Why Canadian Psychology Month Matters

It was recently Bell Let’s Talk Day, a day to discuss mental illness and to promote mental health awareness. The month of February has been designated as “Psychology Month” in Canada. Why does this matter?

Mental illness is one of the leading causes of disability. It is important to bring more awareness to foster greater understanding, so everyone recognizes that impact it has on a person’s ability to function.

The impact of mental illness

There are many types of psychological illnesses which could affect your ability to work and lead to a short-term disability claim or long-term disability claim.

A mental illness can disrupt various realms of your life including your employment, your ability to interact and socialize and your ability to take care of yourself (hygiene, nutrition, sleep). Your overall functioning is affected.

For example:

Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (clinical depression) affects 1% of Canadian men and 2% of Canadian women at any point in time and 5% of men and 10% of women will experience clinical depression in their lifetime. According to the Canadian Psychology Association, depression is often a recurring condition and someone who has one episode is at risk for recurrence.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder can lead to social phobia, panic disorder (severe panic attacks) and depression. One out of every twenty people will experience generalized anxiety disorder. Symptoms included chronic excessive and uncontrollable worry, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep difficulties.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder involves recurrent and persistent intrusive thoughts, images or impulses that are unwanted and cause significant distress (“obsessions”). According to the Canadian Psychology Association, the more common obsessions involve contamination, loss of control, doubts about one’s verbal or behavioural responses, possibility of sudden sickness. Compulsions involve repetitive behaviours or acts performed to prevent or reduce the distress or negative consequences represented by the obsession such as prolonged washing, repeated checking or counting/repeating a certain phrase. It is estimated that 1 to 2% of Canadians will have an episode of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect a person for several years. Research suggests that 10-20% of people are disabled for several years after the onset of PTSD. It is important to note that PTSD does not only occur because of combat and disaster, it also happens as a result of sexual or physical assault, life threatening illnesses, transportation/industrial accidents or repeated exposure to other’s physical trauma. It has been found that people who have a history of depression, anxiety, or other traumas are more susceptible to developing PTSD.

When someone is unable to work due to their mental illness

What happens during the claim for disability?

During a disability claim, your insurance company wants to see that you are attending the right type of treatment.

Getting treatment

Treatment for a mental illness can include seeing a psychiatrist, taking prescribed medication, psychotherapy with a psychologist or someone licensed to provide this type of therapy and “targeted” treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy or a mindfulness based stress reduction course or group therapy.

Review of treatment

Sometimes, your insurance company may feel you are not receiving the right type of treatment or enough treatment and arrange for you to see a psychologist/psychotherapist who will provide cognitive behavioural therapy for a limited period (for example, 8 to 10 sessions).

Treating Physician's input

Your insurer may ask your own doctor for input to see if this type of treatment would be beneficial. It is important to make best efforts to participate in this treatment to show your insurance company that you are an active participant in your recovery. Usually the goal of treatment is to prepare you for a gradual return to work.

Gradual Return to Work Plan

In many claims, the insurance company will write to your treating physician to ask if you can return to some form of work and participating in a gradual return to work plan. The therapist you are receiving treatment from will be consulted as well.

Medical Consultant

Your insurer also uses a medical consultant to review your claim (maybe on more than one occasion) when your restrictions and limitations are not clear to them or the impact of a diagnosis is not clear, and to ask for recommendations.

Independent Medical Examination

In some claims, the insurance company might even arrange an independent medical examination with a psychiatrist and/or psychologist to clarify diagnosis, restrictions and limitations and treatment recommendations.

What is the insurance company looking for?

A mental illness is often categorized as an “invisible illness” because there are no “objective” tests that would easily show a diagnosis or explain symptoms the way that bloodwork or an x-ray would. Your insurance company is looking for evidence that you have restrictions and limitations affecting your everyday functioning.

In order to demonstrate the impact of your symptoms and diagnosis, you should

It is really important for your insurer to understand your limitations and restrictions

Your doctor may impose restrictions because you have cognitive/psychological impairments as a result of your illness, such as

What if my claim is denied?

Your claim may be denied at the outset, or you may be paid benefits for a period of time. In either case, when you receive a denial letter, it is important to remember that you can fight the insurance company’s decision. You can consult a lawyer to find out your rights as an insured person and what your options are.

Sources used for this post:

• https://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Publications/FactSheets/PsychologyWorksFactSheet_Depression.pdf
• https://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Publications/FactSheets/PsychologyWorksFactSheet_GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder.pdf
• https://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Publications/FactSheets/PsychologyWorksFactSheet_ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder.pdf
• https://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Publications/FactSheets/PsychologyWorksFactSheet_PTSD.pdf