Our Impact

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.

13

Psychiatrists per 100,000 Ontarians

With less than 13 psychiatrists per 100,000 people in Ontario, we argue that it is necessary to optimize existing resources by utilizing primary care physicians —of which there are 100 to 100,000 people — and other physicians, such as those practicing exclusively in psychotherapy. This would substantially increase access for patients to receive psychotherapy and appropriate psycho-pharmaceuticals— which are often life-saving interventions. Research suggests that physician-delivered psychotherapy has a 100-1200% return on investment, and thus represents an opportunity to reduce overall government spending in the long-term.

15k

Hours Spent By Police Responding to Mental Health Calls

An article published by the CBC stresses that 70 calls a day are made to Toronto police regarding mental health, which tabulates to a staggering 25,000 such calls a year. And that was published two years ago. A more recent piece from The Star cites that Peel Region police spend over 15,000 hours annually responding to mental health calls, and that figure is swelling as the area continues to be incredibly underfunded. If more mental health care fell under the care of more physicians practicing psychotherapy, the frequency of these calls and associated costs would be vastly reduced. Cutting OHIP funding for these services will only make the problem worse.

7%

Ontario Government health care dollars spent on mental healthcare

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH ) conservatively estimates that the disease burden of mental illness is really 10%.

It is a conservative estimate because the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) estimates that the disease burden of mental illness is really 23%.

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, more than 6.7 million Canadians are living with mental health considerations—a figure that eclipses the 2.2 million diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. The burden of mental illness and addiction in Ontario is more than 1.5 times that of all cancers combined, and more than 7 times that of all infectious diseases.

1 billion+

Dollars spent on Mental health care in Ontario in 2017 Alone

Between considerations of lost productivity, emergency hospitalization, the involvement of law enforcement, and the strain on the federal and provincial judicial systems, mental health has taken a significant financial toll. All of this is even more dire with the very critical acknowledgment that these numbers severely underestimate the incidence rates of individuals suffering from mental health problems. Hospitalization rates and the annual reports released by the regional networks can’t account for the people who fall outside of the services provided by Ontario’s health care system, and the vast majority of sufferers are falling through the cracks. While some psychiatric disorders can, if untreated, manifest with symptoms that require hospitalization, these tend to be rare by comparison.

Get Involved

We always appreciate the support of volunteers, partners, and donors who are as impassioned about accessible and effective mental health care as we are. We are looking for passionate and committed individuals to join our team as members, volunteers, and researchers.

Pledge your support

If you agree that OHIP funded physician delivered psychotherapy should be protected from potential cuts, sign our petition today.