Yeah, I said “fucked.” If you’re easily offended, there’s probably more than a few things in some of the posts below you won’t like either. And yes, there are mental health services in Victoria, but not nearly enough, not easy to access, and not always helpful.
Blog posts related to mental health services in Victoria, BC:
Mental Health Pivot
Those not in acute crisis are faced with few effective treatment options, long waits, and repeated failures. Why? We deliver too many “interchangeable units of mental health care” which ties up resources. What we’re doing, what we need, and how to get there.
PES: The Dead Canaries are Piling Up
Describes how many of the problems being reported at PES are rooted in deeper systems issues. Inadequate access to psychiatric care has led to PES being a choke point for the entire system.
Victoria’s Mental Health Access Crisis (FP Survey Results)
Results of a survey of family doctors about challenges providing mental health care to their patients. Extremely limited access to psychiatry (especially ongoing care) and therapists are key problems. Family docs are left trying to manage patients far too complex for primary care.
Demand Ownership and Accountability
While people like to talk about funding shortfalls and grand initiatives, there’s nobody tasked with improving access. A good starting point would be far more transparency and openness about the current state of the system. That means collecting and publishing real metrics, no matter how ugly.
More Access to Essential Psychotherapy
While there are calls to open MSP billing to therapists, there are also more modest efforts that can be pursued. Expanded access to DBT, building on the successes of CBT skills and BCalm groups, would have a large impact.
Psychiatrists: Recruit, Retain, Rebalance
Better access to psychiatry is one area where funding isn’t the main problem. Recruitment and retention is a hot mess that nobody is responsible for, despite the obvious benefits. Better distributing the care psychiatrists provide is also critical. There’s some very juicy low-hanging fruit we need to grab.
We Have The Mental Health System We Designed
This explores some of the underlying political issues that prevent transparency and system improvement.
Shared(?) Care
A great idea, but what happens without true collaboration, feedback, and transparency? It can become a meaningless buzzword and an excuse for the inexcusable.
“We Did Our Best to Refer You…”
If you’re trying to get a referral through a telehealth service, you really want to read this.
Elsewhere:
- How to see a psychiatrist in Victoria [lysak.org]
- Consider health system as a whole [timescolonist.com]
“Official” Victoria crisis services: emergency room, 9-1-1, crisis line (888-494-3888)
