Psychologists pan response to mental health report
Published Thursday October 1st, 2009
Government: Province's reaction said lacking substance and misinformed
The Department of Health's response to a report on mental health issues in the province lacks substance and is misinformed, according to the president of College of Psychologists of New Brunswick.
Dr. Jane Walsh gave a scathing review of the province's reaction to provincial court Judge Michael McKee's report on Wednesday, adding it was disappointing to read the government's lack of commitment.
After months of round table deliberations and public consultations McKee released a report in February designed to bring New Brunswick's mental health system into the 21st century.
Health Minister Mary Schryer responded to the report Tuesday with the announcement of a few initiatives and a promise to release a new mental health strategy next spring.
"My initial impression, and one I share with my colleagues, is that we are disappointed," Walsh said. "Although we feel the intention is good on the government's behalf in acknowledging some of the key area that need to be addressed, we really felt the minister's response lacked substance.
"In a way it seemed her (Schryer's) department was rushing to put together some kind of response and really hadn't done its homework on certain issues."
Walsh said McKee's report discusses the importance of publicly funded psychologists and points out that the province is losing scores of experts to private practice.
In the school system alone, the recommended ratio of psychologists to students is one-to-1,000. Walsh said that in New Brunswick, the ratio is now one-to-3,400.
The college said there are roughly 360 licensed psychologists in New Brunswick, roughly half of them in private practices.
"But then, when you look at Schryer's response, it was really empty of any meaningful work around addressing shortages in human resources," she said. "As with many issues in the report, they talk about doing more of the same and that's just not working."
Walsh said there were areas of misinformation in the department's response. She said the response talked about under-recruitment, which she said isn't an issue. "We already have psychology intern placements and training for residencies," she said. "What they are missing is that there are insufficient positions for residencies."
Walsh said she supports parts of the government's response, which affirms that a co-ordinator will be hired to work with First Nation communities and that there will be a greater focus on community services for the chronically mentally ill.
But she said other ideas, such as funding support were lacking.
The Health Department announced Tuesday it has given an additional $200,000 to 26 community-based groups that serve individuals with mental health issues.
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