Enhancing Access to Psychologically Informed Mental Health Services in Rural and Northern Communities

Access to psychologically informed mental health services has historically been a challenge for the more than 6 million Canadians residing in rural and northern (R&N) communities. However, over the past 20 years, Canada has been witness to a number of positive psychologist-led initiatives aimed at enhancing access for R&N Canadians. These can be grouped into 2 main categories, namely recruiting and retaining psychologists in R&N communities and developing and implementing technologically supported psychology services offered at a distance (telepsychology). This article provides an overview of the bathers to accessing psychologically informed mental health services and reviews some of the psychologist-led initiatives aimed at enhancing access in R&N Canada. Potential benefits and limitations of these initiatives are presented and the importance of enhanced collaboration between urban and R&N-based psychologists is discussed. Finally, psychologists are encouraged to look for and embrace opportunities to further broaden and enhance their positive presence in R&N communities.