1 in 10 Canadians wait 4 months or more before receiving community mental health counselling

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May 26, 2021 — After struggling with depression and anxiety throughout her childhood, Stephanie had come to rely on the help of various therapists and psychiatrists. When she turned 18, she feared the transition to adulthood would mean losing access to indispensable mental health services. 

“I didn’t have my youth psychiatrist anymore, I was on a wait-list for a new program and I didn’t know what adult resources were available to me,” Stephanie said. “It was really frustrating and depressing, and I felt like I was just a number and that no one actually wanted to help me.” 

Stephanie was on a wait-list for more than a year before she was admitted to a hospital-run program offering dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).

“One thing that would have been nice would have been check-in calls, just to make sure I was doing OK — because I wasn’t fine, I was on that wait-list for a reason,” said Stephanie. 

Stephanie is among the thousands of Canadians who wait several months before receiving mental health counselling. New CIHI data shows that half of Canadians wait up to a month for ongoing counselling services in the community, while 1 in 10 people wait about 4 months or longer. 

The data also shows that in some jurisdictions, wait times for ongoing mental health counselling services are longer for children and youth than for adults 18 and older. 

“We’re seeing some children and youth being asked to wait months before receiving care, at a time when they are at their most vulnerable and they need help the most,” said Kathleen Morris, vice president of Research and Analysis at CIHI. “This information can help provinces and territories identify where there are gaps in services and contribute to improvements in access to care for all Canadians.”

Wait times for community mental health services have been identified as an area of growing concern by federal, provincial and territorial governments. In 2017, they agreed to improve access to mental health and addictions services and to home and community care.

Stephanie has now completed the DBT program but is still learning to navigate the adult mental health system on her own. 

“When I was still with my youth psychiatrist, she told me she didn’t know how much she could help me but that she would always be there for me,” said Stephanie. “I was so grateful for that, just knowing someone was there for me — that’s something I don’t feel like I hear enough in the mental health system.”