Mental Health Support for Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is a journey of ups and downs that can take a toll on your mental health. Need to talk to someone?
Your mental health is important
BDC is committed to supporting the well-being of entrepreneurs and has partnered with Inkblot Therapy by GreenShield Health to provide its clients with easily accessible mental health support—anytime, anywhere.
When you sign up for BDC’s Mental Health Support Program, you will receive three hours of virtual therapy sessions free of charge with Inkblot Therapy, a digital mental health platform within GreenShield Health.*
*Limited availability, exclusive to BDC clients..
Personalized and confidential.
Discover easily accessible and effective mental health and wellness support.
Connect with qualified therapists.
Therapists on Inkblot are here to help when you are ready to start your journey towards a healthier you.
Receive 3 free hours of virtual therapy sessions.
If you wish to continue therapy with Inkblot after these sessions, you will benefit from a preferred rate.
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Confidentiality
The privacy of your personal and business information is important to us. BDC’s Mental Health Program is completely confidential, voluntary, and accessible at your convenience. None of the personal data or information you provide to Inkblot Therapy by GreenShield Health or your therapist will be shared with BDC.
For more information on how your personal information and privacy are protected, please review the privacy policy.
About BDC’s commitment towards entrepreneurs’ mental health
As Canada’s bank for entrepreneurs, BDC is committed to helping Canada and its entrepreneurs create a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy.
This pilot project is among a series of initiatives BDC has undertaken in recent years, including yearly surveys conducted since 2018 to contribute to a better understanding of the mental health of business owners across the country and to raise awareness of this issue.
About Greenshield Health
GreenShield Health is one of Canada’s fastest growing digital health providers and is the health services division of GreenShield, a not-for-profit focused on championing better health for all Canadians. It offers innovative solutions in a variety of areas such as virtual mental health, online clinical pharmacy, and telemedicine
GreenShield Health knows that one-size therapy does not fit all. That’s why their mental health service offers a confidential, personalized counselling matching tool to ensure you can find a mental health professional who shares and/or can relate to your identity and lived experiences.
How Inkblot works
Share what you’d like to talk about
Our personalized questionnaire matches you with qualified therapists based on your unique mental health concerns and personal preferences. Feel more comfortable working with a therapist who has expertise in the areas you are experiencing challenges in and understands your background.
Choose the therapy that feels right for you
Therapists aren't one size fits all. Therapy is conducted in your preferred language, availability, and the approach that resonates with you.
Book a free 15-minute consultation
You won’t know until you try. We offer a free 15-minute consultation so you can get to know the therapist you selected, ask questions, and ensure they are the right fit for you.
Schedule your first virtual therapy session
Entirely online, and completely confidential. Find a convenient time to conduct your first session from wherever you feel most comfortable.
Book your next appointment
Find a great match? Schedule your next appointment. Not a perfect fit? Easily view other options and arrange another free 15-minute consultation with a different therapist.
Frequently asked questions
We want to make sure you feel confident taking care of your well-being, by answering any questions you may have about the program.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and requires immediate support, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Alternately, please contact the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566 (24/7). For Québec residents, call 1 866 APPELLE (1-866-277-3553). Please know you are not alone. Support is available.
BDC’s most recent survey on entrepreneurs’ mental health revealed that 45% of Canadian business owners indicated that they felt mental health challenges. The report also showed that the cost of seeking mental health support is the most important barrier to seeking mental health help for small and medium-sized business owners.
Every week, more than 250K Canadian entrepreneurs consider reaching out for professional support for their mental health. By launching Mental Health Support for Entrepreneurs with a third-party service provider and offering three free hours of virtual therapy, BDC can help remove barriers to seeking mental health support.
Inkblot by GreenShield Health is a Canadian, digital-first mental health provider that offers timely and effective mental health support in all areas of life, like stress, work-life balance, burnout, anxiety and depression. BDC has partnered with Inkblot by Greenshield to provide access to virtual therapy for its clients.
The program includes three free hours of virtual therapy sessions, exclusive to BDC clients. Space is limited, so we encourage business owners who wish to access the program to complete their registration as soon as possible. Once the free hours have been used, BDC clients who wish to continue their therapy sessions can do so, with the same or different therapist, with unlimited usage, at a preferred rate for a one-year period of $90 per hour.
Registration will close March 31, 2024, so we encourage you to access services prior to this date.
Only BDC clients can take advantage of the three free hours of virtual therapy sessions offered during this pilot. Spouses and children can benefit from the preferred rate of $90 per hour.
To access Inkblot, go to www.inkblottherapy.com and select “GET STARTED” to create an account. You will be asked to input an “Organization Code” which is BDC2023.
Your security is our top priority. Personal information, including name, address, practitioners’ notes and documents, are stored on a dedicated server with a protected network in Canada. This data is encrypted at the highest possible level, and the server is audited regularly to ensure it meets the highest standards of best security practices (SOC 2 certified).
No. No one at BDC will know if you have signed up for Inkblot or if you have scheduled or completed a session. Your use of Inkblot is voluntary and confidential.
You will have access to 3 sponsored hours which are covered by BDC. Once you have used the 3 covered hours, you can continue your therapy sessions, with the same therapist. However, you will be asked to input your credit card information. You will be billed for the cost of the session, at a preferred rate of $90 per hour. For those paid hours, a receipt will be generated after your session which can be used for reimbursement through a benefit plan, if applicable.
The Inkblot platform will match you to a therapist, based on your needs and preferences. The first session with any new therapist is 15 minutes without using any of your BDC sponsored hours. This is to ensure that they are the right fit for you. If they are not the right fit, you would unmatch with that therapist, match with a new one and again, the first 15-minute session won’t be using any of your BDC sponsored hours.
Inkblots therapists represent a range of cultures, languages, religions, identities, and lived experiences. The matching process allows you to select the characteristics of a therapist that are most important to you, based on your unique needs and identity.
Therapy sessions are typically an hour in length. However, sessions can be booked for either 30, 60 or 90 minutes. It is up to you to select the length of your appointment.
Inkblot therapists have a minimum of a Master's degree and at least 5 years of previous experience. Additionally, they are accredited by their regulatory body and in good standing.
Contact our support team with the therapist details. Inkblot is always recruiting new therapists. In order to be part of the Inkblot network, counsellors must meet requirements such as having minimum of a Master’s degree, 5 years of clinical experience and be accredited by their regulatory body and in good standing. Contact support@inkblottherapy.com who can assist with onboarding a therapist who might be interested in joining the Inkblot team.
