Mental health support and therapy

[CyberliArd12345]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

 

[Naturgrl]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1332&top=33

Talk to your family physician as believe you need a referral.

 

[CyberliArd12345]

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1332&top=33

Talk to your family physician as believe you need a referral.

don’t have a family physician yet

 

[RefugeeHelp1]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

If you are a refugee claimant in Montreal, Quebec and are covered by the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), you may be eligible for mental health services through the IFHP. The IFHP provides limited, temporary coverage of health-related costs to refugee claimants, including coverage for mental health services.

To access mental health services through the IFHP, you will need to visit a healthcare provider who is registered with the program. You can find a list of registered healthcare providers in your area by visiting the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website and searching for "IFHP-approved health-care providers" in your location.

In addition to the IFHP, there are also other resources and services available to help refugee claimants in Montreal, Quebec access mental health support. For example, you may be able to access mental health services through the Quebec health insurance plan (RAMQ) if you are eligible. You may also be able to access mental health services through private health insurance plans or through community organizations and non-profit agencies that provide mental health support to refugees and other vulnerable populations.

It is important to note that the availability of mental health services may vary depending on your location and your specific needs. If you are having difficulty accessing mental health support, it is recommended that you speak with a healthcare provider or a qualified mental health professional for more information and guidance. They may be able to help you identify resources and services that are available to you based on your specific circumstances.

To find IFHP-approved healthcare providers in your area, you can follow the steps below:

1. Visit the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website
2. Search for "Find free newcomer services near you"
3. Search for your area and filter what you are looking for

It is important to note that the availability of IFHP-approved healthcare providers may vary depending on your location and the specific services you need. If you are having difficulty finding a provider, you may want to speak with a healthcare provider or a qualified mental health professional for more information and guidance. They may be able to help you identify additional resources and services that are available to you based on your specific circumstances.

 

[canuck78]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

Unfortunately realistically it may be quite difficult to access therapy and you may have to be on a waiting list. The amount of counselling you are able to receive will probably not match how much counselling you feel you want and need. The large influx of asylum seekers and protected people in the past few years and before Covid has put a lot of strain on resources. The amount of counselling available hasn’t changed dramatically but the amount of asylum seekers arriving has. Most Canadians have no access to free counselling so refugees are in a better position than most but the need far exceeds the amount of resources available. As you will discover there is huge need for mental healthcare services in Canada and many of the resources require individuals to pay privately. There are waitlists for most mental health services.

 

[Jakiewuyi]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

Hi! I’ll advise that you contact PRIDA in Montréal. They have a list of therapies and mental health support organizations that might be able to offer the services at either free or lower cost. The wait list to access these services might me long but you’ll surely get the help you need. Other options is to look for private establishments/organizations that offer such services. These will give you immediate access but be prepared to pay because it doesn’t come cheap.

 

[Mancini]

Unfortunately realistically it may be quite difficult to access therapy and you may have to be on a waiting list. The amount of counselling you are able to receive will probably not match how much counselling you feel you want and need. The large influx of asylum seekers and protected people in the past few years and before Covid has put a lot of strain on resources. The amount of counselling available hasn’t changed dramatically but the amount of asylum seekers arriving has. Most Canadians have no access to free counselling so refugees are in a better position than most but the need far exceeds the amount of resources available. As you will discover there is huge need for mental healthcare services in Canada and many of the resources require individuals to pay privately. There are waitlists for most mental health services.

Isn't it a government policy to increase intake of immigrants regardless the shortage of resources in the healthcare sector?
Blaming the increased numbers of refugees alone won't help.

Maybe it is time to change the strict policies concerning international healthcare resources with non-Canada experience, which will help, especially that a considerable number of Canada-educated and Canada-experienced healthcare professionals leave Canada and go outside because of the mounting pressures inside Canada and the better pay outside.

This beautiful country can accommodate further 40 or even 80 million (but not in Toronto or Vancouver for sure
The healthcare sector in Canada, like several other sectors, needs pragmatic thinking.

 

[canuck78]

Isn't it a government policy to increase intake of immigrants regardless the shortage of resources in the healthcare sector?
Blaming the increased numbers of refugees alone won't help.

Maybe it is time to change the strict policies concerning international healthcare resources with non-Canada experience, which will help, especially that a considerable number of Canada-educated and Canada-experienced healthcare professionals leave Canada and go outside because of the mounting pressures inside Canada and the better pay outside.

