Healing at first light
Tell us what you need, and a real person finds you an NIHB-enrolled counsellor. If you're eligible, it's free.
How it works
A short intake, about 10 minutes. Save it and come back anytime. Tell us where you are, what you're carrying, and what kind of counsellor would feel right. Have your status card or Inuit enrolment number handy.
A real person on our team reads your intake and reaches out to NIHB-enrolled counsellors near you. We match on location, focus, language and what you prefer. You'll hear from us within 2 business days.
We introduce you to your counsellor and help set up the first session. Your counsellor bills NIHB directly: no forms, no receipts, no cost to you.
New: the directory
Browse NIHB-enrolled counsellors near you. Filter by community, language and focus, or find an NIHB counsellor near you by city. Found the right person? We make the introduction.
Why in person
Most online therapy platforms hand you a video link and call it care. We think counselling works better in the same room, with someone who understands where you come from.
Who you'll be sitting with
Every counsellor in our directory is enrolled with NIHB and registered with a professional body: social workers, psychologists, certified counsellors and psychiatric nurses. Want an Indigenous therapist? Just tell us.
Are you a counsellor?
3,101 NIHB-enrolled counsellors are already in our directory. Claiming yours is free and takes a few minutes: add your photo, focus areas, languages and whether you're taking new clients. We verify every claim personally.
Rather not be listed? We remove profiles immediately on request.
NIHB coverage
The Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program covers mental health counselling for eligible First Nations and Inuit people, up to 22 hours a year. The counsellors we match you with bill NIHB directly. You never see an invoice, a receipt, or a reimbursement form.
How coverage worksWho we serve
Status First Nations people are eligible for NIHB mental health counselling. For First Nations counselling, we look for counsellors who know your territory and, if you want it, your Nation's ways.
Inuit enrolled with a land claim organization are eligible for NIHB anywhere in Canada, including the Prairies. We'll be honest with you about who's nearby.
Our name
“It is dawn” in Plains Cree (nêhiyawêwin). First light: the moment the day is still ahead of you. That's the spirit we try to work in, and we say where the word comes from everywhere it appears.
Read the story →Wapan is new. We don't have a big staff or a fancy app. We have careful lists of NIHB-enrolled counsellors across the Prairies and a commitment to personally find you a good fit.
Don't wait for an intake form. These lines are free, confidential and open 24/7.
If NIHB covers you, nothing. The counsellors we match you with bill NIHB directly, so you never see an invoice, a receipt, or a reimbursement form. If your coverage is complicated, we sort it out with you before anything starts.
Status First Nations people and Inuit enrolled with a land claim organization are eligible. NIHB doesn't cover Métis or non-status people; if that's you, we'll say so honestly and point you to who can help. Not sure? Send the intake anyway.
Up to 22 hours of mental health counselling a year. If you need more, your counsellor can request an extension through NIHB. That's their paperwork, not yours.
Yes. The intake asks for your status registration number (the 10-digit number on your status card) or your Inuit enrolment number. Counsellors need it to bill NIHB, so having it up front means nothing holds up your first session. Only our team and the counsellor billing NIHB see it, and it's never sent by email.
Tell us on the intake if getting there is hard. Sessions are in person, so we match on location first, many counsellors on our lists travel to you, and we'll talk through transportation options with you.
A real person reads your intake and reaches out to counsellors near you who fit what you asked for. You'll hear from us within 2 business days.
About 10 minutes of questions: where you are, what you're carrying, and what kind of counsellor would feel right (language, focus, gender, whether they should be Indigenous). You can save and come back anytime.
Yes. Browse NIHB-enrolled counsellors in our directory and filter by community, language and focus. Found the right person? We make the introduction, then step back.
Tell us. There's no penalty and no awkward conversation for you to have. We'll go back to the list and find someone else.
No. Matching takes days, and a crisis can't wait. If you need support right now, call Hope for Wellness at 1-855-242-3310 or call or text 988. Both are free, confidential and open 24/7.
Registered professionals enrolled as NIHB mental health providers: social workers, psychologists, certified counsellors and psychiatric nurses. Every listing comes from the official NIHB provider list.
Yes. Tell us on the intake. Hundreds of the counsellors on our lists are Indigenous, and we'll be honest with you about who's nearby.
English, Cree, Dene, Michif, Nakawe and French, depending on where you are. We match on language when you ask us to.
Because that's what Wapan is for. Many people want to sit across from someone, in or near their own community. Sessions are always in person.
A small team at Wapan: real people, only as many as it takes to find you a match. We don't sell or share your information, and we never contact a counsellor about you without telling you first.
No. We share only what's needed to make the introduction: where you are and what you're looking for. What you tell your counsellor after that stays between you and them.
Ten unhurried minutes. Save and come back anytime. A real person reads every word.
Start your intake
