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Learning Together Women's Depression Group

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Learning Together Women's Depression Group

COSTI's Learning Together Women's Depression Group is an open psycho-educational support group offered to Italian-speaking women diagnosed with depression. Learning Together offers women support, information on symptom management, and culturally tailored interventions to cope with depression. This gives women the opportunity to develop a support network, learn coping skills and reduce their isolation. Women can be referred through their family physicians or community health providers. Self referrals are accepted.

Services Available

  • Individual screening assessment
  • Individual counselling
  • Ongoing supportive group counselling
  • Crisis counselling

Who is Eligible

Services are available to all Italian Canadian women residing in the Greater Toronto area and York Region.

Times

Groups run every other Thursday. 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

This Program is Located at:

Family and Mental Health Services
Sheridan Mall, 1700 Wilson Avenue, Suite 105
Toronto, ON M3L 1B2
Phone: 416.244.7714 | famcounselling@costi.org
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There is $20.00 annual fee associated with the service.

COSTI's Learning Together Women’s Depression Group is funded by the United Way Greater Toronto.

Related Resources

View Workshop Calendars

Symptoms of Depression

The chief symptom of depression is sad, despairing mood that persists beyond 2 weeks and impairs a person’s level of functioning where it becomes difficult to cope with day-to-day activities.

Symptoms of Depression include:

  • Significant changes in appetite and weight over a short period of time


  • Sleep problems; sleeping too little or too much


  • Loss of interest in work, hobbies, people


  • Feelings of uselessness, hopelessness, excessive guilt


  • Preoccupation with failure(s) or inadequacies


  • Agitation or loss of energy

  • Slowed thinking, forgetfulness, trouble
    concentrating and making decisions


  • Decreased sexual drive


  • Tendency to cry easily, or having the urge to cry but unable to do so


  • Excessive concern about physical complaints


  • Thoughts of death and/or harming self


  • At times, a loss of touch with reality, perhaps hearing voices (hallucinations) or having strange ideas (delusions)
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How do I know I'm suffering from Depression?

Depression has been used to describe a state of unhappiness, feelings of sadness, and as a despairing mood. It is common for everyone to experience feelings of sadness or having, what is normally referred to as, the “blues.” Having a depressed mood is a normal reaction following a disappointment or a loss or following a traumatic event that is short term, and one’s mood lifts fairly quickly. However, depression is also used to describe a psychiatric illness and is, therefore, much more severe than simply unhappiness. Clinical depression is a “major mood disorder” where a person’s emotional state is abnormally low or sad and where it impairs one’s level of everyday functioning (i.e., family, occupational, personal, and social functioning).

Depression can occur at any time in a person’s life. Depression is one of the most common mental health problems. It is estimated that up to 15% of the population will be treated with depression at some point in their lifetime. Major Depression can occur in 10 - 25% of women and 5 - 12% of men. Studies show that approximately 15% of those over 65 experience symptoms of depression that cause them distress and make it hard for them to function. 250

Other Services/Resources

Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division
Toll-free: 1.800.875.6213

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
416.535.8501

Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
416.486.8046 or 1.888.486.8236

National Foundation for Depressive Illness
1.800.239.1265 or www.depression.org 251