“My dad’s insurance covers half of my therapy, but I will have used it up by the next session for the whole year. After that, I’ll have to pay for it myself so I’m waiting until I really need it,” a fellow student shared with me.

A survey done in 2022 revealed that the average coverage for counselling provided by employers is $750 a year. The average counselling session with a psychotherapist in Ontario can range from $60-$175, although above $120 is more common. Similarly to me, for those relying on insurance for counselling sessions, it will cover only 4-6 sessions. The recommended number of sessions to provide meaningful and lifelong effects are about 20. Additionally, mental health constitutes the leading cause of illnesses in Canada, making up 10% of all illnesses. Examples of these illnesses include depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and more. Despite this, it receives only 7% of the total healthcare dollars. 5.3 million Canadians in 2018 reported needing professional mental needs and 2.3 million of those reported not having fully met their needs. When mental health needs are unmet, this can affect a person’s daily functioning, thinking, and behaviours

They are unable to work or attend school in extreme situations and are three times more likely to be poor and four times as likely to require government assistance compared to their abled counterparts. About 500,000 Canadians are unable to attend work each week because of a mental disability. My brothers currently take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), but when their depression was untamed, the effects were debilitating. My younger brother suffered from it while in high school and was unable to hand in assignments on time and was unable to care about his classes. For days at a time, we didn’t see or hear from him.


Those most affected by mental health are those who aren’t able to afford treatment. Those in lower classes and below the poverty line face several barriers to accessing treatment. These can include a lack of transportation to treatment facilities, lack of time because many clinics open only during working hours, lack of insurance, stigma against mental health, not knowing where to go, and more. Research suggests that parents of children with a low socioeconomic status report higher rates of mental health issues and higher rates of unmet needs in their children. Society associates low-income communities with lower-quality schools, housing situations, insecurity in finances, and high violence and crimes. These unique characteristics impact the mental health of parents, which leads to an increase in neglect. Consequently, the mental health of the children is compromised. Less than 15% of children in this category receive the help and treatment that they desperately need. Additionally, there have been rises in wait times for counselling, therapy, and treatment for youth. Documented cases show that some children have had to wait up to two and a half years, though the average is 2-3 months. Location plays a hand in wait time, as well, with York having the longest average wait time of 919 days.

The result of this is a vicious cycle of poverty, where poverty can cause increased mental health issues and mental illnesses causing those who suffer from it to live below the poverty line. Affordable mental health resources exist, but they certainly are not the answer. I work for Kids Help Phone as a Crisis Responder and although it is a great initiative for youth in Canada to de-escalate distressing situations, it is only a temporary solution. Canada has faced a psychiatry shortage in the past, which contributes to the saturated demand for current psychiatrists available. Solutions to this could be to increase residency spots available for psychiatry. Additional solutions to the overall crisis of mental health are to invest in treatment centers for the homeless, where about 25-50% of the population suffers from mental health conditions.

References
The Canadian Press. (2018, August 8). Ontario has a psychiatrist shortage and needs to solve it to stop a mental health crisis. CBC News. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-incentives-reverse-psychiatrist-shortage-1.4778435

The crisis is real. CAMH. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real#:~:text=While%20mental%20illness%20accounts%20for,and%20adequate%20long%2Dterm%20care.

Egwu, P. (2022, August 12). How mental health services became the hot new workplace perk for young Canadians. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-mental-health-services-workplace-perk/
Frequently asked questions.

Ontario Psychotherapy & Counseling Referral Network. (2021, November 16). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://referrals.psychotherapyandcounseling.ca/about/frequently-asked-questions/#:~:text=Most%20therapists%20will%20charge%20between,%2425%2D%2450%20per%20session

Hodgkinson, S., Godoy, L., Beers, L. S., & Lewin, A. (2017). Improving mental health access for low-income children and families in the Primary Care Setting. Pediatrics, 139(1). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-1175
Housing and Mental Health. CMHA Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/housing-and-mental-health/
Moroz, N., Moroz, I., & D’Angelo, M. S. (2020). Mental Health Services in Canada: Barriers and cost-effective solutions to increase access. Healthcare Management Forum, 33(6), 282–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0840470420933911

Psychotherapy talk therapy. CAMH. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/psychotherapy#:~:text=How%20often%20you%20will%20need,and%20on%20throughout%20their%20lives.

Wait times for youth mental health services in Ontario at all-time high. CMHA Ontario. (2020, January 27). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://ontario.cmha.ca/news/wait-times-for-youth-mental-health-services-in-ontario-at-all-time-high/