Are you wondering how our young people are doing? Some are doing well. But between 2019 and 2021, there was a 27% increase in new prescriptions for antidepressants among young people under 18, according to the Régis de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). You read that correctly: 27%!
Depression is like having a fever that lasts more than two weeks – it’s a sign that something is wrong. This deserves an investigation to identify the causes and treat them. Would only Tylenols be recommended for a young person who has had a fever for more than two weeks?
The causes of depression can be almost endless and are often multifactorial: feeling like you are not worth much because of conflicting relationships in your family or in your love life, having experienced a difficult event such as an increasing flood helplessness already felt, being overcome with shame when you have done nothing wrong or made a mistake that you see as unforgivable, etc.
We fully understand the situation in which doctors find themselves faced with the suffering of young people, and we do not in any way criticize the fact that some prescribe antidepressants. The problem is not there !
We know that a phenomenal number of young people suffer from depression and that it is an illness that can be fatal. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in Quebec and surpasses cancer. Why don’t young people who suffer from depression receive the same attention? Why can they very rarely have access to specialists who can treat depression?
Doctors are doing what they can to protect and help young people when the treatment of choice, psychotherapy, is rarely available.
Medication is undoubtedly essential in certain situations, but it is recommended to combine it with psychotherapy in the vast majority of cases. Medication alone has limited effects and does not help young people learn to tolerate distress, change their interaction pattern with others, better manage their emotions, learn to cope with their trauma, etc. Psychotherapy is a scientifically recognized treatment and its practice is protected by law. In Quebec, approximately 80% of professionals who can practice psychotherapy are psychologists.
Decrease in the number of psychologists
Obviously, all the professionals (psychoeducators, social workers, special education technicians, etc.) are essential in helping our young people. Moreover, we are delighted with the government’s figures which show that more and more people are working in the health care network.
However, in contrast, the number of psychologists has fallen markedly and steadily for more than a decade in the network, despite the fact that Quebec has the highest ratio of psychologists per capita in North America.
In fact, the majority of psychologists work in private practice and our most vulnerable young people are not able to consult them. It is therefore currently almost impossible to provide the right care at the right time due to an artificial shortage of psychologists in our network.
It is high time to bring psychologists back to our schools, CEGEPs, CLSCs, hospitals, rehabilitation centers and youth centers. They will thus be able to offer the treatment recommended in the first instance for depression in young people, namely psychotherapy and come and help their colleagues overwhelmed by human suffering. Small bonus: psychotherapy is less expensive for Quebec than antidepressants!
We therefore have a choice: to continue in the direction of medication for psychological suffering or to make every effort to offer the range of services appropriate to this condition, including psychotherapy.
We are the adults. Our young people trust us. We have a collective responsibility to improve access to psychotherapy in our public network. Let’s give mental health its rightful place!
* Co-signers: Catherine Serra Poirier, psychologist and vice-president liaison of the Coalition of psychologists of the Quebec public network; Connie scuccimarri, psychologist and administrator of the Coalition of Psychologists of the Quebec Public Network; Stephanie Sylvain-Roy, neuropsychologist; Youssef Allami, psychologist and administrator of the Coalition of Psychologists of the Quebec Public Network; Beatrice Filion, psychologist and vice-president secretary of the Coalition of psychologists of the Quebec public network; Loredana Marchica, psychologist and communications manager for the Coalition of Psychologists of the Quebec Public Network; Marc-André Pinard, psychologist and administrator of the Coalition of Psychologists of the Quebec Public Network
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