Physician delivered psychotherapy is whole person psychotherapy that a patient can get from their medical doctor, and is currently covered by OHIP. Psychotherapy is tailored to each person's specific needs, and is conducted in a way that can include in depth psychotherapy, and medication, when appropriate.
Currently, we are endeavoring to advise provincial policies that will maintain the coverage of physician-delivered psychotherapy and mental health care delivery under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) to better and more comprehensively serve the psychological welfare of the public amidst costly, wait-listed alternatives. We aim to educate about the importance of maintaining current OHIP funding for physician- delivered psychotherapy.
Research has shown that investment in medical psychotherapy not only pays for itself but also brings in revenue to the government. Return on investment for physician delivered psychotherapy is between 100% and 1200% - in the higher range for more severely affected patients like those suffering from borderline personality disorder, complex trauma, work-impairing perfectionism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
Mental illnesses are chronic and often debilitating disorders that require management throughout the lifetime under the supervision of professionals who can safely administer psycho-pharmacological interventions in conjunction with a steady application of psychotherapy. Psychiatric conditions are unlikely to simply dissipate with time and do not permanently respond to short-term, “bandage” solutions.
In that sense, they are more analogous to managing diabetes or a chronic kidney disease than fixing a broken bone. Relapses are likely to occur, and professionals trained to handle the fluctuating and nuanced nature of these incredibly complex disorders are fundamental in preventing escalation of symptoms that can range from self-medicating to suicide. As psychiatric illnesses are chronically relapsing disorders with multifactorial causes, they often require multimodal treatments and psychotherapies across the lifespan. Additionally, long term psychotherapy is an essential care treatment for PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorders. Evidence also shows that therapeutic effects last with long-term psychotherapy in a multitude of other psychiatric conditions, as opposed to other psychotherapy modalities which lead to relapse.
You can click here to read further about the myths and facts about long-term psychotherapy in the article Psychotherapy in Psychiatry: Fighting Alternative Facts by Guest Columnist, Renata M. Villela, M.D., FRCPC, featuring an introduction by Dr. Eric Plakun in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice.