Trying to get psychological help in Quebec can be painfully frustrating. Have you ever found yourself wondering, why does it take months, or even years, to see a psychologist through the public system? Mental health care services are vital, and demand continues to grow, yet multiple factors contribute to long waitlists that hinder care when people need it most.
Quebec’s public health network provides mental health services – including psychotherapies provided by licensed psychologists – through local health and social services centers (CLSCs), family medicine groups (GMFs), and other community services. While these services are supposed to be available at no direct cost, accessing a psychologist or psychological clinician for therapy or a structured evaluation can lead to major system delays.
There’s also the issue that most psychologists are in the private sector, not the public sector. While there’s likely several thousand registered psychologists in Qubec, the overwhelming majority work in private practice instead of publicly funded clinics. Some data shows there are about 8,000 psychologists licensed in the province, of which about 5,000 are working in the private sector, leaving a lot fewer who are supported by the public system.
Since the public system needs to serve a lot of people with fewer resources, individuals looking to access mental healthcare through public clinics can face long waiting times.
It’s not uncommon to see people waiting six months to two years to get an initial appointment with a psychologist within the public system. Some older health commentary indicates that these waiting times have been around for many years and have become much worse over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reasons Why The Wait Times Are So Long
Why is this happening? Well, there are actually quite a few reasons that all tie together:
- Demand has been increasing – especially since the pandemic hit – with people being more open about mental health challenges and seeking help.
- Psychologists in private practice aren’t paid for by the state system, so people without private insurance tend to rely on those limited public services, putting them under more strain.
- Navigating the system itself, through referrals from GPs and other community services can also take time.
This can also have another practical consequence. Because the waiting lists for psychologists are so long, many people end up accessing other forms of support while they’re waiting.
They may go to a psychologist, or to another type of mental health care professional like a social worker or counselor, through community clinics, access help from self-help tools and online resources, or opt for a private psychologist if they are able to get insurance or afford the out-of-pocket cost.
The Ordre des psychologues du Qubec also provides a public referral service that connects people with psychologists in private practice who may have sooner availability. At the moment, this tool does not show estimated wait times by professional.
Concluding and Help Available
To tackle this access gap, province-wide initiatives offer different levels of mental health support – from self-help resources and early interventions to high-level therapy and expand community-based mental health teams. These initiatives can increase the ways that people can seek help, but they don’t resolve the inherent gap between mental health service demand and supply.
In the interim, learning why we’re seeing these longer wait times can help you feel less frustrated and find other ways to get mental health support while you wait, whether that means community services, personal support groups, or private treatment if that’s an option.