A Word from the Editor
by Stephen Douglas, MA, RP, (cert)OAMHP Hello to all our members and readers, Eras are defined by issues that have a common impact upon a majority of the population. 2020 has born far-reaching issues that both unite and divide us. How we respond as a profession and as a nation will define us. Each of us — our clients, our colleagues, our family members, ourselves — has been affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to a survey released by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in May, 58% of Ontario residents believe that their mental health was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, 69% believe Ontario is headed for a ‘serious mental health crisis’ as a consequence, and 77% believed that more mental health supports will be necessary to help society manage. That same month, a study released in the Lancet projected suicides as a consequence of the impact of COVID-19 on unemployment alone could lead to an increase of 27.7 per cent to Canada’s annual average of deaths by suicide — about 4,000 per year — in both 2020 and 2021. As Dr. Jonathan Moult wrote, even if only a small percentage of people have coronavirus, “100 percent of us are psychologically affected by it.” More recently, a study released in July by the Centre of Excellence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder suggested that healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are at risk of severe stress that could cause longterm psychological damage, citing examples leading to guilt, moral injury, fear and shame, urging doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and mental health workers to practice self-care through nutrition, exercise, social connection, and professional support. 6
The coronavirus pandemic further escalates many previously existing mental health stressors issues. Isolation and job insecurity are expected to exacerbate rates of alcoholism. Nearly one in four Ontario residents recently polled were consuming more alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco since the pandemic hit. Maternal mental health experts are anticipating an increase in post-partum mood disorder, noting that simple acts like going to the grocery store become for more anxiety-producing than ever before. More recently, evidence has begun to reveal the structural inequities in our supposedly universal health system during this global health crisis, particularly with respect to race. Data released by Toronto Health on July 10th, 2020 indicated that the rate of infection in Toronto’s northwest (932 cases per 100,000 people) was almost four times higher than in the rest of the city (238 cases per 100,000). The relationship between the determinants of health impacted by systemic racism — unequal starting points and unequal access to health services, financial burden, nature of employment, freedom to work from home, homelessness, all factors that lie beyond an individual’s biology and behaviours — and infection rates of COVID19 could not be more clear. So we put out a call to our members. And how you responded! In total, we were able to include 14 articles in this edition, making it the most substantial edition of Psychologica to date. Yet it was not the volume of submissions but rather the quality of writing that stood out. I believe you will find each contribution worthy of careful reflection.
