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phd in mental health canada

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

  • PhD: Social and Behavioural Health Sciences
  • Our Programs
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Overview

The PhD course of study includes a set of common requirements with flexibility to enable the student to pursue a unique learning experience tailored to his/her learning needs and research problem focus.  The program permits students to pursue their area of interest from different levels of understanding and theoretical perspectives.

The program enables students to take advantage of what the university/program faculty has to offer, and assists them in tailoring their studies according to their own experiences, scholarly interests, career direction and aspirations.  This program also participates and encourages participation in a variety of interdisciplinary graduate University of Toronto Collaborative Specializations .

Features of the program:

  • Emphasizes the application of concepts, theories, models and methods concerned with the structures and processes that underlie health and health promotion, illness, premature mortality, injury and disability;
  • Emphasizes research methodology (philosophy and design) and research methods (techniques);
  • Seeks to develop substantive knowledge and critical analytic ability at multiple levels of analysis, from the “micro” individual level to the “macro” societal level;
  • Fosters a reflexive and critical perspective on theory and methodology; and
  • Adopts a model of independent student scholarship.

The requirements of the   PhD Program in Social & Behavioural Health Sciences (SBHS) include:

  • Qualifying exam
  • Thesis proposal defense
  • Thesis defense: A) Departmental defense B) Final oral examination

Admission Requirements

The application deadline for the September 2024 start was on November 24th at 11:59pm EST .   See Application Process  for information about the admission process.  Click  here  to view minimum application requirements for a PhD Program. Click here for information on our  funding package  and for information on the university’s  funding policies . To identify potential supervisors, please visit our  faculty database  which is searchable by research interest. While you are not required to have a confirmed match with a supervisor at the time of your application, it is strongly recommended that you list one or more potential supervisors in your letter of intent to help demonstrate fit with our program. Prospective students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in advance to determine their capacity to take on new doctoral students.

Additional Admission Requirements for the PhD

  • A match between the student’s research area and potential supervisor’s expertise
  • Background (course, experience) in social sciences and/or health sciences
  • Graduate level quantitative or qualitative methods courses/background

Course Requirements

Coursework (reflects minimum requirements)

Course Requirements (3.0 FCE)

Required Courses:

  • CHL5101H : Social and Behavioural Theory and Health
  • CHL5102H : Social and Political Forces in Health Care
  • To be selected according to the student’s interests and educational needs, in consultation with the supervisor.
  • By the end of their degree, students should aim to have working knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative methods, and to achieve proficiency in one of these approaches.
  • 2 electives

Please note that students can satisfy coursework requirements with courses from across the DLSPH and University of Toronto. We encourage students to seek out such courses.

Qualifying Examination

The purpose of the qualifying exam (QE) is to assess the student’s capacity to understand, apply, and compare theoretical perspectives that are taught in the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (SBHS) core theory courses (CHL5101H and CHL5102H). Specifically, the QE process will assess the student’s ability to theorize a topic using two different theoretical approaches and to propose theoretically sophisticated research questions that would advance the student’s topic area of interest and may be used for the dissertation. The qualifying examination is written during the months of May and June of the student’s first year.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED QUALIFYING EXAM GUIDELINES

Thesis Proposal Defense

The thesis proposal defense is a requirement for candidacy and for full-time students, should be completed by April of the second year, or earlier if possible.

The purpose of the proposal defense is to:

  • Ensure that the proposed research will result in a successful PhD dissertation.
  • Strengthen the thesis question, theoretical framework, design, and methods through critical feedback.
  • Assess the student’s ability to conduct independent and original research.
  • Assess the student’s knowledge base relevant to their thesis topic.
  • Provide a formal approval to proceed with the dissertation research.

DETAILED proposal defense GUIDELINES

Supervision

Successful applicants will have research interests congruent with those of one or more members of faculty. Thus, applicants are strongly encouraged to seek out potential supervisors, and discuss with them the possibility of studying under their supervision, prior to applying to the degree program. Applicants should note that identifying a potential supervisor does not guarantee admission. PhD students must be supervised by a faculty member who has an appointment in the Division of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences (SBHS) and Full Membership in the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).  A co-supervisor generally will be a faculty member with Associate Membership in the SGS. Other faculty in Public Health Sciences outside of SBHS  may be eligible to supervise with the approval of the Program Director.  The Program Director must approve the final selection of the primary supervisor and co-supervisor. The faculty supervisor may be confirmed prior to beginning the program, and should be in place by the end of the first term.  Students are encouraged to explore broadly and have wide-ranging discussions with potential supervisors.

Upon admission to the PhD Program, students and supervisors should review and complete the Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences PhD Student-Supervisor Conversation Checklist .

Students have the right to appropriate assistance and guidance from their supervisors. Supervisors and students are required to meet on a regular basis throughout the program to discuss academic, financial and personal matters related to the student’s progress. Students should assume responsibility for contacting the supervisor, arranging meetings, and setting agenda for committee meetings.

In rare circumstances, it may be necessary for students to change their area of research and/or their supervisor. In these cases, the first step would be for students to discuss the potential change with their supervisor and/or PhD Program Director.

Supervisor Role and Responsibilities

The supervisor is responsible for providing mentorship to the student through all phases of the PhD program. Thus; to the extent possible, the supervisor will guide the selection of courses, dissertation topic, supervisory committee membership, and supervisory committee meetings; will assist with applications for funding; will provide funding to the student directly when it is possible for them to do so; and will provide references for the student on a timely basis. The supervisor also will provide feedback on the student’s selection of theories and reading lists for the qualifying examination. The supervisor will guide the development of the student’s research proposal, and the implementation and conduct of all aspects of the research; advise on writing the dissertation; correct drafts and approve the final dissertation; and attend the defense.

For more information about student and supervisor roles and responsibilities, please see the School of Graduate Studies Graduate Supervision Guidelines .

Supervisory Committee

With the assistance of the supervisor, and with the approval of the Program Director, the student will assemble a Supervisory Committee no later than the end of their second term in the program (i.e., by May of their first year).

Composition of the Supervisory Committee

The Supervisory Committee generally will comprise the supervisor and at least two members who hold either Full or Associate Membership in the SGS and may or may not hold a primary appointment in SBHS. Between these individuals and the supervisor, there should be expertise in all substantive, theoretical and methodological areas relevant to the Student’s research focus and dissertation proposal.

Supervisory Committee meetings will be held at least every six (6) months throughout the student’s PhD program. More regular meetings should be held with the supervisor. Under certain circumstances (e.g., during times of very rapid progress), the student and the Supervisory Committee may decide there is a need for more frequent meetings.

At the end of every meeting of the Supervisory Committee, the student and the Committee will complete the Supervisory Committee Meeting Report . All present must sign the report; in case the meeting is held virtually, the supervisor and committee members can e-sign the report. A scanned or paper copy of the report should be e-mailed/delivered to the SBHS Admin Assistant at sbhs.dlsph@utoronto.ca .

The Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences will keep a copy of the report in the student’s progress file.

Progress Through the PhD

The phases of the PhD program are identified by a set of accomplishments which the student generally will attain in order, and within a satisfactory time. These phases, which will be monitored by the Program Director of the PhD program, are the identification of the Supervisor and the Supervisory Committee, completion of required and elective course work, completion of the qualifying examination, defense of the research proposal, and defense of the dissertation (both Departmental and SGS). Full-time students are expected to complete the PhD within four years. Flex-time students may take longer, but not more than eight years; they must submit a revised list of milestones, for approval by the Supervisor and the Program Director.

 view the SBHS PhD Timeline

Dissertation

The PhD dissertation must demonstrate an original contribution to scholarship. The nature of the dissertation is agreed upon by the supervisor and the student, in consultation with a Thesis Committee.  The Student should aim to defend the dissertation within four years of entry into the PhD program. The defense of the dissertation will take place in two stages: first, a Departmental defense, second, a formal defense (the Final Oral Examination) before a University committee according to procedures established by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). The two defenses generally are separated by at least eight weeks.

a)  Departmental Defense:

The Departmental defense will be held after the completed dissertation has been approved by all members of the student’s Supervisory Committee, and the completion of the final Supervisory Committee meeting report. The purpose of this defense is to rehearse the oral presentation for the SGS defense and to determine whether the student is ready for the SGS defense.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED departmental defense procedureS

b)  School of Graduate Studies Final Oral Examination (FOE)

Arrangements for the PhD Final Oral Defense and for the preparation of the final thesis are given at length in the SGS calendar. The dissertation and the necessary documents must be submitted at least eight weeks prior to the oral exam. See the Graduate Department of Public Health Science  academic policies for forms and information for thesis preparation, including guidelines on multiple paper dissertations, and arranging the defense.

  • Click here for Guidelines on Multiple Paper Dissertations
  • Click here  for Producing Your Thesis guidelines on SGS website
  • Click here  for Final Oral Exam Guidelines on SGS website

Student Profiles & Contact

Name Supervisor Research Interests/Dissertation

(she/her)

 

 Islamophobia; mental health; health service utilization

2SLGBTQ+ mental health and wellbeing, Latin American Feminisms, critical qualitative research, mixed-methods, globalization, gender

“Project DaRE – Deciding, Resisting and Existing: Autonomy and mental wellbeing of adult LGBTQ+ women in Mexico.”

https://proyectodare.com/investigacion/

 

&

Rural migration and health, multi-level governance, health systems, and political economy of health

“Adapting to Diversity: An Exploratory Case Study of Health and Social Service Responses to Immigrant Needs in Rural North Okanagan and Shuswap Regions, British Columbia”

Human trafficking; Child sexual exploitation; Health systems research; Mixed methods; Intersectionality; Human rights

“Improving child sex trafficking identification, intervention, and referral practices in Ontario pediatric Emergency Departments: An intersectional mixed methods study”
Black Women’s Mental Health and Service Access

(she/her)

 

Immigrant and Racialized workers; Work and Health; Precarious Employment; Work Injury and Illnesses; Workers’ Compensation; Health Equality; Systemic Discrimination; Social Justice; Labour and Welfare Policies; Linguistic Minorities.

