The mental-health paradox

Quebecers are anxious, but not asking for help

MONTREAL - Despite the anxiety and uncertainty Quebecers are experiencing, the number seeking mentalhealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic is, paradoxically, down.

One factor in the decrease is the fact that with so many sheltering in place, often in close quarters with partners and children, there is little opportunity for the privacy and quiet needed for a session with a mental-health professional, said Dr. Christine Grou, president of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec.

Another concern, she said, is financial: Some Quebecers have lost their jobs and, if they had insurance paying for their treatment, that is gone as well.

Following the Legault government lockdown in March, most psychologists in private practice pivoted to working online via Zoom, the webbased videoconferencing tool, or by phone, Grou said; the order provided training.

“Studies have shown teleconsultation can be very effective with certain problems, like anxiety,” she said.

She said her order has proposed that certain of its members’ services, such as the treatment of health professionals and those grieving the loss of loved ones to COVID19, be underwritten by Quebec. “We are waiting to hear whether the government will finance these services.”

If mental health is not supported, consequences including workplace absenteeism, will be far-reaching “and last much longer than the pandemic,” Grou said.

Calls to the Argyle Institute, which has been providing mental health services to the community for nearly 40 years, have decreased by 60 to 70 per cent since the start of the pandemic. This “speaks to the fact that people are in survival mode,” said psychotherapist Moira Luce, the organization’s immediate past-president.

To help, the Argyle has initiated the Rescue Line Project; it offers up to three free tele-psychology sessions, using phone or video, to those experiencing emotional and psychological difficulties related to COVID-19.