The Canadian Coalition on Seniors’ Mental Health estimates that 80% to 90% of residents have some form of mental disorder and that depression is present in approximately 50% of residents.

The main problem is that mental health assessment and home-based Psychotherapy are either not offered to at-home care receivers with no mental symptoms or the home therapy is offered as a separate costly service out of the scope of many at-home care providers. The main reason that at-home care providers and home care limit their services to rehabilitation services, therapeutics home healthcare, home mobility, and unskilled services is the cost involved in mental therapy which seems to be unnecessary compared to physical therapies.

Mental health can change rapidly, and many of these changes remain hidden from providers or counselors. Therefore, it is of significant importance to monitor an individual’s mental health status specially if they are more prone to psychiatric distress. As a matter of fact, the customers of at-home care services are indeed more prone to psychiatric distress or other mental disorders compared to the general population.

Substantially increased prevalence of depression following stroke has been reported in up to 24% of people who have experienced a stroke vs. 8% compared to the average depression rate.