“An intersectional political economy study examining how social and economic policies influence employment and health inequalities among marginalized workers in Canada”
(she/her)

End of life/palliative care, healthcare financing and policy, health inequity, resource allocation ethics and institutional ethnography

“Die, die must live?: An Institutional Ethnography of Palliative Care in Singapore”

Gender-based violence, public health policy, global health, intersectionality, mental illness and substance use, stigma and discrimination

“Gender-based violence policy implementation in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana”
(she/her)

Drug policy; global health systems; pharmaceutical violence; sociomaterial methods

“Accountability in the Aftermath of Purdue: A Network Analysis of Global Health Systems”

 

&

 Settler colonialism, surveillance, carcerality, parenthood, health equity, critical qualitative research

End-of-life care; volunteerism; ethnography

“Things Living and Left Behind: An Ethnographic Study of Legacy Activities in End-of-Life Care”

(she/her)

&

Critical posthumanism, critical disability studies, death, grief & mourning, arts-based method/ologies

“Feeling Climate Change: Experiences of Ecological Emotions on Urban Farms”

Drug policy / the regulation of psychoactive substances (e.g. alcohol, cannabis, opioids)

“What Is a Public Health Approach to Substance Use? An Investigation in Three Parts”

(she/her)

&

Addressing cervical cancer screening inequities in Ontario, with a particular focus on South Asian women.

“Using concept mapping to understand how the lives and experiences of South Asian women living in Ontario shape their decisions around getting screened for cervical cancer.”

(she/her)

 

 Communicable disease and climate change prevention, adaptation, and preparation; trust in science/public health; health equity; community-engaged participatory research; feminist socio-critical theory; environmental and social determinants of health; art and nature as research practice.

(he/him and they/them)

&

2SLGBTQIA+ health; BIPOC health; South Asian health; sexual health; mental health; Critical Race Theory; Intersectionality; Minority Stress; Community-Based Participatory Research; Mixed-Methods Research

“How do systems of oppression impact access to sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection prevention services for queer South Asian men? An intersectional mixed-methods study.”

(he/him)

Commercial Determinants of Health; Interpretive Policy Analysis; Political Sociology; Discourse and Framing Analysis; Tobacco/Nicotine; Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Opioids

“Discourse Coalitions and Problem Definitions of the Canadian Prescription Opioid Policies”
(she/her)

My academic and research interests include access to healthcare systems, sexual health and reproductive justice, and mental health and wellbeing. I am particularly interested in exploring the effects of public health policy on health outcomes, with a focus on Black and minority populations. I focus on collaborative community-focused research that is participatory in nature as well as work that is action-oriented and focused on systems change.

“Exploring Restraint Use in Psychiatric Hospital Settings from the Perspective of Black Mental Healthcare Workers”

(they/she)

2SLGBQTAI+ reproductive and sexual health equity at the intersection of midwifery and perinatal services; critical qualitative methodologies.

“A critical narrative inquiry into the experiences of queer, trans and nonbinary midwifery service-users in Ontario”

 

(she/her)

Sexuality, youth, disability, qualitative research, Intersectionality, arts-based methodologies

“The sexual subjectivity of youth with physical disabilities: An arts-based study in Ontario, Canada”

 

Women’s experiences of healthcare; diagnostic delay; critical qualitative health research; gender equity; 2SLGBTQ+ equity; patient oriented care; structural determinants of health

“Examining the Structural Determinants of Diagnostic Delays Through the Experiences of Ontario Women: A critical phenomenology and intersectional study”

(he/him)

 

Global Health, work and health, critical qualitative research, Latin American Social Medicine theory

“Solidarity Economies amid COVID-19: Learning from Collective Decision-Making in Costa Rican Cooperatives”

(she/her)

 

Black Populations, Critical Race Theory, Critical Disability Studies, Community-Based Research

“Exploring the systemic, cultural, and social barriers to disability support service seeking for Black disabled Canadians: A constructivist grounded theory study”

(she/her)

Race, ethnocultural identity, Black and immigrant populations, structural racism, public health policies, intersectionality, diabetes, mixed methods, nurse migration and professional recertification, and global health

“How do socio-structural determinants of health shape the experiences of Black Canadians with type 2 diabetes?”

(he/him)

&

Homelessness, peer-support, primary care, medicalization, ethnography, implementation science

“The integration of peer-support workers in a community based primary care clinic offering services to people experiencing homelessness in Montreal”

Migration and health, health inequity, human rights, temporary labour migration, health ethics, social justice, qualitative health research

“Is the right to health for all? Health inequity among temporary migrant farmworkers in Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program”.

&

Women’s health, reproductive health, gender-based analysis, intersectionality, health equity, gendered pathologies, medicalization

“Diving into the Archives of the Cysterhood: A Qualitative Study to Examine the Gendered Medicalization of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome”

&

 Workplace health promotion, mental health, sex and gender

&

Mental health system consumer and survivor research, self-management, harm reduction, law and health, illicit drug use, online health communities, qualitative research, grounded theory

“What it means to use psychedelics to self-treat depression and anxiety, how people do it successfully, and why more people are doing it: A grounded theory study”

(she/her)

 

Critical post-humanism (e.g., Deleuze-Guattari), critical autism studies, the neurodiversity movement, post-qualitative inquiry

“Unmasking Neurodiversity in Neoliberal Canada: Autistic Narratives at Work”

Dementia care; aging; childhood; arts-based research methods

“Exploring relationships between people living with dementia in long-term care homes and children: a narrative ethnographic study”

 

(she/her)

&

 Reproductive Justice, abolition, prison health, criminalization and health intersection, racial equity, BIPOC women’s health, contraception and abortion provision

(he/him)

&

 LGBTQ+ health, LGBTQ+ aging, HIV prevention, PrEP care continuum, social network, behaviour change theory

(she/her)

 

 Experiences of aging and precarity; critical gerontology; cultural gerontology; critical qualitative research; loneliness and social isolation; health and social inequity

Indigenous methodologies, community-based participatory research, qualitative research, Indigenous knowledge mobilization

“nikan oti wapahtamowin: Advancing the Future of Public Health for Indigenous Peoples of Canada”

Health research, HIV prevention, Black populations, race & racism, gender, scientific racism, Black studies, critical race theory, critical narrative analysis.

“Examining Black women’s experiences of accessing HIV services: a critical narrative explorations of race and racism”

 

&

Autism studies, Autistic Communication, Posthumanism, Critical Disability Studies

 

(she/her)

Housing, Homelessness, Gender, Harm Reduction, Substance Use, Critical Qualitative Research, Community-Based Research

“Safe Supply, housing, and social services as Gendered Phenomenon: Implications on the ontological security of women who use drugs”

 

Cancer, coordination of care, digital health, implementation science, community-based research, program evaluation

Health and wellness, mental health, conflict resolution, family mediation, qualitative research

“Experiences and Expectations of Parents and Mediators in Family Mediation Services.”

(she/her)

Program evaluation & design, qualitative research, knowledge translation, health promotion, youth engagement, communication networks, reflexivity, substance use & regulation

“A Utilisation Focused Implementation Process Evaluation of School-Based Peer Education Intervention in Central Alberta Elementary and Secondary Schools”

(he/him)

 

 Public health policy; illness narrative; ethnography; pandemic response.

(he/him)

Ecological public health, decolonial health promotion, Indigenous research, political ontology, narrative research, ethnography, intersectoral action, homelessness prevention

“How do we foster pluriversal forms of ecological public health education? From the limits of modernity to the contributions of people in El Salto and Juacatlán, Mexico”

(she/her)

Substance use, gender, harm reduction, mixed methods

“Pregnancy, Parenting and Opioids in Ontario: A mixed methods life course study”

(he/him)

&

Sexual minority young men; Asian-Canadian; mental health; stigma; online dating apps; intersectionality; minority stress theory; qualitative methods.

“Examining the Experiences of Intracommunity Stigma Among Asian-Canadian Sexual Minority Young Men Using Mobile Dating Apps”

&

Social theory, qualitative methods, critical health psychology, bioethics, stigma, grief and bereavement, medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

“Life after MAiD: A narrative analysis of passive loved ones’ bereavement”

(they/them)

Queer health; sexual and gender minority health; mental health; online dating apps; virtual socio-sexual spaces; human-technology interactions.

“A Reparative Analysis of Dating App Use and Wellbeing Among Queer Adults in Canada: A Mixed Methods Study”

(she/her)

&

2SLGBTQ+ health; psychosocial oncology; online health communities; intersectionality; mixed methods research; health equity

“Exploring online support group (OSG) use among sexual and gender diverse (SGD) people diagnosed with breast/chest cancer in Canada: A mixed-methods study”

Jewish Health, Indigenous Cultural Safety, Community Wellbeing, Health Equity

“The Health of the Kehillah (Community): Jewish Community Wellbeing & Relationships with Indigenous Nations in Southern Ontario”

Traditional and Indigenous food systems and nutrition; diffusion of innovation; culinary studies; food perceptions and spiritual meaning; mixed methods; art-based food education; maternal and child nutrition; food media

“Using Mixed Methods to Understand how Infant Formula Marketing, Communication Channels, and Traditional Health Beliefs Affect Exclusive Breastfeeding among Women in Palawan, Philippines”

Chronic episodic disability; disclosure of private information in the workplace, the co-workers’ role in workplace communication and support processes, impression management, communication privacy management.

“Understanding the role of co-workers in the support, communication and disability disclosure process of people working with chronic episodic disabilities”

(they/them)

&

 2SLGBTQ+ mental health, critical psychiatry, critical theory, queer theory, trans studies, biopolitics, critical political economy, cultural studies, new materialism(s)

(she/they)

Migration, wellbeing improvement, health practices, mutual care, community-based approaches, critical ethnography

“Keeping well: an ethnographic community-based exploration of Chinese seniors’ wellbeing-related practices in Toronto, Canada”

phd in mental health canada


Mental Health graduate and post-graduate programs and degrees offered in Canada.

Browse and compare over 10,000 master's, graduate certificate, doctorate (PHD) and residency programs offered in universities, faculties and research centres across Canada.

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Study and Work in Mental Health in Canada

Graduate Mental Health Admission Requirements The prequisites required to become accepted in an graduate and/or post-graduate PhD program in Mental Health.

What Mental Health Students Learn Topics and concepts that are covered and the overall approach or focus taken in studying Mental Health.

Research in Mental Health Research areas, topics, interests projects in Mental Health.

Career and Employment Opportunities in Mental Health Professions or occupations available to graduates in Mental Health and links to employment resources.

















Mental health studies deal primarily with abnormal psychological processes, pathologies of the mind, and their treatment. Examples of mental health problems include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

Mental health studies are similar to psychiatry; however psychiatry is mainly a medical doctor specialty, whereas mental health studies do not usually result in a MD designation.

Mental health studies are similar to psychiatry and psychology. It is also related to cognitive science and social work.


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M.Sc. in Psychiatry Research

Developing skills in research, master's in psychiatry research.

The two year graduate program equips students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as professionals in clinical and neuroscience research concerning mental health and illness.The coursework covers relevant current topics including clinical trials, genetics, neuroimaging, participatory research, psychotherapy research, early interventions, and personalized psychiatry. Students will improve their skills in critical appraisal, study design, statistics, data analysis, and scientific writing. Each student will complete an independent Master's thesis research project under the supervision of one of our faculty. You will find a list of faculty supervisors and possible thesis projects on our  supervisors page .

