Thread. As I’ve alluded to recently, I haven’t been able to get in to see a psychiatrist and my doctor won’t change my medications because he’s not an expert. But because I have bipolar disorder, the wrong cocktail could be very bad and only a psychiatrist will prescribe for me.

So I’ve been in limbo—knowing that my medication needs tweaking, but unable to see a psychiatrist. This has resulted in talk therapy being VERY important for managing my health. 2/

A few days ago I started thinking about my taxes, and like some of you know—I will end up spending roughly $5000 out of pocket for therapy this year. I wondered if that was something I could submit as a medical expense. 3/

It turns out that I will not be able to expense my therapy because I’m seeing a counselor and not a psychologist. It’s what I can afford out of pocket. 4/

If you look up prices for psychologists—they USUALLY run $150+ while counselors are more in the $80-$120 range. I think psychologists deserve every cent they make (and more!), but when you see someone weekly, you need to think about the costs. 5/

On top of that, I really do love my counselor. I’ve seen 3 psychiatrists, 2 psychologists, and 4 counselors over the last 11 years. Counselors have been SO important for my mental healthcare. No less than the psychiatrists or psychologists. 6/

If I hadn’t made the choice to see a counselor, I would have cost the entire system money when I took my life—even more if I failed and had to be hospitalized. Instead, I paid out of pocket to access long term healthcare that’s not available to me in the current system. 7/

But I can’t expense it. It’s not considered real mental healthcare. And to be quite frank—it’s ridiculous. Doorways is considered part of the mental healthcare available in NL and guess who is on the team of people offering help? Counselors. 8/

So why in the world can’t we expense it? Why are NB and NS are the only two provinces that say it’s healthcare on paper? When people pay out of pocket for mental healthcare, they least they should be able to do is claim it as an expense when they file their taxes. 9/

Minister @Johnrockdoc , please consider changing this. NL stepped up with the Doorways program. Please step up with this. 10/10