ProCare Fresh Minds, New Zealand’s largest provider of primary mental health and wellbeing services, has echoed recent calls by The NZ Psychological Society, NZ College of Clinical Psychologists and NZ Psychologists Board, for political parties to include increased funding in their election promises to train more psychologists to help cover the professional shortage in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Bindi Norwell, Group CEO at ProCare says: “According to the World Health Organisation, rates of already-common conditions such as depression and anxiety went up by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic, adding to the nearly one billion people who were already living with these issues. And we’ve seen similar issues here in Aotearoa New Zealand which has led to a shortage of mental health professionals who can support Kiwis in need.

In positive news, there has been an increase in acknowledgement and better recognition of seeking help for mental health and wellbeing needs by both individuals and organisations over the last few years. This has been reflected in an increasing number of companies now including wellbeing support in their employment packages. However, to ensure there are enough psychologists to support those who need help continues to be a challenge, particularly outside of the main city centres.”

Dr Tania Wilson, General Manager at ProCare Fresh Minds says: “The demand for psychological support is growing and does follow the cumulative impact of the pandemic, wild weather events, and cost of living pressures.

“The ongoing shortage of qualified psychologists has generally resulted in people experiencing varying delays in accessing the psychological treatments and support they need, at the level they need, with extreme cases not being able to get the support they need at all,” continues Dr Wilson.

“At ProCare Fresh Minds, we agree that a whole-of-system approach is needed to ensure that we are fixing the short-term and investing in long-term solutions. We need to encourage more students to consider psychology as a career option, making this an affordable pathway, and then also consider the support needed to pursue the training required and establish workplace training options for ongoing development,” notes Dr Wilson.

“As an employer of a large number of psychologists, we offer workplace opportunities and internships where we can, which means that we must also retain enough experienced psychologists to provide the required oversight. Unfortunately, pay levels for psychologists in public healthcare fall considerably short of what can be earned in private practice, or overseas, meaning long-term retention of those experienced psychologists is another issue.

“Psychologists are a needed workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand, and we need to put a focus on increasing qualified professionals, training, retaining, and ongoing support. Mental health and wellbeing is an important part of our wider health, and it is time we start to show how valued psychology leadership is in our healthcare system,” concludes Dr Wilson.