Fewer seeking care for mental health issues

More Saskatchewan people have struggled with their mental health since the start of the pandemic, but fewer are getting help.

That's the grim finding from a survey sponsored by Mental Health Research Canada with support from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation. It confirms what many community mental health workers and advocates say they knew all along.

“There's no denying this has had, and will continue to have, longterm impacts on peoples' mental health,” University of Regina social work professor Nuelle Novik said.

Novik, a counsellor in Regina, said COVID-19 has not just made life more stressful — it has isolated people who were already lonely, and caused young adults and families to miss important formative experiences.

“Just think of the grief response alone,” Novik said. “It's not even just about the tragic deaths. It's also about other people that we've lost, maybe not directly related to the pandemic, but during the pandemic. People can't grieve in the way they usually do.”

Novik supported an online poll conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights. In a sample of 576 Saskatchewan adults surveyed in late August, only 18 per cent reported they had accessed mental health services from a professional in the past six months, compared to 34 per cent before the pandemic, even though respondents were twice as likely to report feelings of anxiety or depression.

“Mental health services prior to the pandemic were already strained,” said College of Family Physicians of Saskatchewan president Dr. Myles Deutscher. “What the pandemic has done is, it has really exacerbated the situation and really shone a spotlight, if you like, on these shortcomings.”

For many people, family physicians are a first point of contact to accessing other supports, like a psychiatrist. But during the pandemic, the wait time for psychiatric appointments has grown considerably, Deutscher said.

“That referral system has been completely overwhelmed during this pandemic time.”

Many services have also pivoted online or to the phone, which makes talking about mental health that much more difficult. The poll also found the proportion of people who needed mental health services but didn't get them doubled, to 10 per cent.

“I do see more mental health complaints, if you will — patients coming in and struggling with depression. But I only see the people that reach out. I don't know how many people are suffering at home,” Deutscher said.

Andrew Sedley, executive director of the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours in Yorkton, said virtual care has been a mixed blessing. On one hand, clients don't have to drive into town to see counsellors at their walk-in clinics in Yorkton and Kamsack. However, some don't have the hardware or reception to reach counsellors from afar.

“Yorkton and surrounding communities, a lot of it is rural Saskatchewan,” he said. “We may not have the best Wi-fi or the best internet connection. Individuals who are needing services may be more vulnerable. They don't have a data plan.

“Everyone has been affected differently during this pandemic. We have individuals who may have lost jobs, reduced their hours at work. We have individuals who have family members who are ill … or know a family member who has passed away. All our normal stressors that we have throughout our normal years, plus we have this extra weight put forward on people during the pandemic.”

Linda Walker is the executive director and pastor at The Bridge on 20th Fellowship Centre, a Christian faith ministry in Saskatoon. Walker said clients who struggle with mental health and addictions are looking for meaningful relationships of trust, which are hard to forge over a phone or lagging video connection.

“I've had people where I've said, `You really need to go down to Sturdy Stone (Centre in Saskatoon) because there are addictions counsellors there and they will help you.' And they just look at me and say, `I'm not going to go to someone that I don't even know to tell them my problems,' ” Walker said. “The relational component is so important.”

Deutscher said there's no easy fix to a complicated problem, but he hopes 2021 brings a fresh conversation about insuring mental health services like therapy. At present, people who want those services might have to pay out of pocket unless they benefit from a third-party plan, Deutscher noted.

He also believes there should be a broader medical pivot to a patient-centred model of care that lets a patient access multiple services in one place.

“Pandemic or no pandemic, accessibility to community mental health services isn't covered for everybody.”

There's no denying this has had, and will continue to have, long-term impacts on peoples' mental health.