Two years into COVID, mental health service access still a problem

COVID-19 has placed a spotlight on the importance of mental health in a positive way - but the challenge is ensuring everyone who needs care can get it.

As a registered psychologist who specializes in stress and anxiety, Dr. Melanie Badali says it’s been difficult to watch some of her wait lists grow over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two years in, many are dealing with built-up anxiety and depression, and Badali said she wants to help.

“It feels horrible to have to wait-list people in need,” she said, adding she does what she can to empower them with online tools and other available resources while they wait.

Despite high demand for care, she said it’s important that people not be discouraged from seeking help.

Badali, whose practice is in Vancouver, is among many who say the pandemic has not necessarily created a problem of access but highlighted a pre-existing one.

Demand has consistently outpaced supply with the impacts falling most heavily on those who can’t afford private care, she said.

Dr. Karen Cohen, president of the Canadian Psychologists Association, said the pandemic has placed a spotlight on the importance of mental health in a positive way, reducing some of the stigma of seeking help.

The challenge is ensuring everyone who needs care can get it, she said.