OASW Applauds Release of New Mental Health and Addictions Plan

Expansion of Structured Psychotherapy Key Part of Improving Lives of Ontarians

TORONTO, March 3, 2020 - The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW), the voice of social workers in Ontario, welcomes the release of the government’s new mental health and addictions plan Roadmap to Wellness: A Plan to Build Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions System as the next step in building a connected, and integrated system to ensure a plan to address critical wait times so Ontarians across the province have the timely access to the quality mental health and addiction services they deserve.

“We applaud government on the release of their new mental health and addictions plan,” said Dr. Deepy Sur, CEO, OASW. “As the largest regulated profession who provide counselling and psychotherapy services in Ontario, social workers have seen firsthand the importance of timely access to quality mental health and addiction services.”

Ontario's 20,000 Registered Social Workers are authorized to provide counselling services, psychotherapy services and the controlled act of psychotherapy. They can be found across the province providing this essential mental health care, crisis intervention and system navigation to individuals, families and caregivers dealing with mental health and addiction challenges. 

OASW offers its congratulations to the government on launching the Roadmap to Wellness and increasing access to core services that will be driven by evidence-based practice and data-informed decision making. This is a large step forward with a particular focus on quality improvement and a comprehensive plan to ensure adequate access, investments, and training will further ensure success.

“OASW is pleased to see the government’s focus on making Ontario a leader in mental health and addictions,” concluded Dr. Sur. “We look forward to working with government on the implementation of the plan to further improve the lives of countless Ontarians.”

About OASW
OASW is the voice of social work in Ontario. It is a voluntary, bilingual, non-profit association representing approximately 6000 social workers. All members have a university degree in social work at the bachelor, master or doctoral level. OASW works to actively speak on behalf of social workers on issues of interest to the profession and advocates for the improvement of social policies and programs directly affecting social work practice and client groups served.