The deadline for new applicants to the September 2024 class is Dec. 1, 2023 . This includes references and supporting documentation sent by email to Anila Balakrishnan .  

PhD in Psychiatry Research

This three-to-five-year graduate program equips students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as doctoral-level professionals in clinical and neuroscience research concerning mental health and illness. The coursework covers advanced statistics and experiential psychiatry, as well as two comprehensives. Students will achieve advanced level skills in critical appraisal, study design, statistics, complex data analysis, scientific writing, and understanding of psychiatric illnesses. Each student will complete independent Doctoral dissertation research under the supervision of one of our faculty. You will find a list of faculty supervisors and possible thesis projects on our  supervisors page .

The deadline for new applicants to the September 2024 class is  Dec. 1, 2023 .This includes references and supporting documentation sent by email to Anila Balakrishnan .  

Find out more about the programs:

  • How to apply

Email Anila Balakrishnan, Research Coordinator, at [email protected]

Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University 5909 Veterans' Memorial Lane, 8th Floor Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building QEII Health Sciences Centre Halifax, NS   B3H 2E2   Canada

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phd in mental health canada

phd in mental health canada

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD)
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Go to programs search

The Counselling Psychology Program, in line with the mission of the research-intensive University of British Columbia, creates, advances and critically examines knowledge in counselling psychology, especially with respect to its validity, applicability, limits, and interface with other disciplines. In developing and applying pertinent and innovative research methodologies, the Counselling Psychology Program relies upon and builds qualitative and quantitative evidence to determine effective counselling interventions in educational, community, health, and occupational settings.

Our Doctoral Program is accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association and follows the scientist-practitioner model for the education of counselling psychologists: students receive a substantial education as both researchers and professional psychologists.  Designed for those with relevant experience who want to gain doctoral level competence, this program enhances research, counselling theory, and counselling skills.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

The program adheres to a scientist-practitioner model, which aligns with my values. Being in a program that emphasizes the importance of research and clinical practice informing each other and provides opportunities for students to grow in both areas was the fit I was looking for.

phd in mental health canada

Christine Yu

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, 1) check eligibility, minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

  • Canada or the United States
  • International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 90

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is required by all applicants.

2) Meet Deadlines

September 2025 intake, application open date, canadian applicants, international applicants, deadline explanations.

Deadline to submit online application. No changes can be made to the application after submission.

Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.

Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

  • Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD)

Criminal record check, citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
$114.00$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition $1,838.57$3,230.06
Tuition
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)		$5,515.71$9,690.18
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year ( ) $3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
(yearly)$1,116.60 (approx.)
Estimate your with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Average Funding

  • 2 students received Teaching Assistantships. Average TA funding based on 2 students was $10,800.
  • 8 students received Research Assistantships. Average RA funding based on 8 students was $7,089.
  • 1 student received Academic Assistantships valued at $2,700.
  • 14 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 14 students was $12,751.
  • 9 students received external awards. Average external award funding based on 9 students was $25,370.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Outcomes

52 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 50 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):

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Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample employers outside higher education, sample job titles outside higher education, phd career outcome survey, career options.

Students will be prepared for careers as researchers, practitioners, and educators in a wide variety of settings including academic, clinical, community, business, private practice, and research. Our graduates hold positions such as staff psychologist, research manager, professor, director, department head, clinical counsellor, vocational rehabilitation consultant, team leader, behavioural consultant, group facilitator, and psychoanalyst.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

 20232022202120202019
Applications1321171925
Offers32346
New Registrations22345
Total Enrolment3132323537

Completion Rates & Times

  • Research Supervisors

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

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This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Bedi, Robinder (Counselling psychology; Investigating counselling and psychotherapy as Western cultural healing practices; Counselling psychology disciplinary and professional issues in Canada; Heterodox issues in counselling psychology that challenge its dominant narratives and sacred ideas; Counselling/psychotherapy/mental health with Punjabi/Sikh individuals; Neglected topics in the Psychology of Men and Masculinity)
  • Borgen, William (Career Counselling, Career/life transitions, Developmental approaches to counselling, Group counselling)
  • Cox, Daniel (Counselling psychology; Motivations and Emotions; Anxiety; depression; Mental Health and Society; stress; Suicide)
  • Haverkamp, Beth (Counselling Process Research, Ethics and Professional Issues, Research Design)
  • Hubley, Anita (Psychological and health measurement; test development and validation; adult neuropsychological, personality, and mental health topics and assessment; research with general community and vulnerable populations (e.g. elderly, homeless, drug addicted))
  • Miller, Kenneth (Mindfulness and its incorporation into mental health interventions in settings of adversity, Development of culturally grounded assessment and evaluation tools, The use of mixed-methods in intervention development and evaluation research)
  • Park, CJ (Vocational psychology; Career counseling; diversity and social justice; critical consciousness; international and cross-cultural psychology; interventions)
  • Tomfohr-Madsen, Lianne

Doctoral Citations

Year Citation
2024 Dr. Heaslip examined the unsolicited help receiving experiences of persons with visual impairments, targeting what is and isn't helpful during these interactions. The prominent themes identified were consent, assumptions, courtesy, consideration and respect. Findings were used to generate recommendations for navigating these complex interactions.
2024 Dr. Bridger interviewed Hard of Hearing (HoH) students transitioning to their neighbourhood high school. She created a theory of the transition that highlights parallels with typically hearing peers, but also amplifies barriers faced by HoH students. The theory informs HoH teens and teachers of HoH students' struggles and ways to support them.
2024 Dr. Baugh studied the barriers and facilitators of coping among women veteran survivors of military sexual trauma. Illustrated in the women veterans' narratives is the importance of safety and support to move beyond survival strategies and towards meaningful facilitators of coping, and the crucial need for systemic reformation in military culture.
2023 Dr. Huang explored the transition experiences of military veterans as they pursued post-secondary studies. The findings from the research are intended to nurture cultural awareness for the unique needs of this population, as well as to enhance practices and policies on Canadian campuses towards better supporting this student population.
2023 Dr. Gendron explored gay, bisexual, and queer men's narrative positioning in sexual stories using an innovative reflective storytelling method. Focusing on perceived possibilities and pleasures in sex, Dr. Gendron's research offers a critical response to existing frameworks that regulate sex between men and socialize men away from connection.
2023 Dr. Beyer investigated the role of embodiment in young women's experience of sexual satisfaction. Research findings illustrated how young women's experiences of embodiment are intertwined not only with sexual satisfaction, but related aspects of sexuality including sexual desire and pleasure.
2023 Dr. O'Loughlin examined the impact of traditional masculinity on Canadian Veteran men's psychosocial functioning and psychotherapeutic treatment outcome. Her research elucidates the situational nature of masculinity in the context of mental health and points to the importance of gender sensitive interventions for veteran populations.
2022 Dr. Munro examined relational processes between sexual and gender minority youth and their parents, and how these processes contribute to the youth's identity formation. Findings show a dynamic and goal-oriented identity construction process and provide insight into complex relationship processes that facilitate youth identity construction.
2022 Dr. McDaniel examined how frontline community workers maintain wellness while responding to the fentanyl overdose crisis. Participant responses focused on collective ethics, social support, work-life balance, structural supports, and individual strategies. These findings make clear the crucial need to advocate for increased worker resources.
2021 Dr. Wojcik studied how cognitive and affective processes affect trauma-related distress in adults. She found that across populations maladaptive cognitions can worsen negative self-appraisals following traumatic events. This knowledge will help improve clinical interventions for PTSD, depression, and other forms of trauma-related distress.

Sample Thesis Submissions

  • The influence of intergenerational knowledge and connections on adult adoptee sense of self
  • Ts’iyenï kwin ghineendïl (everyone came back to the fire)
  • Skilled immigrant Eastern European women doing well with career change at mid-life
  • Research-based theatre in counselling psychology : centering trans ways of knowing
  • Keep your hands to yourself and use your words : a condescendingly titled exploration of what helps and hinders people with visual impairments while receiving unsolicited help from sighted people
  • Coping is a collective responsibility : a narrative inquiry with women veterans on the barriers and facilitators of coping with military sexual trauma
  • Health and wellness for Métis youth involved with Métis family services : exploring cultural connection through Métis beadwork using photovoice
  • The process of transitioning to a mainstream high school for hard-of-hearing youth
  • Positions : possibilities and pleasures in gay, bisexual, and queer men's storytelling
  • Operation returning to school (Op RTS) : Canadian veterans’ experiences of transitioning to post-secondary studies
  • From disenfranchisement to integration : young women's narratives of embodiment and sexual satisfaction
  • The impact of traditional masculinity ideology on veteran mental health and treatment outcome

Related Programs

Same specialization.

  • Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MA)
  • Master of Education in Counselling Psychology (MEd)

Same Academic Unit

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology (PhD)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in School and Applied Child Psychology (PhD)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD)
  • Graduate Certificate in Orientation and Mobility (GCOM)
  • Master of Arts in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (MA)
  • Master of Arts in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology (MA)
  • Master of Arts in School and Applied Child Psychology (MA)
  • Master of Arts in Special Education (MA)
  • Master of Education in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (MEd)
  • Master of Education in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology (MEd)
  • Master of Education in School and Applied Child Psychology (MEd)
  • Master of Education in Special Education (MEd)

Further Information

Specialization.

Programs of research reflect the core values and foci of the discipline of Counselling Psychology: career development, health and wellness, indigenous healing, gender and cultural diversity, disability, and social justice issues. Faculty members are involved in a wide range of research activities including intercultural counselling, First Nations counselling, career development and counselling, stress and coping, sexuality and reproductive health, disabilities, trauma, working with families and children in school settings, prevention of anxiety disorders, and empirically supported approaches utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

UBC Calendar

Program website, faculty overview, academic unit, program identifier, classification, social media channels, supervisor search.

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form .

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Alejandra Botia

Throughout my undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs, I have felt grateful to access a globally recognized university. Beyond being a stunning place, I chose to continue my graduate degree at UBC because of the invaluable friendships and professional relationships that I have built over the...

phd in mental health canada

Sarah Panofsky

My PhD will be my fourth UBC degree and I am confident that the university will provide me with the comprehensiveness, relevance, and rigour that I seek in my studies. Connection to place is also important. Studying at UBC allows me to maintain relationships with the communities in Northwest BC...

phd in mental health canada

Katie McCloskey

I decided to study at UBC because the Counselling Psychology program prepares its students to be excellent researchers as well as clinicians. I know that when I graduate I will be able to avail myself of career opportunities in research or practice and that I will be well trained for both.

phd in mental health canada

Curious about life in Vancouver?

Find out how Vancouver enhances your graduate student experience—from the beautiful mountains and city landscapes, to the arts and culture scene, we have it all. Study-life balance at its best!

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  • Interesting for you
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  • Mental Health

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mental Health offered at McGill University is a research-intensive program that emphasizes evolving and in-depth learning opportunities. 

McGill University Multiple locations Montréal , Canada Not ranked Studyportals University Meta Ranking 4.4 Read 128 reviews

The Mental Health program at McGill University is designed to provide advanced research training in the basic, applied, and social sciences relevant to issues in psychiatry. Specifically focusing on the development of mental health services and policy, social and cultural psychiatry, and clinical and transnational psychiatry.

Features 

  • The program's objective is to equip students with skills in literature synthesis, program development, and scientific communication to pursue professional opportunities in academia or industry.

Programme Structure

Curriculum: 

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Clinical Psychology

Key information

  • 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

  • Apply before 2025-03-15 00:00:00 , National The deadline applies if you have the same nationality as the university. ">
  • Apply before 2025-01-15 00:00:00 , International The deadline is applicable to students from outside the European Economic Area who want to study within the EEA, or to students who want to study outside the EEA but are not nationals of that country. ">
  • Apply before 2025-09-01 00:00:00 , National The deadline applies if you have the same nationality as the university. ">
  • Apply before 2025-08-01 00:00:00 , International The deadline is applicable to students from outside the European Economic Area who want to study within the EEA, or to students who want to study outside the EEA but are not nationals of that country. ">

Disciplines

Academic requirements, english requirements, student insurance.

Make sure to cover your health, travel, and stay while studying abroad. Even global coverages can miss important items, so make sure your student insurance ticks all the following:

  • Additional medical costs (i.e. dental)
  • Repatriation, if something happens to you or your family
  • Home contents and baggage

We partnered with Aon to provide you with the best affordable student insurance, for a carefree experience away from home.

Starting from €0.53/day, free cancellation any time.

Remember, countries and universities may have specific insurance requirements. To learn more about how student insurance work at McGill University and/or in Canada, please visit Student Insurance Portal .

Other requirements

General requirements.

  • An eligible Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 GPA
  • English-language proficiency

Tuition Fee

International, living costs for montréal.

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

In order for us to give you accurate scholarship information, we ask that you please confirm a few details and create an account with us.

Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Mental Health.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

Read more about eligibility

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Graduate Studies

Psychotherapy.

Faculty of Health Sciences

Program Contact

Degree Options

Psychotherapy (msc).

The psychotherapy program is a 20-month, course-based professional program. Courses cover introduction to advanced topics on mental health and evidence-based psychotherapy, with a specific focus on cognitive behavioural therapy.

The courses include nine classroom-based courses and two clinical practicum courses. The classroom-based courses include didactic lectures, small-group tutorials, self-directed activities, class presentations and practical, hands-on learning experiences.

Dr. J. A. Campbell Young Investigator Award $$

Deadline Date:

April 30, 2023

The Dr. J. A. Campbell Young Investigator Award of $5,000 for any kind of research into celiac disease and / or gluten sensitivity is available to students and those who have recently completed degrees.

Eligibility criteria, application details and deadlines available on the Canadian Celiac Association website.

Fulbright Canada Student Awards $ – $$$

November 15, 2023

Traditional Fulbright Canada Student awards are intended for Canadian citizens who are graduate students, prospective graduate students, or promising young professionals who wish to study and/or conduct research in the United States. Awards may be held at any university, research centre, think tank, or government agency in the United States.

For eligibility criteria, award values, application details and deadlines, visit the Fulbright Canada website.

Health Research Postdoctoral Opportunities

A comprehensive list of funding sources and agencies for postdoctoral fellows in the Faculty of Health Sciences and those doing health-related research can be found in McMaster’s funding database.. On the site, you will find a variety of filters to help you in your search.

Health Sciences Graduate Scholarship for Indigenous Scholars $$

All incoming Indigenous graduate students who are studying in a graduate program located within the Faculty of Health Sciences, are eligible to apply for this award.

Applicants who are completing a FIAP application for a facilitated graduate program, will be automatically considered for this award.

For full eligibility criteria, application details and deadlines, visit the Faculty of Health Sciences website. (Link below.)

Iranian Student Memorial Scholarship $

Established in honour of McMaster Faculty of Engineering PhD students Iman Aghabali and Mehdi Eshaghian, and a former Faculty of Health Science Post-Doctoral Fellow, who lost their lives on the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752. To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies, on the recommendation of the Associate Deans responsible for graduate studies, to international graduate students from Iran who demonstrate academic excellence.

John Charles Polanyi Prize $$$

December 2, 2024

In honour of the achievement of John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Government of the Province of Ontario has established a fund to provide annually up to five prizes to outstanding researchers in the early stages of their career who are continuing to postdoctoral studies or have recently started a faculty appointment at an Ontario university.

Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund $

April 30, 2024

This award is through the True Sport Foundation of Canada. Open to applicants who are

  • high-performance athletes enrolled at a Canadian university, community college or other post-secondary educational institution.
  • post-secondary students active in sport at a non-high-performance level.
  • sport practitioners active/working in sport as an official, administrator or high-performance coach.
  • educators working in a sport, sports sciences, sport management/administration or other applicable discipline.

All questions should be directed to the True Sport Foundation of Canada.

Visit their website for all details and contact information.

MacDATA Graduate Fellowship $$

March 15, 2021

The advent of large collection of data and ensuing development in data analysis techniques has made collaboration between data scientists and content experts necessary for cutting-edge research. Furthermore, there is a need for trainees to be exposed to both aspects of such research, namely for data science trainees to learn about real life practical projects and for content expert trainees to gain experience in data analysis and management. The aims of the MacDATA Graduate Fellowship Program are:

  • To provide trainees with an opportunity to acquire practical and theoretical skills in data science.
  • To facilitate exchange of expertise and knowledge in data science across faculties.

Manulife Life Lessons Scholarship Program $$

March 31, 2023

Manulife has introduced the first Life Lessons Scholarship Program in Canada, for students who’ve experienced the death of a parent or guardian with little to no life insurance. The Scholarship Program helps combat the financial burden of paying for post-secondary education during an emotional time and recognizes the perseverance that so many youth show in such adversity.

The next application call for this scholarship opens on February 1, 2024. Visit the Manulife website for details on that date.

Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security $$$

February 23, 2024

Four scholarships open to master’s and PhD students who are conducting research on determinants, impacts, and policy or program interventions into food insecurity in Canada.

Visit Maple Leaf Centre for Food Insecurity to learn more and apply.

Questions can be directed to [email protected] .

Mary Buzzell Graduate Scholarship for Resilient Aging $

December 1, 2024

The Mary Buzzell Graduate Scholarship for Resilient Aging will be awarded to an outstanding student enrolled in any Master’s Degree program at McMaster University who is preparing for a career in the multidisciplinary field of Aging. This award is sponsored by Hamilton Aging in Community.

About Mary Buzzell

Mary Buzzell, a McMaster University faculty member in Nursing, was recognized by McMaster with an honorary doctorate as a pioneer in resilient aging, especially through innovative educational and community programs.

McMaster Graduate General Bursary $

What is a bursary.

A bursary is based solely on financial need. In most cases, information from your OSAP application is used to determine your financial need (some students who don’t receive OSAP can still apply for a bursary).

The McMaster Graduate General Bursary Program application opens mid-August in AwardSpring. Funding is paid out in mid-February.

Who can apply?

Graduate students who demonstrate financial need can apply for the McMaster Graduate General Bursary Program.

Please note: The McMaster Graduate General Bursary Program is not open to international students enrolled in graduate studies, MBA, medicine or physician assistant programs.

Bursary eligibility requirements:

  • Be enrolled at McMaster
  • Submit a completed application by the bursary deadline
  • OSAP students who receive an income update request must complete it by the income update deadline
  • Continue to demonstrate financial need throughout the study period
  • Indigenous students
  • students with OSAP government aid restrictions include:
  • academic progress restriction
  • income verification restriction
  • provincial and/or federal default restriction
  • credit check restriction
  • students with a disability taking a reduced course load
  • students with out-of-province student aid
  • part-time students
  • students receiving social assistance

McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) Postdoctoral Fellowship $$$$

July 15, 2020

Prospective postdoctoral fellows are invited to submit a research plan that focuses on interdisciplinary, impact-driven approaches in the study of optimal aging through one or more of the following research areas:

  • the impact of exercise on mobility;
  • the interrelationship between psychological function and social function;
  • causes and consequences of multimorbidity, frailty, and polypharmacy;
  • the role of caregiving, equity, economics and transportation in optimal aging;
  • the understanding of the biological mechanisms of diseases of aging;
  • evaluating approaches to knowledge translation to improve optimal aging; and
  • the use of technology to promote optimal aging and aging in place.

The applicant and principal supervisor are expected to involve at least two other researchers from two different McMaster faculties (outside of the principal supervisor’s faculty) as mentors in the development of an interdisciplinary research plan.

Rainbow Fund $

To be granted to graduate students enrolled in any program who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ students and demonstrate financial need.

Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada Graduate Student Award of Merit $$

At least three awards, each in the amount of $4000, will be awarded annually to the women graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the university or general community while maintaining exemplary academic records.

Women registered in master’s or PhD programs within a designated region. Regions and number of awards rotate each year. SWAAC has designated Ontario as the region for this 2023 competition. There are five awards available for this competition. Each university may nominate one person for the award.

Read about McMaster PhD student Liza-Anastasia DiCecco, who received the 2023 SWAAC Award of Merit .

The Barkleys of Avonmore Scholarship $

The Barkley’s of Avonmore Scholarship was established in 1977 through the generosity of Fred Barkley to assist a student from a developing country to pursue advanced studies at McMaster University.  Each year the Dean of Graduate Studies will identify a worthy graduate student from one of the developing countries to receive the award.

The Dr. Colin Webber Graduate Scholarship $$

Established in 2013 to honour the memory of Dr. Colin Webber, McMaster University professor, physicist, radiation safety expert, teacher, mentor, and leader in the field of bone research. To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to master’s or doctoral students. Preference will be given to students who demonstrate interest in bone research.

Value: Minimum $1,600

The Edna Howard Bursary $

Established in 2022 by the family of Edna Howard, this bursary honours the support Edna offered graduate students through her work as a cook at The Phoenix Bar and Grill, owned and operated by the Graduate Students Association. Her food warmed the hearts of the McMaster campus community for many years until her retirement. To be granted by the School of Graduate Studies to full-time students in any program who demonstrate financial need.

