The President of the Canadian Psychological Association applauds a move by Starbucks Canada to increase mental health insurance coverage for all employees and their families from $450 a year to $5000.
Dr. David Dozois says it demonstrates corporate leadership.
Dozois calls it a cost effective move on the part of Starbucks Canada and says they could also be doing it for humanitarian reasons.
Mental illness costs the Canadian economy $51 billion a year and about $20 billion of that cost is taken on by employers.
Dr. Karen Cohen says psychological services are considered first line treatment options for many disorders but they are not covered by our public health care system leaving Canadians to rely on their employee benefit coverage which can often be insufficient or they pay out of pocket or go without.
Research indicates that 10 to 20 sessions of psychotherapy are typically needed to fully address common mental illnesses.
