The University of Manitoba is expanding its clinical psychology program this fall in an effort to boost the number of trained professionals practising in the province, where the per capita rate of clinical psychologists is among the lowest in Canada.
The number of seats in the U of M’s masters and doctoral clinical psychology program has been increased to 12 for September, up from eight in previous years, with a plan to expand to 16 seats next fall.
“It’s going to mean better access to psychological care for Manitobans. It doesn’t seem like a big number … but really, we’re doubling our program,” said Kristin Reynolds, associate professor and clinical training director in the U of M’s psychology department.
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The number of seats in the U of M’s masters and doctoral clinical psychology program has been increased to 12 for September, up from eight in previous years, with a plan to expand to 16 seats next fall.
“Where we now have 50 students in the program, from the first year of the masters to more senior years in doctoral studies, in the years to come, we’ll have more like 100.”
In Manitoba, there are 20.2 clinical psychologists per 100,000 people, recent Canadian Institute for Health Information figures show. That ranks last in the country among the provinces. Saskatchewan, for example, has 43.3 clinical psychologists per 100,000, while Ontario has 28.6 per 100,000.
Numbers from the Psychological Association of Manitoba, the profession’s regulatory body, indicate there are about 226 registered psychologists in the province, who provide health services across various areas, including clinical psychology.
Reynolds said the low number of clinical psychologists — who provide psychological assessments, treatments and consultations in hospitals, primary care facilities and in the community — puts a strain on the professionals themselves and leaves patients waiting.
“For psychologists who are practising, I think (the shortage) means long wait times, and that’s frustrating for psychologists. We care, we want to provide fast access to services, wait times are an issue, but you can only see a certain number of people in a day,” said Reynolds.
“For the public, who are sometimes waiting up to six months or a year to be seen for a psychological assessment, to be seen for intervention, for therapy, to get much needed attention for anxiety or depression or other types of mental health problems, it will mean getting seen sooner, and when problems are maybe not quite as severe, or are at earlier stages of development. The earlier people can get access to care, the better, in terms of outcomes and prognosis.”
She said the shortage has been an issue across service areas.
CIHI figures indicate about a quarter of practising clinical psychologists in the province are older than 60, raising concerns the shortage could worsen as more people retire.
Reynolds said she is optimistic the U of M’s program expansion, as well as potentially bringing in other training models, will alleviate the challenge of retirements.
“I think the biggest challenge is being able to expand, hire faculty members and to continue to have resources to expand in the future.”
Reynolds said another training model could be a psychology doctorate program, which she said would focus more on clinical training than research. The current U of M program requires a master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation in addition to clinical studies. The length of study for the program is about seven years.
As for the low rate of psychologists in Manitoba compared to the rest of the country, Reynolds thinks a number of factors are at play. The government has historically not valued and focused on mental health, though that is changing, Reynolds said, and the U of M’s program has only been open to a limited number of applicants, so some potential psychologists have chosen to study and practise elsewhere.
The public health system, she said, also needs to recruit and retain psychologists with pay commensurate with levels elsewhere in the country.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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