The H. Vincent Elliott Memorial Travel Bursary $

The H.Vincent Elliott Memorial Travel Bursary was established in 2010 by Dr. Susan J.Elliott (MA `97 and PhD`92), esteemed former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, professor of Geography and Earth Sciences, and senior research fellow at the United Nations Institute on Water (UNU-IWEH), Environment and Health, in memory of her father, H.Vincent Elliott. To be granted by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation on the program director of ‘Water Without Borders’ to students registered in a Master’s or PhD program will be given to students in financial need.

The James F. Harvey and Helen S. Harvey Travel Scholarships $

Established in 1995 with funds from the estate of Helen S. Harvey.  James F. Harvey was a member of the first McMaster graduating class in Hamilton in 1935.  This travel scholarship will enable students to engage in research requiring travel.  To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to graduate students who demonstrate academic excellence.

The Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada Graduate Award

Established in 2022 by the Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada. To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to a graduate student who is currently enrolled in their first year of any program who identifies as a member of the queer, trans community and is Black, racialized, or Indigenous.

The Myra Baillie Academic Grant $

Established in 2005 by the Surgical Associates in memory of Myra Baillie. To be granted to a graduate student in any degree program who attains and “A” average and demonstrates financial need. Preference will be given to a female graduate student.

Award Value: 2 awards of $1,000 each

The School of Graduate Studies Grant in Aid for Research Travel $-$$

March 8, 2024

The SGS Grant is intended to be a grant in aid of research; students should not expect the grants to cover the full cost of travel or field work.

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Grant is not intended for conference or course work travel .

It is not meant to replace sources of funding already available from the tri-agencies (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC), other external granting sources, or internal scholarships and bursaries.

It is not intended to fund the research itself, but the travel to do the research.

Application Date

The application will open in Mosaic on January 8, 2024, and close on March 8, 2024.

Wilson Leadership Scholar Award $$-$$$

March 28, 2022

The Wilson Leader Scholarship Award for graduate students is different. Valued at $12,000 in direct funding and up to $2,000 for experiential funding, it’s a leadership development and career launcher program that builds on your studies. It involves about 15 hours/month, including time for synchronous group events between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET.

Awarded to up to three graduate students annually.

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MA and PhD Counselling & Clinical Psychology

Program:   Counselling and Clinical Psychology Field:   Clinical Psychology Degree:  MA and PhD Duration:  Full-time 2-year Master of Arts and 5-year Doctor of Philosophy

Housed within the Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science , the primary and overriding objective of graduate training in Clinical Psychology at UTSC is to produce exceptional clinical scientists according to the highest standards of research and professional practice.

Graduate training in Clinical Psychology at UTSC has primary research strengths in the areas of clinical neuropsychology and neurosciences , personality and psychological assessment , and mindfulness- and acceptance-based psychotherapies . Distinguished by its innovative cross-disciplinary approach to psychological clinical science, Clinical Psychology at UTSC emphasizes scientific innovation through novel research collaborations that push traditional boundaries in clinical science and practice. This theoretical knowledge is integrated into our clinical training which supports the delivery of evidence-based assessment and psychological interventions.

students taking notes

Requirements & Application Process

Contact Admissions & Student Recruitment

PhD Public Health Sciences

Creating a healthier future at the university of waterloo.

As part of the School of Public Health Sciences, you will be immersed in leading research, and gain the skills to tackle some of the biggest health concerns of today.

Besides our leading researchers, you will learn how to integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines as well as discover how to use research to design, implement, and evaluate health programs, policies and services.

Professor and student examine health informatics research on a computer monitor.

Program overview 

  • Transdisciplinary approach to addressing public and population health challenges in Canada and around the world
  • You'll learn how to use research to improve the management and accountability of health promotion programs, and health or healthcare systems.
  • PhD students in the School of Public Health Sciences can pursue a designated field to exemplify an area of expertise within their broader program. Fields include  epidemiology and biostatistics, health evaluation, health informatics, health and environment, global health, aging and health and work and health . 
  • The University of Waterloo's unique Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Policy #73 grants ownership to the inventor.
  • The Faculty of Health is committed to providing guaranteed funding over four years to support new domestic doctoral students as part of its PhD funding initiative. Students may also be eligible for additional scholarship and funding opportunities.
  • Our alumni lead careers in research (industry, government and academia), health promotion, health planning, policy and health information analysis, research management, healthcare coordination, epidemiology, program evaluation, and other professions.
  • Research-based, on campus
  • 12 terms | 4 years (Full-time from Master's level)
  • 24 terms | 8 years (Part-time from Master's level)
  • Doctoral thesis
  • Collaborative water specialization also available

Faculty research and expertise

Our research investigates and aims to solve significant local, provincial/state, national and international challenges in various areas of public health and health systems.

Learn more about our experts and their research areas →

Finding a supervisor

  • A supervisor must be secured before an applicant is eligible to receive an offer of admission. Students are strongly advised to secure a confirmed supervisor before applying. Please review the  profiles of faculty members  in your areas of interest.
  • Indicate your confirmed supervisor in the "requested supervisor" section of your application.
  • If you do not have a confirmed supervisor, then use the "requested supervisor" section to name a supervisor with whom you would like to work.
  • Before approaching a potential supervisor, check their profile and see if they are accepting new students to supervise.   Review other key topics for discussion with potential supervisors .
  • Please avoid sending generic inquiries to supervisors. Students are more likely to successfully match with supervisors who share similar research interests and experiences.

Water specialization

Full- or part-time | On campus | Thesis based

Global water issues are becoming increasingly complex and often require a collaborative approach across the breadth of disciplines. The MSc Public Health and Health Systems offers a water specialization.

Facilitated by the University of Waterloo's   Water Institute , this collaborative approach provides access to more than 140 faculty members involved in water research across Waterloo's campus. The program allows you to develop   specialist expertise in public health and health systems, while matching the knowledge and skills required to communicate across disciplines and within interdisciplinary teams in the water sector. 

Find out more about graduate studies in the Collaborative Water Program →

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Our research graduate programs are highly competitive and receive far more applicants than we can accommodate. As such, we are not able to consider late or incomplete applications. For an application to be considered complete, all required documents, including academic references, must be submitted on or before the date above. You must also indicate an interested supervisor in the "requested supervisor" section of your application. We strongly recommend submitting your application no later than January 1 to allow time for document uploads and for references to be submitted by the January 15 deadline.

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As part of her doctoral research,   Lesley Johnston  is investigating ways in which community well-being in Mongolia and Zambia are affected by Canadian-sponsored mining operations.

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Program overview.

As they gain knowledge from highly accomplished faculty members, students in the Psychology (PhD Thesis) program will learn specialized training and scientific methods to collect data and perform research in three areas. Brain and Cognitive Science looks at the mental processes and brain structures involved in movement, perception, learning, memory, and understanding language. Industrial-Organizational Psychology is concerned with individual and group behaviour, as well as the relationships of organization-wide variables to individuals and groups in work settings. Social and Theoretical Psychology involves social and cultural relations, as well as foundational and philosophical questions in psychology.

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Courses: Topics may include research design and methodology, brain and cognitive sciences, industrial/organizational psychology and more.

Medical Imaging:  Students take a course sequence in medical imaging in additional to the core requirements of the psychology program.

Industrial Organization:  Students take courses in research methods and statistics, industrial/organizational psychology and more.

Research Proposal:  Students must formally present a thesis proposal within 20 months after admission to the program.

Candidacy:  Students are expected to complete both oral and written candidacy exams within 24 months after admission to the program.

Thesis:  Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.

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A PhD in psychology is usually considered a final degree.

Students are required to prepare a thesis and successfully defend in an open oral defense.

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Four years full-time; six years maximum

A supervisor is required, but is not required prior to the start of the program

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Brandy Callahan

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Derek Chapman

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Susan Graham

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A minimum of 3.4 GPA on a 4.0 point system.

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A master’s degree in Psychology or equivalent.

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An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt)  score of 105.
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If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements

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Barriers to care for mental health conditions in Canada

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dept of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

ORCID logo

Roles Writing – original draft

Affiliations School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, School of Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

  • Monnica T. Williams, 
  • Muna Osman, 
  • Aidan Kaplan, 
  • Sonya C. Faber

PLOS

  • Published: September 19, 2024
  • https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000065
  • Reader Comments

Fig 1

There are growing concerns in Canada about access barriers to quality mental health care, which has worsened significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic and for some Canadians more than others. With a nationally representative sample of 1501 adults, surveyed by the Angus Reid Institute, this study examined the mental health conditions Canadians experience the most difficulties in accessing care. Among half of the respondents who sought mental health care, the majority encountered challenges in accessing help for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (34%) and depression (33%). When examining the data based only on those seeking care for specific conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorders, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) emerged as those for which it was most difficult to find treatment. Indigenous and Black Canadians had significantly more difficulty finding care across several conditions. We discuss the implications of these findings, including the critical need to increase the supply and diversity of mental health providers across Canada. This study is one of the first to provide quantitative data on the perceived barriers in accessing mental health care, while exploring the role of race and ethnicity and other social identities.

Citation: Williams MT, Osman M, Kaplan A, Faber SC (2024) Barriers to care for mental health conditions in Canada. PLOS Ment Health 1(4): e0000065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000065

Editor: Vitalii Klymchuk, University of Luxembourg: Universite du Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG

Received: March 20, 2024; Accepted: August 16, 2024; Published: September 19, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Williams et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The data for this project was provided by a third party source, Angus Reid Institute. Researchers can request permission to access the data directly from Strategy & Development at Angus Reid Institute, Toronto, Canada at +1.647.540.6013 as well as through their website ( angusreid.com ).

Funding: This work was supported in part by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (950-232127 to MW). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Mental health needs and care in canada.

Canada, like many countries around the globe, has ongoing challenges in the provision and availability of mental health services. Not only do Canadians lack adequate access to mental health care, the amount of care needed is actually increasing. Each year one in five Canadians require treatment for mental illness. About half of Canadians will be diagnosed with a mental illness by the age of 40 years [ 1 ]. In 2017, 5.3 million Canadians reported needing mental health services, half (3 million) had their needs fully met; from the remaining half, 1.2 million had their needs partially met, and 1.7 million had their needs entirely unmet [ 2 ]. The most commonly reported reasons for experiencing unmet or partially met mental health needs were: lack of time, lack of financial means, and a limited information or knowledge.

Canadian health care system is federally funded to provide necessary coverage of hospital and physician services, and this system is managed, organized, and delivered differently across individual provinces and territories. Existing health and social policy gaps span the range of mental health care including promotion, prevention resources, as well as intensive specialized services [ 3 ]. Additionally, longstanding gaps in health insurance coverage and employment-based health benefits creates inequities and contributes to growing rates of unmet mental health care needs suggesting this is a dominant reality for many Canadians [ 4 ]. Policy and funding gaps exacerbate a two-tier system of public and private access to care [ 4 ], and these gaps were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, almost 70% of Canadians experienced adverse effects from the pandemic, while by the end of 2020, 40% reported experiencing mental distress in the previous month [ 5 ] (Statistics Canada, 2021).

