Guelph Therapist Calls for OHIP Coverage of Psychotherapy

Marinela Trickett, a Registered Psychotherapist with more than 20 years of clinical experience, has launched a community advocacy initiative calling on the Ontario government to expand OHIP coverage of psychotherapy services, citing what she describes as a significant and measurable gap in access to specialized mental health care across Guelph, the Waterloo Region, and the broader Southern Ontario corridor.

The initiative, based out of Trickett Psychotherapy at 34 Harvard Road, Unit 2, in Guelph, Ontario, focuses specifically on evidence-based treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder, post-traumatic stress, and complex trauma -- conditions that remain substantially underserved within the publicly funded health system. Trickett is directing her advocacy at a provincial policy gap she argues has left many residents choosing between financial hardship and appropriate clinical care.

A Treatment Gap With Real Clinical Consequences

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, commonly referred to as DBT, is recognized by mental health researchers and clinicians as one of the most thoroughly studied interventions for Borderline Personality Disorder. The treatment combines four core skill areas -- emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness -- and requires structured, sustained delivery over months to be effective. That duration and structure make it costly to access privately, a fact Trickett identifies as a central problem.

In Guelph and the surrounding Kitchener-Waterloo area, demand for Borderline Personality Disorder therapy in Guelph consistently exceeds what publicly funded channels can absorb. Hospital-based programs carry waitlists, community mental health organizations operate with capped capacity, and private practitioners remain out of reach for individuals without employer-sponsored benefits or personal savings to draw on. The result is that a condition already associated with significant distress, self-harm risk, and social stigma becomes compounded by systemic inaccessibility.

Trickett draws a direct line between this structural gap and the stigma that continues to surround BPD as a diagnosis. When individuals cannot access consistent, evidence-based care, clinical outcomes worsen and public misunderstanding of the disorder persists. Advocacy for expanded coverage, she argues, is therefore inseparable from advocacy for reduced stigma.

PTSD, Complex Trauma, and the Limits of Private-Pay Access

The access issue extends beyond BPD. PTSD and trauma therapy -- including treatment for Complex PTSD, which can result from prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences -- similarly requires sustained clinical engagement. Trauma-focused psychotherapy is not a short-term intervention. Processing traumatic material, rebuilding emotional regulation capacity, and developing the internal resources needed to tolerate distress takes time, clinical skill, and continuity of care.

Trickett's practice addresses these presentations as part of its clinical scope. The work focuses on evidence-informed trauma therapy that supports clients in building emotional regulation skills and improving daily functioning -- without making promises of complete resolution that the clinical literature does not support. What the research does support, and what Trickett emphasizes in her advocacy, is that appropriate psychotherapy significantly improves outcomes for individuals living with PTSD and complex trauma when that therapy is accessible and sustained.

Currently, OHIP does not fund services provided by Registered Psychotherapists in private practice. Psychiatrists -- physicians who may or may not provide direct therapy -- are OHIP-insured, but access to psychiatry in Ontario also involves lengthy waits and uneven regional distribution. For residents of Guelph and neighboring communities along the Highway 401 corridor between Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, this gap is not theoretical. It is the reality of attempting to access DBT therapy in Guelph or trauma-informed care without a benefits plan.

The Policy Argument: Psychotherapy Access as a Public Health Issue

Trickett's advocacy positions psychotherapy coverage not as a luxury add-on to the health system but as a clinical necessity with documented public health implications. Untreated BPD, PTSD, and complex trauma carry downstream costs -- emergency department visits, crisis interventions, impacts on employment and family stability, and elevated risk for concurrent substance use or self-harm. Public investment in psychotherapy access, she argues, is also investment in reducing those downstream burdens.

"Psychotherapy access should not depend solely on a person's private ability to pay," said Marinela Trickett, MACP, RP, of Trickett Psychotherapy. "When evidence-based treatments exist and are simply out of financial reach for a significant portion of the population, that is a policy problem -- and it requires a policy response."

The initiative is framed as a community conversation rather than a campaign directed at a single legislative target. Trickett is inviting individuals, families, clinicians, and community organizations across Guelph and the Waterloo Region to engage with the question of what publicly funded mental health care should include -- and who should have access to it.

Geographic Context and Community Reach

Guelph occupies a distinct position in Southern Ontario's mental health landscape. It is large enough to have a meaningful concentration of clinical providers and institutional resources, yet it sits between two larger urban centers -- the Greater Toronto Area to the east and Kitchener-Waterloo to the west -- that draw regional service infrastructure. Residents along the Highway 401 corridor often face the compounded challenge of limited local capacity and the logistical burden of traveling for care.

Trickett Psychotherapy operates in this context, serving clients from Guelph and surrounding communities. The practice's location at 34 Harvard Road, Unit 2, Guelph, ON N1G 4V8 places it within a mid-sized city where demand for specialized psychotherapy -- particularly Borderline Personality Disorder therapy in Guelph and structured trauma-focused care -- has grown in ways that private-pay infrastructure alone cannot address.

By bringing this conversation into a public forum, Trickett is adding a clinical voice to a policy debate that has been underway in Ontario for years. Registered Psychotherapists across the province have long advocated for OHIP inclusion; Trickett's initiative grounds that broader argument in the specific, lived realities of clients seeking PTSD and trauma therapy and DBT-based care in her region.

About Trickett Psychotherapy

Trickett Psychotherapy is a psychotherapy practice located at 34 Harvard Road, Unit 2, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 4V8. The practice is led by Marinela Trickett, MACP, RP, a Registered Psychotherapist with more than 20 years of clinical experience. The practice provides individual psychotherapy with a focus on evidence-informed approaches to Borderline Personality Disorder, DBT-based skill development, trauma, PTSD, and Complex PTSD for adults in Guelph and the surrounding Southern Ontario region.

Learn more at Trickett Psychotherapy

Contact Information:

Trickett Psychotherapy

34 Harvard Road, Unit 2
Guelph, Ontario N1G 4V8
Canada

Marinela Trickett
+1 416-732-3277
https://trickettpsychotherapy.com