Doctors and mental health advocates say therapy in Ontario will be even harder to access now that the government is significantly cutting funding for free online therapy it made available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Health introduced the program in the spring of 2020 and provided funding to two online platforms offering internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT).
MindBeacon was given $24 million over two years to offer a free 12-week course to Ontarians 16 and older, but free enrollment ends Friday, according to public documents. A new program will take over in the fall, but MindBeacon will only see $3.75 million in funding over two years.
The downsizing means the program is changing from a free self-referral model to one that requires a specialist referral to remain free; otherwise, the 12-week program will cost $525.
Family doctor Jenny Clement said she found out about the funding cut last week and is disappointed because she suggests MindBeacon to several patients a week.
“That took a huge weight off my mind as a family doctor to say that I’m recommending something that I know is not cost prohibitive,” he said. “I can’t even tell you how much easier it made my life, as a doctor, and how much more protected I felt my patients were.”
According to the province, iCBT is a short-term program that helps people “develop skills and strategies to address symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression.”
It aims to remove barriers to mental health support by allowing clients to log in at any time of day, from anywhere, according to MindBeacon, whose programs match a client with a mental health professional who registers and provides feedback and support while the client works. exercises.
MindBeacon says it expects an 85% drop in the number of people who can access free services under the new provincial program. In its first two years, 60,000 people registered for free, but with less funding in the future, it hopes to be able to offer 9,000 free places.
This decline is something that mental health experts and health care providers say is concerning, as mental health support is especially important at this stage of the pandemic. Clement says that while the needs were more acute at the height of the pandemic, the stress hasn’t gone away and people are now dealing with the long-term effects.
“The needs are changing, but they are increasing if anything,” he says. “So it’s really disappointing to see this amazing show go [reduced].”
The Ontario Ministry of Health did not respond to CBC Toronto’s questions about the funding cuts by our deadline.
The new program requires an additional barrier, the doctor says
More than half of those who used the free program with MindBeacon had never received mental health counseling before, and nearly half reported that they “recovered and got the help they needed,” says Karen Adams, president and CEO from CloudMD, which bought MindBeacon earlier this year. .
She says one of the most effective things about iCBT is that people don’t have to wait; whether for a referral or on a months-long waiting list to see someone in person.
Adams says those who signed up on their own only had to wait a few days before being matched with a therapist and programming.
“That speed to get someone into treatment, I think is the most important point instead of waiting months and getting progressively worse, or things in my life just falling apart, because I’m not getting the help I need. Adams says.
CloudMD President and CEO Karen Adams says more than half of those who accessed MindBeacon as part of the government’s free program had never received mental health counseling before. (Derek Hooper/CBC)
Now, to get the service for free, people will need a referral from a health organization like the Canadian Mental Health Association, or a referral from their family doctor to such an organization, which adds to the waiting of patients and takes up resources of healthcare providers who are already busy.
“Another step to being referred to mental health resources will be a barrier for some doctors and their patients, not because they’re lazy, because they’re so overwhelmed,” says Clement.
She also says some prefer to access mental health support anonymously, which is not possible with the requirement of a referral for free services.
Adams told CBC Toronto that MindBeacon “has work to do” when it comes to promoting the new program and making sure people understand how it works. He says the first two years demonstrated the need for a program like this, and he hopes to continue working with the province to find ways to provide mental health support.
“I think the challenge we have as a country right now is that we’re encouraging people to talk about it … we’ve really raised awareness about mental health. Now we have to raise the ‘what are we going to do about it.’ Is it a piece? Because this will be our biggest challenge after the pandemic.”
If a person signs up on their own, most health insurance providers cover the $525, but Adams says more than 55 percent of people who used the free program didn’t have access to group benefits.
Clement says she is concerned about any additional barriers preventing people from accessing mental health at this stage of the pandemic.
“It will be the same as always,” says Clement. “People who are well off and have the resources will be well off and people who don’t have the resources will not be well off. And I don’t agree with that.”