A recent scoping review identified a range of patient and clinician related challenges, which include system capacity, need for continued training, and complexity across different services, settings, and providers [ 6 ]. Issues related to the availability and complexity of mental health care was reported in most of the included studies, along with issues of capacity, education, training, fragmented services and limited resources [ 6 ]. To build on this literature, the purpose of this study is to examine the mental health conditions Canadians experience the most difficulties in accessing care and disparities in these experiences among individuals with diverse identities and backgrounds.

Mental health conditions in Canada

The most concerning mental health conditions can be broadly divided into four areas: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and substance use disorders. The prevalence of these conditions often varies by generation and cultural background. However, the lack of data collection by ethnic and racial groupings in Canada hinders our understanding of racial differences.

Anxiety disorders.

In a lifetime, 4.6% or 2.5 million Canadians suffer from an anxiety disorder. A national survey in July 2020 found one in seven Canadians (13.6%) were at risk of clinically significant levels of generalized anxiety disorders [ 7 ] which was further exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Although prevalence of anxiety disorders in women was higher than men (17.2% vs. 9.9%), a dose-response relationship with COVID-19 misinformation exposure was only observed among men [ 7 ], underscoring the need for improved public health information access.

A community survey on mental health in 2012 found that 2.6%, or about 1,000,000 Canadians over the age of 15 reported experiencing “symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder” [ 8 ]. The 12-month prevalence of GAD was 3.2% in women and 2.0% in men [ 9 ].

Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A study of 25,097 Canadians found an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) diagnosis in 0.93% of the population [ 10 ]. Additionally, those with OCD were younger (M age = 37.35), than the control group (M age = 45.73) and were less likely to hold a job and had lower incomes than those without OCD [ 10 ]. These patterns highlight the impact of mental health experiences on socio-economic challenges.

Posttraumatic stress disorder.

In 2021, Statistics Canada found that 8% of Canadians “met the criteria for probable PTSD”, whereas only 5% were diagnosed by a health professional, highlighting the lack of clinicians available to diagnose and treat individuals with this condition [ 11 ]. Women reported experiencing PTSD (10%) at rates almost twice as high as men (6%). Furthermore, individuals aged 18–24 years old reported having more PTSD symptoms (13%) than those 65+ years old (3%) and only 7% of these individuals identified as visible minorities [ 11 ]. Additionally, only half of those who suffer from PTSD (55%) sought external support, and of that, 82% “had trouble accessing the health care services they needed” [ 11 , 12 ].

Depression & suicide.

In a 2020 survey, 15% of Canadians screened positive for MDD, with more women diagnosed (18%) than men (13%). The highest proportion of MDD diagnosis were among those aged 18–34 years (23%) [ 5 ].

Untreated, depression can progress to suicidal ideation. Daily, 11 people in Canada take their own life resulting in about 4,000 deaths per year [ 13 ]. In 2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14, and after accidents, it remained as the second leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24 [ 13 ]. Indigenous people, particularly youth, have significantly increased rates of suicide. First Nations youth between 15 to 24 years of age experience suicide rates about six-fold higher than other Canadians. Among Inuit youth, suicide rates are about 24 times higher than the national average [ 14 ].

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Canadians already living with serious mental illnesses, including psychotic disorders, were profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These vulnerable Canadians were not only at higher risk for contracting COVID-19, the social distancing protocols and disruptions in routine services created a higher risk for poor mental health outcomes [ 15 ]. Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia have been determined to affect up to 4% of the population [ 16 ]. This means that more than 1.5 million Canadians are directly affected. The onset of schizophrenia, which occurs in early adulthood or late adolescence, is particularly tragic as it negatively affects the life experiences of young Canadians during a time when they are embarking on an independent life [ 17 ]. Globally it is among the top 10 causes of disability-adjusted life-years [ 16 ], and the costs in Canada of schizophrenia per year has been estimated to reach up to $10 billion Canadian dollars, demonstrating the urgent need for better care in this area [ 17 ].

Substance use disorders.

The prevalence of substance use disorder in Canada is at 1.78% representing over 650,000 Canadians [ 18 ], and each day, on average, 20 Canadians perish from the use of illicit substances [ 19 ]. Mortality caused by the use of alcohol, opiates and other substances can be grouped together as “deaths of despair” and are on the rise in Canada. Although opioid-related deaths have been highest in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, the crisis has touched all regions of Canada [ 19 , 20 ]. In all, the economic cost of substance use in Canada per year is a staggering $40 billion, which includes criminal justice, lost productivity and healthcare costs [ 19 , 21 ].

Eating disorders.

The most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder. The lifetime prevalence of eating disorders is notably higher (8.4%) for women than men (2.2%), and this trend extends to the prevalence for anorexia nervosa at 1.4% for women and 0.2% for men as well as bulimia nervosa 1.9% for women and 0.6% for men, and finally, for binge eating disorder where women have a prevalence of 2.8% compared to men (1.0%) [ 22 , 23 ]. Individuals with eating disorders may be undertreated due to avoidance behaviors as the stigma and self-stigma around eating disorders has been reported to obstruct help-seeking behavior [ 24 ]. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has severed social connections exacerbating the negative impacts of eating disorders [ 24 ].

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms commonly arise in children between the ages of 3 and 5, remain throughout adolescence in 75% of cases, and persist in 50% throughout adulthood [ 25 ]. One study found that from 1999 to 2012, ADHD had risen in all provinces for both youth, aged between 1–17 and young adults aged between 18–24 [ 26 ]. The prevalence of ADHD in adults is 2.5%, and in youth, between 4%-7%, with a three-fold higher likelihood in boys of ADHD development than in girls [ 25 ].

Caregivers of children with ADHD were adversely affected due to restrictions of the pandemic, as they were unable to access services they required (therapeutic, educational or medical), which resulted in an increase and worsening of symptoms [ 26 – 28 ].

Dementia, characterized by memory loss, judgement and reasoning problems, behavioral alterations, and mood and communication disturbances, is one of the more expensive mental health disorders costing Canada about 8.3 billion in 2011 [ 29 ]. The prevalence of dementia increases with age, with an overall prevalence of 2.0% for the general population [ 30 , 31 ], however the national data found a prevalence rate of 7.1% for dementia in individuals over 65 years old [ 32 ], with women (8.3%) experiencing higher levels of dementia than men (5.6%) [ 33 ]. Pandemic restrictions, including enforced social isolation, had severely negative impacts on people living with dementia [ 34 , 35 ].

Systemic racism.

Systemic racism is prevalent in Canada and exacerbates all mental health conditions. When compared to White Canadians, Canadians of color receive substandard mental health care, and face more barriers when seeking support [ 36 ]. Discrimination also negatively affects the mental health of racialized Canadians and causes racial trauma which, although it has long existed was only recently formally recognized by psychologists (i.e., changes in DSM) [ 36 , 37 ]. Only recently has the burden of racism in Canada been elevated to become a central theme within the national conversation [ 15 , 37 ].

Purpose of this paper

The main objective of this paper is to investigate disparities in access to mental health care among marginalized and racialized Canadians. It focuses on analyzing differences in access to care for specific mental health conditions, considering factors such as gender, location, age, and importantly, ethnoracial background. This study builds upon previous survey research that has identified barriers to accessing mental health services in Canada [ 38 ].

Materials and methods

Ethics statement.

The Angus Reid Institute, a national research organization founded in 2014, collected the data for this report from a national survey of Canadian adults between February 22–24, 2022 in both English and French. Members of the Reid Institute online forum were provided with written informed consent, information on the purpose of the survey, compensation, steps on how to withdraw, and the protection of private information in the terms of service and privacy policy upon registration. Anonymous unidentifiable data were provided to the authors, and therefore, they did not require ethics approval from the University of Ottawa Research Ethics Board (REB) for this investigation.

Participants

This study includes a representative Canadian sample of 1501 individuals. Regional representation included the Atlantic region (7%), Alberta (11%), British Columbia (13%), Ontario (38%), Quebec (24%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (7%). For gender, 48% identified as male and 52% identified as female. For education levels, participants had lower than or equal to high school education (37%), partial/some postsecondary/college education (33%), and a university degree or more (30%). For household income: 28% earned less than $50k, 35% earned between $50k and $100k, and 27% earned more than $100k. For ethnoracial identity, the sample included: 18 identifying as Middle Eastern/West Asian, 22 as Black, 1179 as White, 41 as East Asian (including Chinese, Taiwanese, Hongkonger, and other East Asian), 38 as South Asian, 24 as Latin American, 92 as Indigenous Canadian and 87 as “other” ethnicities (which included Filipino, multiethnic, and prefer not to answer).

Survey questions

Participants were asked, “To the best of your knowledge, what types of mental health problems are most difficult finding help for? Please select all that apply.” The 14 options were: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s/dementia, eating disorders (e.g. anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, etc.), developmental disorders, alcohol/drug abuse, other/please specify, or none of the above.

Data analyses

A series of analytical tests were implemented to compare responses across the conditions most associated with difficulties and the demographic variables, including contingencies tables, chi-square independence tests, post-hoc pairwise z-tests. The demographic variables analyzed include language, household income levels, provinces of residence, education levels, ethnic and racial identity, age groups and gender. independence tests were used to study variation in the frequencies across levels of demographic variables. Post-hoc pairwise z-tests examined whether the observed frequencies were significantly different across demographic variables.

Independent samples t-tests and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to investigate mean level differences across each value of the demographic variables. Posteriori tests in ANOVA were used to investigate significant pairwise comparisons. The data was balanced and weighted for age, education, gender, and the provinces to be representative of the Canadian population.

To the best of your knowledge, what types of mental health problems are most difficult to find help for?

Most respondents identified posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 33%) and depression (33%) as the most difficult conditions to access care. Other conditions reported included generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; 27%), bipolar disorder (27%), schizophrenia (25%), eating disorders (23%), ADHD (21%), Alzheimer’s/dementia (21%), OCD (20%), developmental disorders (20%), alcohol/drug abuse (20%), and other/please specify (2%). From the few who selected other , participants mentioned personality disorders (Borderline, Antisocial, Narcissistic), and addictions (e.g., gambling, online social media) among other conditions.

Table 1 and Fig 1 show the national prevalence of each condition based on the literature [ 2 , 12 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 39 , 40 ], followed by the percentage of those who sought help for the condition, and those who had difficulty finding help, based on our analysis. The prevalence rates are lower than rates of seeking care because individuals might seek care for other people, including family. Among those who sought out care, ADHD was deemed most difficult to find care for, followed by OCD, SUD and GAD. To explore these patterns, we examined differences across seven demographic variables.

