Physician Mental Health Service

WG Psychology is a psychotherapy clinic in Toronto that is here to help physicians improve their mental health.

What Are Physician Mental Health Issues?

Mental health issues are frequent among physicians. Surveys suggest that physicians report high rates of anxiety and stress-related issues, burnout, depression, and suicidal thinking. The Canadian Medical Association’s National Physician Health Survey found that 31% and 53% of physicians reported high burnout symptoms in 2017 and 2021, respectively (for context, the latter was assessed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic). Medical residents and GPs reported higher rates compared with practicing physicians and specialists.

Health issues that are more likely to affect men include:

  1. Being victims and perpetrators of physical violence

  2. Misusing alcohol and drugs

  3. Having fewer social supports

  4. Dying by suicide

  5. Engaging in more risky and unsafe behaviours

  6. Using healthcare services less frequently, mental healthcare in particular

  7. Having less effective long-term coping strategies for managing distress

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How Do We Approach Men’s Issues In Therapy?

The treatment strategies that we use at our Toronto men’s therapy clinic will depend on what the presenting concerns are. For example, a man presenting for therapy with depression and social anxiety will need different strategies than one presenting for anger and alcohol use issues.

In general, though, the style with which we approach men’s issues in therapy can sometimes be different than the style we use with others. For example, at our psychotherapy clinic in Toronto we’ll be more likely to:

  1. Talk about the ways in which traditional ideas of masculinity influence our mental health, both for better and for worse

  2. Take a ‘strengths-based approach’ that capitalizes on traditionally masculine approaches to solving problems, like teaching specific skills to navigate distress and relationships

  3. Use an action-oriented, directive style in men’s therapy by focusing more on doing rather than just talking (we’ll still be doing lots of talking too!)

Read our blog post about Engaging Men in Mental Healthcare to learn more about men’s therapy approaches and feel free to contact us to learn more about our psychotherapy clinic in downtown Toronto!

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We continue to advocate for men’s issues and men’s mental health. Check out our op-eds in The Toronto Star!

Toronto Men’s Therapy Team

What Services Do We Offer?

Like in our general service, we offer individual therapy for men’s issues like:

  • Anxiety (e.g., panic attacks, social anxiety,
    generalized anxiety and worry, phobias, health anxiety)

  • Depression and  Bipolar disorders

  • Obsessions and compulsive behaviours (OCD)

  • Substance use and behavioural addictions (e.g., problem gambling)

  • Post-traumatic stress and complex trauma 

  • Psychosis

  • Emotion dysregulation

  • Life transition and relationship challenges

We also run a specialized CBT Group for Anxiety and Depression.