Psychoeducators determined to reduce the wait for mental health care

While the waiting list for access to mental health care continues to grow, adult psychoeducators want to be part of the solution.

During the press briefing by the Minister for Health and Social Services, it was announced that some 20,000 people were waiting for mental health care.

In the office, professionals have noticed an increase in distress since the start of the pandemic, as recounted by psychoeducator Valérie Roy. “I call it the aggravating factor of the century. For example, I started my practice in 2017, so before the pandemic. We were really focused on the problems in the foreground of the clients: marital conflicts, depressed moods.

“But there, not only do they arrive for a need in terms of mood and in addition, there is the pandemic”, reported Ms. Roy.

Seeing that she could still welcome patients, Valérie Roy decided this week to write a letter in which she reminds us that psychoeducators can be part of the solution. This letter also resonated with his peers, 43 psychoeducators co-signed it. The psychoeducator then sent it to the media.

Elisabeth Lainé has her own private clinic in Quebec City. She is one of the co-signers.

“Because the distress is increasing, the mental health lists are almost a year old. We, the psychoeducators, we can help”, affirmed the professional.

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Psychoeducators must first demystify their profession with adults. With a master's degree in hand, they can deal with several problems, for example: depression, anxiety, or even relationship problems.

“Even today, it’s little known, especially for adult mental health,” says Valérie Roy. We won't hide it from our psychoeducator name, sometimes people will stop at that. “Educator” must be in the schools.”

Besides, Elisabeth Lainé, in Quebec, still has several availabilities. She would like to be able to reduce the waiting list, but there are many obstacles.

“It’s so difficult to publicize our services. I tried to contact several clinics, to contact the doctors to let them know that we exist, that we can help, but they are so overloaded that we are not able to reach them, ”lamented Ms. Lainé.

The two women say they have called people in the past few weeks to offer their services. Several had to refuse because the insurance did not cover the costs, a situation denounced by Valérie Roy.

The Order of Psychoeducators and Psychoeducators of Quebec preferred to refrain from commenting on the insurance file. The communications manager clarified by email that psychoeducation was created in Quebec, therefore it is not a pan-Canadian profession and some insurers do not include it.