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  • PPT PowerPoint slide
  • PNG larger image
  • TIFF original image

Conditions listed include only those who reported seeking help for the condition listed in the y-axis.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000065.g001

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000065.t001

Race/Ethnicity

Fig 2 shows the proportion of individuals having difficulties accessing care for mental health conditions by ethnoracial group. Ethnicity was significantly related to mean differences in the conditions most associated with difficulties (F(6,1407) = 2.668, p = 0.014). Specifically, Indigenous people reported significantly more difficulties associated with general anxiety disorder (GAD) and other conditions compared to other groups. Specifically, Indigenous people reported ADHD (30%), depression (46%), and bipolar disorder (38%) more than White respondents (20%, 32%, and 27%, respectively). Indigenous people, Black, and White respondents reported PTSD (38%, 28%, and 34%) more than South Asians (21%). Similarly, Indigenous people, Black, and White respondents reported GAD (36%, 24%, 27%) more than East Asian (7%). Black Canadians reported Alzheimer’s/Dementia (33%) more than South Asian (16%) and Middle Eastern/West Asian (11%). Access difficulties due to schizophrenia were not different across ethnicity.

thumbnail

Difficulties accessing care for mood-related disorders (left) and anxiety-related disorders (right).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000065.g002

Province of residence

Provinces were significantly related to mean differences in the conditions most associated with difficulties, specifically for developmental disorders (F(5,1495) = 4.513, p<0.001) and ADHD (F(5,1495) = 2.506, p = 0.029). Given the highest proportions of respondents (approximately 56%) who sought out care and reported difficulties were from Ontario and Atlantic Canada [ 38 ], these regions report difficulties for more conditions. Ontario (23%) and Atlantic Canada (29%) reported ADHD as being more related to difficulties, compared to Alberta (16%) and Quebec (17%). Also, Ontario (35%) and Atlantic (41%) reported PTSD as more related to difficulties than Quebec (28%). In Ontario, schizophrenia (28%) was associated with more difficulties than Quebec (22%). Depression was reported as more related to difficulties in Ontario (34%), Quebec (35%), and Atlantic Canada (40%), than British Columbia (25%).

Gender differences were found for several conditions, including ADHD (t(1498) = -2.321, p = 0.020), GAD (t(1498) = -4.126, p<0.001), OCD (t(1498) = -3.186, p<0.001), Schizophrenia (t(1498) = -4.207, p<0.001), eating disorders (t(1498) = -4.949, p<0.001), developmental disorders (t(1498) = -3.496, p<0.001), and alcohol/drug abuse (t(1498) = -5.763, p<0.001). Women reported significantly more conditions than men, including ADHD (23% and 18%), GAD (32% and 22%), OCD (23% and 17%), schizophrenia (29% and 20%), SUD (26% and 14%) as well as eating (28% and 17%) and developmental (23% and 16%) disorders.

Age differences were found for ADHD (F(2, 1498) = 8.976, p<0.001), depression (F(2, 1498) = 3.324, p = 0.036), eating disorders (F(2, 1498) = 8.891, p<0.001), and developmental disorders (F(2, 1498) = 8.314, p<0.001). Young adults (aged 18 to 34) and middle-aged (aged 35–54) were more likely than older adults (55 and older) to identify ADHD (24%, 24%, and 15% respectively) as most difficult condition. In general, young adults reported more conditions than older adults, specifically, OCD (23% and 18%), schizophrenia (29% and 22%), as well as eating (30% and 19%) and developmental (25% and 15%) disorders.

Education level

Education was only related to differences in the conditions most associated with difficulties, specifically, GAD (F(2, 1498) = 1.604, p = 0.017) and Depression (F(2, 1498) = 12.171, p<0.001). Canadians with less than or at least high school or some college education were more likely than those with university education to report most difficulties for GAD (29%, 29%, and 22%) and depression (38%, 35%, and 24%).

Household income

Differences based on income was found for PTSD (F(2, 1498) = 3.882, p = 0.021), depression (F(2, 1498) = 3.482, p = 0.031), bipolar disorder (F(2, 1498) = 5.174, p = 0.006), and developmental disorders (F(2, 1498) = 3.134, p = 0.044). Canadians who made less than $50k or $50K-100k reported more conditions associated with difficulties, than those making over 100k; conditions reported included PTSD (37%, 35%, and 29%), bipolar disorder (32%, 28%, and 23%), and schizophrenia (27%, 26%, and 21%) as being related to the most difficulties in accessing care. Depression was reported more by Canadians with less than $50K household income than those making over $100K (37% and 29%).

Differences in language was related PTSD (t(1499) = 2.822, p = 0.002) and alcohol/drug abuse (t(1499) = 2.739, p = 0.006) such that more English-speaking Canadians than French-speaking reported PTSD (35% and 26%) and alcohol/drug abuse (21% and 14%) as more difficult to access care.

Mental health conditions and access to care

All Canadians do not have equal access to mental health care. Respondents reported varying level of access for different conditions, however, they indicated experiencing difficulty “just about every time” and “often” for all surveyed mental health conditions between 42% and 56% of the time. Consistent with research, women sought out more care and experienced more difficulties in general than men [ 38 ].

Although most Canadians were seeking services for depression and PTSD, when adjusted by proportion, ADHD was the most condition to find help for, with over half of the sample experiencing difficulties almost always or often. ADHD is often identified during the school years through a school psychologists [ 41 , 42 ], however, given shortages of these types of professionals, children are medicated rather than receiving therapy [ 43 ].

Closely behind ADHD, were anxiety-related conditions, including OCD, SUD, and GAD. Psychotherapy is more effective and is, in the long-term, more enduring than treatment with medications alone, especially for these conditions [ 44 ]. OCD is difficult to find treatment for, as medication rarely provides full relief, and few therapists are trained in CBT treatments, such as exposure and ritual prevention [ 40 ]. Correspondingly, the need for therapy was found the most likely to remain unmet (34%) while the need for medication was most likely to be met (85%) [ 45 ]. Therapy is more cost-effective and leads to fewer relapses of anxiety and depression than medication use alone [ 45 , 46 ].

Racial barriers to mental health

Indigenous people experienced the highest barriers to accessing care as compared to other groups, with 30 to 40% reporting treatment barriers for ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder at rates significantly higher than White respondents. Barriers to treatment for anxiety disorders, PTSD, and GAD were also reported highest by Indigenous people, at over a third, followed by Black and White Canadians. Asian ethnicities (South and East Asian) reported the least barriers.

Data shows race-based differences in the prevalence of mental health conditions [ 20 , 47 , 48 ]. Indigenous youth have higher suicide rates than other young Canadians, while the prevalence of mood disorders among immigrants and Black people differs from White Canadians [ 14 , 49 , 50 ]. Some racialized communities have higher rates and needs for anxiety treatment than White communities, while Black communities in both the US and Canada have lower rates of substance use than White communities [ 20 , 49 , 51 ]. In contrast, rates of depression among Black Canadians rose to nearly six times the prevalence of the Canadian population [ 47 ]. These differences inform the rates of help seeking observed for various conditions in this study.

Unequal distribution of resources and access to care

Disparities in mental health care in Canada is rooted in the unequal distribution of resources and access to care, such that certain populations are disproportionately experience barriers and are therefore less likely to receive appropriate treatment. Gaps in the supply, diversity, and cultural competence of providers are key factors contributing to barriers. This gap in turn perpetuates the power imbalance, as those with access to services are more likely to receive adequate care, while those who do not are left without the necessary care. Addressing this power imbalance is crucial to ensure all Canadians have access to the care they need and deserve.

Recommendations

This study demonstrates the growing need for more mental health professionals, services, and resources for all Canadians. For example, there is a need for more licensed clinical psychologists (18,000 in Canada, whereas there are 102,000 in the US), and to address the well-known administrative and professional bottlenecks in the Canadian education system for clinical psychologists [ 52 – 54 ]. To address this issue, the US has free-standing professional schools graduating more than half of the US-based clinical psychologists. Yet, geographic disparities and discrimination impact race-based shortages in professionals for racialized communities in both countries [ 54 , 55 ]. There is some progress now, in Canada, to accredit free-standing professional degrees and university-based PsyD programs, and Canadian Psychological Association’s (CPA) most recent accreditation standards released in only 2023 now accommodate this [ 43 , 56 ].

The limited availability of services in languages other than English hampers access to services for diverse immigrants [ 57 ]. Although resource-intensive interpretation services can be helpful [ 58 ], a better alternative is to train and accredit more multilingual therapists locally or better recognize credentials from other countries. Unfortunately, health professionals in Canada cannot be licensed in languages other than English and French (e.g., [ 59 ]).

In Canada, the only systematic governmentally mandated collection of race-based data is for Indigenous people. Special direct action is warranted for Indigenous people [ 43 ], as our own investigation could only identify 5 Indigenous psychology faculty out of over 1,200 in the province of Ontario [ 60 ], and many experience barriers, such as being required to leave their communities to pursue clinical education and training [ 61 , 62 ]. This study further highlights difficulties in access experienced by Indigenous people and racialized communities.

Graduate programs should improve training for specific conditions that are particularly difficult to find specialists such as ADHD. Training programs should highlight access deficits for specific conditions and encourage subspecialties to meet these demands.

Further, Canada should embrace breakthrough therapies such as psychedelics [ 63 ]. Psychedelics show promise for the treatment of PTSD, depression and anxiety, and other conditions [ 64 ], and a new Psychedelics educational programming at the University of Ottawa (e.g., an MA program) provides educational opportunities for these innovative approaches [ 65 ]. Finally, continuing education in culturally-informed approaches and anti-racist proficiency is essential [ 66 ]. Skill gaps in professionals contributes to difficulties in access to competent mental health services for racialized people.

Limitations & future directions

There are several limitations to consider for this study. The online format and inclusion criteria could limit the participation of non-English or French speaking individuals or those with limited internet access. Also, geographically, no territories were included in this study, where marked difficulties in accessing mental health care might be particularly important. Future surveys should ensure the full inclusion of Indigenous persons on reserves, rural populations, and institutionalised persons, as the mental health needs of these groups are critical as well.

This study is a quantitative synthesis of the conditions many Canadians are experiencing barriers in accessing care. Access to care for many mental health conditions is unacceptably difficult, and even more so for Indigenous people, immigrant, racialized communities. Given the lack of sufficient and timely race-based data, there is no policy remedy for these trends. Equitable solutions must consider race-based differences in the prevalence and treatment of conditions.

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Can pursuing a phd impact mental health.

