Purpose of the Focus Group

You are invited to participate in a focus group discussion, facilitated by Habitus Collective (Habitus is a third-party research and evaluation firm with experience in focus group facilitation within the mental health sector. For more information you can visit www.habituscollective.ca), to share your experiences, thoughts, and opinions about Lionheart Foundation’s Referral and Subsidy Therapy program. The purpose is to gather feedback to understand the client journey, inform program improvement, and understand the quality and effectiveness of our services.

A focus group is a group discussion – you will be among 15-20 other individuals who are either past or current clients of Lionheart Foundation. This includes those who have participated in therapy directly and the caregivers of someone accessing therapy.

Voluntary Participation

I understand that my participation is voluntary, and I can withdraw my participation at any time without consequence or notice. Participation in this will not impact your ability to access current or future services and your decision will not affect the quality or availability of any services you currently receive.

I understand that there is no obligation to share information or experiences that may make me feel uncomfortable and I can decline to answer any question you are not comfortable with.

Confidentiality

Lionheart did not and does not share participants’ personal information and therefore any personal information provided during the workshop is on a voluntary basis.

Any information gathered during the focus group will be reported anonymously, unless otherwise agreed upon with the facilitators.

The group discussion will be audio-recorded to ensure the discussion is accurately captured. This recording will be made available only to the third-party facilitator (Habitus Collective) for the purpose of analyzing the results. The recording will then be destroyed. Any direct quotes will be de-identified and any other identifying information removed when the results are reported.

Risks and Benefits

There are risks and benefits of participating in the focus group. The benefits may include directly impacting potential changes to accessing mental health services for community members, sharing experiences and feedback. Risks may include becoming triggered by content or other participants’ responses, feelings of distress or higher emotions, and confidentiality between participants and facilitators.

During the focus group, there will be a Registered Psychologist (not affiliated with Lionheart Foundation), on site during the focus group. It is the participant's responsibility to connect with the Psychologist if needing support. The Psychologist will be available during and immediately following the group discussion. Information about additional resources will be provided should participants require mental health support after the session.

Compensation

Participants will receive a $150 honorarium (per person) as a thank you for their time and contributions. Please provide direct deposit/banking information below to ensure you receive the honorarium in a timely manner.