Counselling in Various Countries Part 1: Canada, Australia & Singapore by Anne Ueberbach

Counselling in Various Countries Part 1: Canada, Australia & Singapore by Anne Ueberbach

The Counselling Place interviews 3 of our therapists about their experience counselling and doing therapy in various countries. First up is our Counsellor, Anne Ueberbach:

The counselling industry differs greatly between different countries, both from a healthcare and cultural standpoint.

In Canada for example, psychotherapy has been widely normalized and is easily accessible. Since Canada has universal healthcare and thus little to no out of pocket expenses for general healthcare, residents have more funds available to pay for psychotherapy services. Canadian residents are also more likely to see a counsellor or psychologist as a preventative measure rather than waiting for concerns to snowball and escalate. It is also normal to speak openly about accessing psychotherapy and to not be met with disapproving looks.
 
In Australia on the other hand, accessing healthcare often comes with out of pocket fees (called gap fees) regardless of having public or private health insurance. This makes affording psychotherapy services costlier. The government provides up to 10 rebated counselling sessions per year, however they can only be used with psychologists.  While accessing psychotherapy services has generally been normalized and is a lot more common nowadays, there still are cultural differences that may influence one’s decision to access or talk about accessing mental health support due to ongoing stigma and misconceptions.
 
The stigma about accessing counselling services is the biggest in more traditional cultures, like Singapore. Psychotherapy is often seen as a bad thing due to the negative stigma around it, making people believe that counselling is only for those who are “sick”. However, research has shown that all kinds of psychotherapy work effectively in preventing stressors from turning into more serious concerns, thus improving overall mental wellbeing. It is however also true that counsellors and psychologists work with mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety. I do want to highlight that seeing a counsellor or psychologist is nothing to be ashamed of. Nobody would disapprove of you for seeing a doctor for a broken arm, and I’d like to think of therapy as the same, just that the injury is often invisible to outsiders.

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