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St. Paul, Minnesota, Billboard advertisement for care facility to help treat mental illness. (Photo ... [+] by: Michael Siluk/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What happens when you put together a group of super achievers who are accustomed to being the best into a new environment called a PhD program? Scott Turow’s One L provides a window into that environment at Harvard Law School, one that mirrors many of the trials and tribulations that many graduate students face across multiple fields.

U.S. survey data in prior published research indicates that about 14.9% of PhD students in economics and 10 to 13.5% of PhD students in political science have received mental health treatment. However, because it is not possible to randomly assign people to a PhD program and then follow them over time, it is also unclear whether these students who sought out mental health treatment already had issues to begin with prior to entering the programs.

Now, a new working paper by Sanna Bergvall, Clara Fernstrom, Eva Ranehill, and Anna Sandberg at Lund University using Swedish population-wide and longitudinal administrative records tries to estimate whether this higher incidence of mental health uptake among PhD students is due to selection or perhaps due to doing a PhD itself. They do this by showing that prior to entering the PhD, prospective students have similar reported mental health issues as a matched sample of master’s degree students in the same field. However, by following both groups of students past the onset of the PhD program starting, the authors document that there is a significant increase in the use of psychiatric medication among the PhD students.

This finding generally holds across fields, with variation, such as a notable exception for the medical and health sciences. Overall, groups that were most susceptible to obtaining psychiatric medication during their PhD were older people, women, and those with a previous history of using psychiatric medications.

The authors of the new study note that in 2016, 13.5% of their sample of active PhD students received psychiatric medication. This is quite similar to the studies in economics and political science showing between 10 to 14.9% of PhD students received mental health treatment. Additionally, the authors of this new study argue that because they are recording diagnosed mental health problems, the percentage reporting may be an underestimate.

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The authors conclude: “If PhD studies negatively impact mental health, this likely decrease both academic productivity and causes a selection of researchers not only based on academic aptitude, but also mental resilience.”

Jonathan Wai

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Peel police tout benefits of mental health crisis teams at safe cities conference

Peel police host 2nd annual safety of our cities conference in mississauga.

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Over 400 delegates from police forces across North America have gathered at a hotel in Mississauga this week to discuss improving community safety — specifically, how to better handle mental health crisis calls.

The gathering comes as Peel police marks nearly five years of deploying Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Teams, which are made up of uniformed officers and crisis workers, to handle such calls. 

Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said there's value in having other police forces who implemented similar programs all gathered in the same space. 

"None of us is as smart as all of us," said Duraiappah Monday , the first day of the three-day conference his service is hosting.

"The reality is we're learning from each other in ways that transcend municipal, provincial, Canadian, international boundaries," Duraiappah said. 

This is the second year for the Safety of Our Cities Conference, previously held in Edmonton, and attended by social agencies, public health professionals and government officials, as well as police officers.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina standing in front of a blue backdrop and addressing the media at the conference

Police forces across North America seeing benefits

Speaking to the media as the conference kicked off, chiefs from multiple police forces attested to the success of their own crisis response systems, many of which were launched in the U.S. amid a national reckoning over police violence following the death of George Floyd. 

Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina said redirecting crisis calls to trained professionals helped them reduce their officers' use of force. 

"When you look at the interactions they're able to de-escalate through their training and through their background and their expertise as opposed to our officers, it's a win-win," he said. 

Nashville police Chief John Drake said his force has seen similar benefits.

"What we're seeing is we can't do this alone," he said.

Peel police say they implemented their own program in a bid to better handle mental health related calls and refer people to community-based services, after seeing programs implemented by other Ontario police forces result in significant reductions in the number of apprehensions under the Mental Health Act.

  • Peel council passes motion to reduce police involvement in mental health calls
  • Mobile crisis response team showing positive results, Sudbury police say

The goal is to make sure people aren't criminalized for having a mental health crisis, said Sinthusha Panchalingam, senior clinical director with the Canadian Mental Health Association Peel-Dufferin, which responds to calls alongside Peel police. 

"Oftentimes, it's just taking a moment to listen to understand what their concerns are," she said. 

"If we can avoid any escalation, that's really our primary focus." 

Family questions if Peel program is enough

However, the sister of a man who died shortly after his arrest while in the midst of a mental health crisis last year, says she doesn't think the program is successful.

Peter Campbell, 34, was arrested in the hallway of a Brampton apartment on April 2, 2023. He died shortly after an officer put his knee on his back for 20 seconds in an attempt to subdue him. Last month , Ontario's police watchdog cleared an officer in Peel Region of criminal wrongdoing in his death.

Campbell's sister, Michelle Campbell, told CBC Toronto that Peel's crisis team wasn't there to attend to her brother when he needed them.

A man with a goatee and wearing a black sweater looks at the camera.

She said if she or someone else in her family was having a mental health crisis, she wouldn't call the police for help. 

"I'm supposed to trust them to come and protect and serve, but now I'm terrified to even call them," she said. "It's a crazy position to be in."

Campbell's death follows the cases of Abdullah Darwich , a 19-year-old with autism who is non-verbal, was Tasered and handcuffed by Peel police in 2022; Ejaz Choudry , who had schizophrenia and was shot and killed by Peel police in 2020, after his family called a non-emergency line for help when he was in crisis; and  D'Andre Campbell , who also had schizophrenia and was fatally shot by Peel police in 2020 after he called for help himself. 

  • Canada's largest mental health hospital calls for removal of police from front lines for people in c
  • SIU clears Peel cop in arrest, death of 34-year-old Brampton man

Peel police has not yet responded to a CBC Toronto request for information about how many of the calls responded to by the crisis team resulted in someone being apprehended or taken to hospital compared to before the program was implemented.

John Versluis, the Manager of Community Safety and Well-Being at Peel Regional Police, standing in front of a blue backdrop as he speaks

Peel police's manager of community safety and well-being said the force is trying to push the program's resources as far as they can go. 

"It's always a resource issue for both us and our community partners to make sure we have those experts where we need them," John Versluis said.  

"A lot of these calls don't require police at all," he said. "Oftentimes, individuals will phone 911 for themselves or a loved one because they don't know where else to go."

  • One year after police Tasered his non-verbal son, father is still fighting for justice
  • Court rules names of officers involved in Ejaz Choudry's death cannot stay secret

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Naama Weingarten is a reporter with CBC News based in Toronto. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X @NaamaWeingarten.

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  1. Mental Health (PhD)

    Program Description. The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mental Health offered by the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences is a research-intensive program that emphasizes evolving and in-depth learning opportunities. The program's objective is to equip students with skills in literature synthesis, program ...

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    2-132 Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E1. [email protected]. Territorial Acknowledgement. The University of Alberta, its buildings, labs and research stations are primarily located on the territory of the Néhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Nakoda (Stoney), Dene, Haudenosaunee ...

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    PhD students in the School of Public Health Sciences can pursue a designated field to exemplify an area of expertise within their broader program. Fields include epidemiology and biostatistics, health evaluation, health informatics, health and environment, global health, aging and health and work and health. The University of Waterloo's unique ...

  18. Eligibility for Admission

    Eligibility for Admission - PhD in Mental Health. To be eligible for the PhD program, applicants must have a: Master's degree. Strong background in science and/or social science, as demonstrated by academic achievement equivalent to a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.3 / 4.0 or a GPA of 3.5 / 4.0 in the two last years of full-time ...

  19. Psychology- PhD

    Program overview. As they gain knowledge from highly accomplished faculty members, students in the Psychology (PhD Thesis) program will learn specialized training and scientific methods to collect data and perform research in three areas. Brain and Cognitive Science looks at the mental processes and brain structures involved in movement ...

  20. 13 Institutions offering Postgraduate People With Mental Health

    13 Universities in Canada offering postgraduate People With Mental Health Problems: Social Work degrees and courses. ... View 1 People With Mental Health Problems: Social Work courses. 10737. Views. 20. Favourites. Review (1) ... Graduate Certificates & Diplomas; Masters Degrees; Doctoral Degrees; Study mode: On Campus;

  21. Barriers to care for mental health conditions in Canada

    There are growing concerns in Canada about access barriers to quality mental health care, which has worsened significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic and for some Canadians more than others. With a nationally representative sample of 1501 adults, surveyed by the Angus Reid Institute, this study examined the mental health conditions Canadians experience the most difficulties in accessing care ...

  22. Graduate Programs

    Human Health and Nutritional Sciences Thesis-based, Course-based. MSc, PhD. Integrative Biology Thesis-based. MSc, PhD. ... MPH, DVM/MPH Combined Degree, Graduate Diploma. Public Issues Anthropology Thesis-based. MA. Regenerative Medicine. Collaborative Specialization. Relational and Psychotherapy Training Program Course-based.

  23. Can Pursuing A PhD Impact Mental Health?

    The authors of the new study note that in 2016, 13.5% of their sample of active PhD students received psychiatric medication. This is quite similar to the studies in economics and political ...

  24. PhD Programs

    PhD Specializations. Choose from four specializations to increase your ability to generate new knowledge in the field of public health: PhD in Epidemiology. PhD in Health Promotion and Socio-behavioural Sciences. PhD in Health Services and Policy Research. PhD in Public Health.

  25. A Survey of the Severity of Mental Health Symptoms in the Planetary

    There is a growing recognition of a mental health crisis within the academic and research communities. Members of the planetary science community have called for healthier work environments to improve mental well-being. As a preliminary step towards improving workplace culture, we sought to determine if the broader mental health crisis extends to planetary science and assess the severity of ...

  26. N.B. child advocate says youth mental health a 'genuine crisis'

    The Statistics Canada report, released last week, showed that about one in five youth who felt their mental health was "good" or better in 2019 no longer felt that way in 2023.

  27. Prospective students

    Graduate Program. Current students; Prospective students. MSc in Mental Health; PhD in Mental Health; Funding Opportunities; Graduate Student Research Supervisors; Psychiatry Courses 2023/2024; Minimum Funding; Part-Time Special Students; FAQ; Contact us; Residency Program; Subspecialty Programs; Summer Program in Social and Cultural Psychiatry ...

  28. Peel police tout benefits of mental health crisis teams at safe cities

    Canada's largest mental health hospital calls for removal of police from front lines for people in c; SIU clears Peel cop in arrest, death of 34-year-old Brampton man;

  29. The top employee mental health programs in Canada

    Health Canada's employee assistance program (EAP) is accessible to employees in more than 90 federal organizations and their families. The program boasts a network of mental health professionals that represent a diverse public service sector. It offers counselling and quality assurance services through various EAP providers.

  30. Information Session: NIMH Intramural Research Program Training

    The sessions are appropriate for undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows. Sponsored by. National Institute of Mental Health, Office of Fellowship Training. Registration. This event is free but registration is required . Contact. Questions? Email Alycia Boutte.