PhD candidate pursuing psychologist career says there are too many barriers in Sask. – CBC
Saskatchewan Health Authority says 19 per cent of psychology positions are vacant
Jan 30, 2023
Stephen Olshefsky is a sessional professor in the psychology department at the University of Regina. He has two master’s degrees — one in microbiology and one in forensic psychology.
Now, Olshefsky is a PhD candidate in psychology. Yet the 46-year-old said he keeps meeting barriers on his journey to becoming a licensed psychologist in Saskatchewan.
The province is in need of mental health professionals. According to the Ministry of Health, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has more than 80 full‐time equivalent psychology positions, of which approximately 19 per cent are currently vacant.
This shortage has been at the top of Olshefsky’s mind for some time.
“At the end of my master’s of forensic psychology I started researching, how do I become a psychologist? I know there’s a mental health crisis and I could always be useful no matter what happened,” he said.