This beautiful country can accommodate further 40 or even 80 million (but not in Toronto or Vancouver for sure
The healthcare sector in Canada, like several other sectors, needs pragmatic thinking.

I could go on and on about the healthcare system. Biggest issue is nurses not doctors although GPs are a big issue. There was a worldwide movement to get rid of mental health institutions and give care in the community. Unfortunately doesn’t necessarily work. There is a huge shortage of mental health beds but it is also very hard to keep the people suffering the most severe mental health issues in hospital. Once people are stable enough they can leave if they want. Addiction, which is a mental health condition on its own, has lead to more mental illness and exacerbates existing mental illness. It is very expensive and labour intensive to provide mental healthcare. Most med students don’t want to be psychiatrists, most nurses don’t want to work on mental health floors because it can be very scary and chances of attack are high (you have to look behind each door, there a mirrors so you can see around the corner, etc.), it can be very challenging work and there is sadly a lot of death involved which can take a toll on healthcare providers. Compliance is an issue in most severe cases so it often takes a long time to treat a mental health issue before it is stabilized and once people feel better they can often stop taking their treatment because mental illness tricks you into thinking you’re cured. The majority of mental health services and therapy is done by psychologists not physicians. Psychiatrist primary treat mental health issues, figure out treatment plans, etc. Paychologists aren’t typically covered under public healthcare. Getting licensed as a foreign trained psychologist or counsellor isn’t that difficult. The bigger issue is that people don’t have access to care unless they have the funds or have extended healthcare benefits. If they did cover care I think most people would want access to therapy which would be a big problem. The easiest place to start would be to provide more detox and rehab facilities. The government spends a significant amount of money taking addicts to the ER/hospital, policing, jailing addicts, providing disability or welfare, etc. it should be fiscally easy to justify. Unfortunately because most don’t get sober and stay sober the first attempt the metrics don’t look great on paper and spending money treating addicts illicits a lot of negative response from many people who feel like people should be able to get sober and stay sober baed on will power. Given how bad the situation has gotten and tranq In the drug supply is going to lead to a wound care and amputation nightmare hopefully something will happen soon. We need more GPs. Canada should be creating more GP only medical schools and the CARMs match system has to ensure that every residency gets matched every year if there is an IMG interested in getting licensed in the specialty. This may still be difficult for French speaking residencies and some specialties like pathology or psychiatry that arn’t the right career for many medical students or IMGs but too many spots are going unfilled. Most are GP spots and we desperately need GPs. For other training programs governments need to pay GPs if they want them to take on extra responsibilities of overseeing training and signing off on charts. The government also needs to pay GPs more or med students will continue to specialize in other fields. They also need to stop the addition of a 3rd year of residency for GPs. If anything the GP only med school should be a condensed 3 year full-time program with lower tuition than regular med school. Hospitals also need to rewarded for innovation. And not have caps on how many surgeries can be compensated per year for example. Ontario currently penalizes you once you hit a certain number of types of surgeries. There needs to be less of a difference between healthcare worker compensation between the provinces because it incentivizes healthcare workers to work in certain provinces not others. We need to boost capacity in LTC dramatically or put more money into homecare so seniors don’t take up hospitals beds waiting for a bed in LTC for often months. We need to pay PSWs more because their jobs are incredibly hard and there is is a lot of turnover. The ratio between patients and PSWs have to change as well. We need to increase hospital capacity but that is dependent on increasing the number of nurses. No point in extra beds if you have no nurses to staff them. Biggest issue in Canadian hospitals is nurses and budgets. Most physicians only get a fraction of OR time they want/need and ORs arenk’t run at full capacity because they need staff and will need money to pay the staff. In general Canada pays healthcare workers more than many other countries which is why we are seeing an influx of healthcare workers from UK, Ireland, etc. Contrary to popular belief Canadian doctors aren’t moving to US like it was the 90s. Nurses have more incentive to move. We also need to increase capacity for other healthcare techs (ultrasound, MRI, etc.) and increase the number of medical lab workers. We have significantly less training spots than we need.

