The Psychologists’ Association of Alberta Supports Senate Report on Mental Health
Edmonton, May 10, 2006 – The Senate Report entitled “Out of the Shadows At Last” is the most comprehensive examination of mental health needs and services in Canadian history. It deserves a great deal of attention. As the title suggests, “It is high time that we bring mental health out of the shadows and into the light of day” stated Dr. Ganz Ferrance, Public Education Coordinator for the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA).
The Report makes important recommendations which include:
The Canadian Mental Health Commission. The Commission will bring coordinated attention to mental health issues and provide Canadians with a much needed pan-Canadian mental health national action plan, something the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health has urged governments to develop over the last decade.
The Mental Health Transition Fund. The PAA was glad to see the recommendation for a Mental Health Transition Fund in the Report. Like the successful Primary Health Care Transition Fund, it can provide an important engine for change to create services and networks to better meet the mental health needs of all Albertans and Canadians. It will be a transfer of dollars from the Federal Government to the provinces and territories dedicated exclusively to mental health.
Research Support. Research is the backbone of effective and efficient health services. Biological, psychological and social factors interact to determine mental health and illness. The mental health community has long called for increased support for research into the psychological and social factors in mental health.
The Senate Report is a good platform to begin addressing issues rarely discussed in Canada. The Report mentions the importance of better co-ordination between publicly and privately funded services. For a variety of reasons, psychological services are increasingly being provided in the private sector. Psychologists are the largest provider of specialized mental health services in Alberta and Canada. Public mental health services often don’t exist or have terribly long waiting lists. Lower income Canadians or those with little or no private insurance cannot afford private services. New mechanisms must be developed to provide access to the right service from the right provider at the right time.
The Report highlights the desperate need to reduce red tape and silos in care. There is limited co-ordination of care among health and mental health services and within the mental health sector and even less among other sectors, like schools, criminal justice, social welfare and the workplace. Children and adolescents are particularly disadvantaged by fragmented and uncoordinated care.
“Alberta and Canada need this Report. It is the first comprehensive platform from which Canadians can discuss and plan mental health services for the next twenty five years,” stated Dr. Ferrance. “We must not squander the opportunity.”
The Psychologists’ Association of Alberta is the provincial professional association of scientists and practitioners in psychology. There are approximately 2150 registered psychologists in Alberta.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Ganz Ferrance
Public Education Coordinator
Psychologists’ Association of Alberta
(780) 893-3478
