Guelph clinic petitions Ontario to fund psychotherapy through OHIP
The campaign argues that access to mental health care should not depend on a person's income or workplace benefits.
GUELPH · A Guelph psychotherapy clinic is calling on the Ontario government to expand provincial health coverage to include psychotherapy delivered by qualified mental health professionals. The campaign, led by registered psychotherapist Marinela Trickett, is preparing a petition for presentation at Queen's Park in November. It asks the province to fund psychotherapy by regulated providers so that access is not limited by a person's income, workplace benefits or ability to pay out of pocket. Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner has been brought into the conversation about access.
"When people search online or ask AI, 'What is the best and cheapest psychotherapist or counsellor for anxiety?' the question itself reveals the problem," Trickett said. "Mental health therapy should not become a race to find the lowest priced session." She argued that people should choose care based on clinical fit, competence and therapeutic approach, not simply on what they can afford. Currently, OHIP does not pay for psychotherapy delivered by a registered psychotherapist in private practice.
The clinic says the petition grew from a sentence Trickett has heard for more than two decades: "I know I need therapy, but I can't afford it." National statistics point to a significant gap in mental health care. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that in 2024, 40 percent of Ontario adults with a diagnosed mental health disorder had needs that were only partly met or not met at all. A Statistics Canada study from January 2026 found that 32 percent of people with a mood or anxiety disorder who needed counselling but did not receive it cited an inability to pay.
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The economic cost of unmet mental health needs is substantial. A CSA Public Policy Centre report published in April 2026 estimated the annual economic cost of mental illness in Canada at $180 billion across health care, emergency services, justice and housing supports. Governments spent more responding to the consequences, about $28 billion, than they invested in mental health care and prevention combined, about $23 billion. Employers carried more than $110 billion of the cost. The need for specific, sustained therapy is acute for certain conditions. Borderline personality disorder often requires structured therapies like dialectical behaviour therapy, while emotional abuse can leave issues that generic short term support does not address. Statistics Canada's 2024 Parental Experiences Survey, released in February 2026, found that 22 percent of mothers and birthing parents in Ontario who had emotional or mental health challenges during or after pregnancy needed care and did not receive it.
"The goal is not to tell Ontarians which therapist to choose," Trickett said. "It is to give them a fairer chance to choose the right one." The campaign invites Ontarians to add their names to the petition online. Trickett Psychotherapy, which also operates as a training clinic, offers lower cost options with supervised developing practitioners but argues price should not be the only measure of care.
With files from Financial Post