Doctors aren’t actually the biggest tissue except GPs but they are the issue that gets the most attention. There are efforts to make IMG licensing easier. There have been a few more countries added to the list of countries where medical education and training is evaluated as similar enough to Canada’s that transition to practicing in Canada is mostly paperwork. The paperwork should be processed much more quickly and paper copies and duplicates of things seem ridiculous these days but hopefully that is slowly getting better. There is an attempt to make relicensing more of a checklist versus having to repeat full years of residency but in certain countries there are large inconsistencies depending on what med school you attend and what hospital you work at. Canada also wants to ensure they are doing their due diligence before licensing a physician. You also want to ensure residents and fellows get enough experience so you can’t easily add numerous people to every year of residency. Canada also has a limited amount of teaching hospitals so using regional hospitals to do some training is being implemented or discussed depending on where you are doing your training,

 

[Mancini]

Thank you @canuck78 so much for all the detailed explanation, I read it all, it is really shocking and sad
I had before only few ideas from here and there, but your comment provides a much clearer insight.
Thank you again.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you @canuck78 so much for all the detailed explanation, I read it all, it is really shocking and sad
I had before only few ideas from here and there, but your comment provides a much clearer insight.
Thank you again.

These are known issue yet most government keep ignoring the issue or making things worse. All provincial governments are paying a fortune for agency nurses but fight to deny increase in compensation for nurses or to be more flexible with scheduling. It is a death spiral. The government refuses to address the issues in nursing so conditions for nurses get worse leading to more leaving which leads to more dependence on agency nurses at a higher rates. Filling leftover residency spots that IMGs want to fill would be easy to fix and it is embarrassing that is still hasn’t happened. What works for the first round doesn’t work for the 2nd round when most IMGs live in the larger cities but would be willing to move anywhere in Canada to do their residency. The programs and IMGs can only rank a small number of programs and both have to select each other to be matched. Like a dating app. Should be a system where IMGs agree to do a GP residency anywhere in Canada and you join a list and CARMs goes down the list every year and leftover people are first for the next year. May also have to be an agreement to remain in the community for 2-3 years post residency like underserved community IMG licensing programs in SK and BC. This isn’t rocket science.

To be fair almost all countries in the world are facing significant healthcare issues so Canada is not alone. The fact that healthcare is governed provincially makes changes more difficult and it seems to be much easier to ignore the problem and make decision that have been proven to worsen the situation and cost more. The government need actual healthcare workers to be implementing changes not people with a financial interest and who don’t really really care if they solve the problems. If looking for a new job try to secure one that comes with extended health benefits.

 

[ref19to22]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

this is a great step, most refugee claimants ive come across dont know that therapy is covered under IFHP.

as others have said, you will need a referral from a family doctor and i understand you dont have one yet, but I know people have gotten referrals from walk in clinics as well. that would be the first step along with looking for a family doctor that has capacity to take new patients.

I fully utilized this when i was a claimant (2019-2022) and saw a therapist regularly who directly billed the government/blue cross-medavie for my sessions. i did not pay for any sessions, but i did work with my therapist to ensure she could get approval for my sessions from insurance and directly bill them.

my doctor gave me a referral letter that my therapist submitted and insurance and was approved for 10 sessions. if you are in need of more sessions your doctor needs to provide you with an updated letter, and that needs to be resubmitted. its pretty straightforward, just annoying to have to do.

im based in ontario and I had a therapist paid for by IFHP for ~2yrs and got on all the waitlists and into group therapy at community run programs before that as well.

good luck and take care!

 

[online counselling]

Greetings,

I am a refugee claimant looking forward to get therapy and mental health support. I am covered Under the IFHP insurance and I want to know what my options are based on my current situation paying for therapy is something out of my reach. I’m situated in Montreal, Quebec.

thank you.

Hi There ,
You can try Local Non Charitable Organization that get funding from IRCC for mental health support . Here in Alberta, EMCN provides free counselling support for refugee claimants. If you are open to online counselling services at very low price or Sliding Scale , you can try following websites:

https://ouronlinetherapy.com/

https://onlinecounseling.ca/

or look for immigrant counsellors from these directories who sometimes offer FREE counselling !

https://therapistfinder.ca/

https://linksite.ca/

https://ecounselling.ca/

Thank you

 

[Jeittynoz]

I found calling mentalhealthhotline easier than trying to get help in person, especially with my schedule. If you're trying to help friend who is depressed, encouraging them to try virtual counseling might be a good step—they can talk to someone without leaving home, which made a big difference for my cousin who was really struggling too.