Who uses psychological services in Canada?

Using data collected by Statistics Canada in the 1994-1995 Population Healt h Survey, we provide a profile of consumers of psychological services. Appr oximately 2.15% of those surveyed indicated that they had consulted a psych ologist in the 12 months prior to the survey; in population estimates, this is equivalent to 515,000 Canadians. The demographic profile of consumers o f psychological services is consistent with patterns of utilization of ment al health services found in other studies. That is, consumers were more lik ely to be female, to be middle-aged and to be separated, divorced or widowe d. Those with higher education and higher income were more likely to receiv e psychological services. Consumers of psychological services reported poor er health status than the general population, a higher number of past and r ecent stressors, higher levels of distress, and were more likely to have re ceived psychotropic medication. However, the majority of those likely to me et criteria for a diagnosis of depression did not receive psychological ser vices. Another important theme emerging from the study was the apparent und erutilization of psychological services, especially by those Canadians with the greatest mental health needs.