Far-Reaching Repercussions: Addressing Manitoba's Psychologist Shortage

Manitoba has a problem. And if it needs to see a psychologist about it, it could be waiting a long time.

If Manitobans weren’t already aware of the acute shortage of psychologists before the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a good chance most of them are now.

“This is a long-standing issue,” says Dr. Jo Ann Unger, clinical psychologist and president of the Manitoba Psychological Society (MPS). “For many, many years, Manitoba has had the lowest per capita rate of psychologists in the country. We have approximately twenty psychologists for every hundred thousand people in the province, and the national average is in the fifties. So it’s a really significant issue.”

In broad terms, Unger says the issue is twofold; part of the issue is the number of psychologists available, and the other part is an inability to access psychologists.

“Psychologists are not a funded service outside of the public health system. And so within that public health system, we have a certain number of positions, where people can access psychologists. But those psychologists are usually around health issues, some mental health issues, but rarely are a learning disability or those types of academic or learning assessments covered by those systems.

“So folks can’t get access to the type of assessments that would be useful for people who would use [the Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba], within the public health system. So there’s this huge gap of need.”

And the problem isn’t only within the public health system, but our province’s educational system, which is also suffering from a profound shortage of school psychologists.

“I know in my practice, the volume of calls I get from parents with school-age children looking for assessments; just hearing from them and, unfortunately, the long wait times and how their children might not even be considered eligible for assessment through the school just because of the extent of need and the very limited number of school psychologists that they have,” says Dr. Karen Dyck, clinical psychologist and executive director of MPS.

“There are so many benefits to being able to identify and diagnose learning disabilities at a young age, I think not only in terms of ensuring an accurate understanding of that student’s learning profile and how best to provide them with accommodations and intervention, but just seeing firsthand the impact it has on a student’s self esteem; to receive feedback about assessment results that really highlight their strengths and help them understand what a learning disability is and isn’t, I think is just invaluable.

“So often we see kids experiencing mental health issues as well, as a result of some of the challenges that can come along with learning disabilities and, I think in particular, [when they’re] undiagnosed or poorly supported.”

So what can we do?

Both Unger and Dyck say one of the best things Manitobans can do is speak up, and advocate for themselves and their loved ones.

“We know what can make a really helpful impact is if people who are experiencing this shortage or struggling themselves or representing people who are struggling also speak up,” Unger says. “Everybody has an MLA, so writing a letter or making a phone call, and just highlighting this as an issue of importance.”

“I think unless we address training, recruitment and retention, we’re not going to get anywhere,” Dyck says. “It’s wonderful that [the government] has created some new positions in the public system, but again, we need to make sure that we’re training people locally. They’re the ones that are more likely to take positions in Manitoba.”

For more information on the Manitoba Psychological Society, visit mps.ca