Dr Kelly Fleming

I have always had issues with anger and delusions. I was raised in a society where no one spoke about mental health issues. It was and still is a stigmatized issue.

My Mum had depression and PTSD and rather than counseling being available to her for her to live a more fulfilling and comfortable life, she was simply given barbiturates to “solve the problem”. It wasn’t a solution.

Even today, many responses from doctors are to turn to medication. In Canada, medication is covered by insurance even if you receive social assistance. Counseling is not.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in my 20s. Later I was also diagnosed with PTSD in my 30s. Psychiatric diagnosis was covered by insurance. Follow-up counseling was not covered.

During the pandemic, CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) opened their doors to providing virtual peer group support for a vast array of educational programs and peer group “therapy”. The word “therapy” is in quotes as the services didn’t exactly provide therapy according to counseling services. They were run by facilitators who had gone through counseling programs and educational sessions to learn various methods of techniques to deal with mental health issues.

This was a life saver for me and had this been available to me 30 years ago, my life would have taken a complete different turn.

I learned how to build my toolbox of skills to handle my anger, trust issues, boundaries and so much more. It took a mental breakdown and the pandemic for me to find out about these services and to sign up to receive the help I needed.

I wish I had learnt these skills when my parents were still alive, my relationship with them would have been so much better. I could have helped my Mum receive access to the help she needed and helped her enjoy life more.

As a result of these services, my friendships and my family relationships are so much stronger. Some people close to me also began to take part in these services and the change I’ve seen in their lives is absolutely remarkable.

Sadly, counseling is still not readily available. Psychiatrists have left CMHA which was covered under general Canadian health insurance to start private practices. Once they started private practice they were no longer available to people who cannot afford out of pocket payment and the list of those who are covered under general health insurance is sadly inadequate for the growing number of people who are seeking help.

One to one counseling is still not covered by most insurance companies and to the vast majority of people who live with mental health issues who are under the poverty line.

I was accepted by a therapist who specialized in PTSD in another country after I finished my skills (what we call a toolbox) learning to tackle some of the major issues of my PTSD. The list of specialists available in my area was extremely long.

Finding this therapist has an interesting story. I read a random book I found on Kobo that seemed interesting to me and I related to so many issues this woman had personally experienced. At the end of the book it stated that she was a therapist. So I searched for her online. It wasn’t an easy task. I finally found an email address and briefly told her my story. To my surprise, she wrote back the following day and offered to take me on as a patient. This came at a very high price of out of pocket expenses but I knew it was something I needed to be able to move forward in my life. I saw her every week via video chat for six months until I was in too much debt to continue my therapy. In those six months we tackled most of the main issues of my PTSD. Enough for me to be able to move forward alongside my toolbox of skills I had learnt.

I wish I had access to these resources at least 25 years ago. I know my life would have been more stable in regards to my mental health.

I still take medication to regulate my Bipolar Disorder and I’ll have to take it for the rest of my life.

I’m a better parent because I went through the program. I enjoy my life more. I learnt about the importance of self-care. I learnt about boundaries and toxic people and situations and how to avoid or get out of them. Most importantly, I learnt to love myself.

Counseling should not be a privilege, it should be a right for people with mental health issues.

More people would have more stable lives and productivity of these services were available en masse to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.