Wait times for mental-health care are too long

Urgent issue was largely ignored by all parties during the election campaign, Charles-Albert Morin says.

Mental illness shatters and claims lives. It is an affliction affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals and costing the Quebec economy hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity.

And it was pretty much ignored by politicians throughout the provincial election campaign. Even the more progressive parties, which historically champion the more vulnerable members of society, did not make it a topic of serious debate, addressing only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our health system’s alarming shortcomings regarding mental health.

In the fall of 2017, the Couillard Liberal government seemed to finally have understood the urgency of the situation, unveiling a public program for the reimbursement of psychotherapy costs. How disappointing, then, to discover that this policy, described as “misleading ” by Charles Roy, president of the Association des psychologues du Québec, had budgeted only enough to cover the equivalent of two-anda-half therapy sessions per patient, and that access to the public program would be arduous. What seemed like a historic advance in mental health for Quebec was in fact a cosmetic, voteseeking reform.

Quick access to quality care is essential for people with mental-health problems, but the current wait time to see a professional is often measured in months. The consensus in scientific literature on mental-health issues is clear: in most cases, those suffering will seek help only when their situation has become critical (unable to go to work or attend school, social isolation, suicidal thoughts) and their needs dire. It can be hard to distinguish between normal human conditions and pathological manifestations of illness. One of the few points

In no case should the wait time to obtain a consultation, for either an evaluation or treatment, exceed 30 days.

all psychiatrists agree upon is that mental illness causes significant distress and/or alters a person’s ability to function. Before its manifestation, precursory symptoms can easily be mistaken for less serious problems like sadness, fatigue or worry. Hence, it’s very difficult for those suffering as well as for professionals to make an early diagnosis.

The timeline between the onset of symptoms and access to quality care is critical. As stated in 2012 in a document issued by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the longer the wait, the less likely for a patient to persist in wanting to get treatment, and the more likely for their state to deteriorate. In a scientific paper published this summer, Kathleen Macdonald, a PhD candidate at McGill University, stressed that longer durations of untreated illness can have grave effects on patients’ lives. According to the Canadian Psychiatric Association, in no case should the wait time to obtain a consultation, for either an evaluation or treatment, exceed 30 days. Even in the absence of this knowledge, there is no moral alternative to rapid intervention when it comes to combating human suffering, as is the case for physical health issues.

There have been considerable efforts made to shorten the delays between the first signs of distress and a person’s reaching out for professional help. Attempts are being made to reduce stigmatization, to de-dramatize recourse to assistance and to increase mental-health literacy to promote early detection. The government is alone in not assuming its responsibilities. It’s absurd for our society to be sending out messages urging people with mental illness to seek help, only for them to hit a wall of lengthy wait times for psychotherapy that allows them time to describe the problems causing their suffering, but not time for treatment.

Ten years ago, when my own struggle with mental illness began, I received help quickly because I had the means to pay. I have since overcome my illness and am living a rich and happy life. How long will those Quebecers with mental-health issues who do not have the means to pay have to wait for politicians to take them seriously?