Note: The information on this page is not provided (or approved) by Island Health. See below.
Finding a general outpatient psychiatrist in Victoria is not easy. With that in mind, we hope the following suggestions can help you. This page covers adult psychiatry, not child and adolescent.
Use Crisis Services When Required
If safety is an issue, call 9-1-1, go to the RJH or other ER, or call the crisis line (1-888-494-3888).
Start With a Family Doctor
To see a psychiatrist in BC, you need a referral from a doctor, usually a family doctor (or an ER doctor in emergencies). If you don't have a family doctor, see one at a walk-in clinic. They'll send a letter to the psychiatrist (or Island Health program) asking for you to be seen.
Family doctors are perfectly capable of treating mental illness and do so every day. Routine cases don't require a psychiatrist. If they think you need one, they can assess the urgency and send you to the right place in the system. They can also quickly get advice from a psychiatrist to help manage your care via the RACE (Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise) service.
Urgent Care
If your situation is causing enough distress or risk that it should be dealt with quickly but isn't an emergency, a family doctor may refer you to USTAT (Urgent Short Term Assessment and Treatment). This Island Health clinic provides access to psychiatrists, therapists, and groups. In theory, accepted patients are seen within several weeks (in practice, it's now usually several months) of the referral being received and care provided for up to three months. After that...?
Long-Term Psychiatric Care
Finding a psychiatrist to provide long-term care is incredibly difficult and may involve lots of luck. The current situation is terrible. Family doctors are stuck if they feel they can't provide you proper care. They'll often throw up their hands and say, "if you can find someone, I'll refer you."
They can try a referral through CARES for the Island Health clinics or contact one of the very few private practice psychiatrists to see if they're taking patients (we post this on our website).
One-Time Consultations
Family doctors can also refer you for a one-time consultation, where you are seen once by a psychiatrist (picked by Island Health). Your family doctor gets advice back that they use to provide care for you themselves. If your needs are anything less than urgent, this may be your best bet.
Ask a family doctor to send a referral to mental health intake (see "CARES") and specify that it's for a "one-time consultation." Unfortunately, last we checked, their waiting list for even a one-time consultation has stretched to many months in most cases.
Alternatives
For many problems, a psychologist, clinical counsellor, or other therapist may be helpful, possibly in conjunction with a family doctor. If money is tight, the Victoria Disability Resource Centre provides a list of free and affordable counselling providers.
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