Health Services CALL line at 905-666-0483 or toll-free at 1-800-742-1890.

If this is an emergency, please call 911 or proceed to your nearest emergency department.

Other publicly available supports include:

  • Kids Help Phone

  • Talk Suicide Canada - 1-833-456-4566
  • Federal Mental Health Supports
  • To connect with a mental health professional one-on-one:
    • Youth – call 1-888-668-6810 or text WELLNESS to 686868
    • Adults – call 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 741741
    • OneStop Talk at 1-855-416-8255 or onestoptalk.ca

Introducing Together, Best Mental Health

Each year, Lakeridge Health has more than 100,000 mental health visits for adults, more than 12,000 visits a year for children, and youth, and more than 14,000 visits to our Emergency Departments related to mental health and substance use. And the needs of the people we serve are only growing. We are excited to introduce Together, Best Mental Health – the organization’s three-year plan to address the needs of our communities and deliver a more integrated system of mental health and substance use care in Durham Region.

COVID-19 Related Service Changes

  • New clients are being admitted into all outpatient services.
  • Our Outpatient Mental Health, Pinewood Centre and Child Youth and Family Program services are being provided virtually through the telephone and Microsoft Teams.
  • 905-721-4747 is the new centralized access line for Community Mental Health and Pinewood Centre services.
  • The Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) is open, by appointment, at our Pinewood Centre 300 Centre Street location. Please call 905-721-4747 ext 37226 to leave a message and calls will be returned the same day.

Mental Health Program and Pinewood Centre

Our Mental Health and Pinewood addictions programs help adults, youth and women work through their challenges with addictions and/or mental health.

We work with people in a caring environment and develop a personal treatment plan, because everyone has their own needs and goals. Treatment plans may include educational and motivational workshops and group sessions that give the tools needed to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Depending on the service, you may stay with us in hospital or at a treatment centre for a period of time, see us regularly at one of our community locations, or have telephone support available to you in your own home. Our program offers a wide variety of programs and services at our Lakeridge Health Oshawa site, our main Pinewood Centre and our many community treatment locations..  

At Lakeridge Health, we are here to support you on your treatment journey.

Durham Mental Health Services

On October 1, 2020, Lakeridge Health and DMHS announced a voluntary integration of the two organizations. By working together, Lakeridge Health and DMHS can better coordinate services in both community and acute care settings, facilitate smoother transitions and faster connections to appropriate services, and create a supportive continuum of care for clients.

DMHS began operation in 1987 when a coalition of parishioners at Whitby All Saint’s Anglican Church recognized that others in the community, suffering from severe mental health issues, were in desperate need of safe, affordable housing. Now, over 20 years later, DMHS has grown into an agency with over one hundred employees. DMHS offers a range of mental health services, including three crisis locations and eight group homes across Durham Region.

For more information about DMHS, visit the Durham Mental Health Services website.