w w w . on l in e t h e r a p y instit u t e . c o m
The Crisis The current health-care system is failing many Canadians. The most vulnerable groups are children, the elderly, and the population in rural areas as well as those who suffer from mental illness. The system is challenged in delivering services to these populations - especially mental health care services. For those hoping to see a mental health professional in a hospital, public clinic or even at school, the waiting times begin anywhere from a couple of weeks all the way up to two years if they are not considered to be in crisis. That is, of course, if they do not want to lay out a hundred dollars or more per hour to see someone in a private practice. Private insurance would cover most private practice sessions but many Canadians do not have plans that will cover sessions. Many do not have any sort of plan at all. The wait times do not exist because of a shortage of mental health workers in Canada: the shortage only exists in the public system. They are there because professionals are forced into the private system. The wages are very low and professionals are overworked. They can make more than five times the amount when working in the private system, work their own hours and choose their own patients. The system is not getting any better. Wait lists are growing and there are less and less mental health professionals staying in the public system. There are risks that mental care may disappear from the public system altogether. People wait until they are in crisis to go to the emergency rooms
because no one will see them in a timely manner before that. This clogs up the system further and puts people at great risk.
The Solutions What can be done to alleviate the burden on the public system for mental health services? How can people who need care get it with reasonable wait times? There are no easy answers to these questions. The gap needs to be closed between public and private wages which is easier said than done. With higher wages, mental health workers will be less pressed to move to the lucrative private space. With the health care system already under such burden, there are little funds left for changes for mental services. If the wages cannot be increased because of limited government money there are still other ways to solve the problem. Pro bono works, sliding scales and technology are all tools to mend the problem.
Pro Bono Hours There is no doubt that many mental health workers want to give their time to the public system but it is difficult for them to turn down the opportunity of private practice. Most of them feel that people in the public system are the ones who need mental health services the most. There is an internal moral struggle when mental
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