Medical Assistance in Death (MAiD) in Canada: Mental Illness and Assisted Suicide Curt and Katie chat about assisted suicide related to an upcoming expansion of the MAiD laws in Canada to include mental illness. We discuss what these laws seems to say as well as how they might impact patients, medical providers, and therapists. We explore the moral and ethical questions as well as what other countries have done to put in further safeguards to protect patients and doctors.    Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about the expansion of Medical Assistance in Death laws in Canada We have been watching the MAiD laws in Canada that are soon going to include assistance in death for folks with mental illness. We talk about the law and the concerns we have related to the safeguards (or lack of safeguards). What are the updates coming to the Medical Assistance in Death laws in Canada? With the approval of 2 medical professionals and a 24-month waiting period (for psychological illness), individuals can get medication or an injection from a medical provider to end their lives Requirements for application include chronic, “grievous and irremediable” conditions Information on requirements are here: Final Report of the Expert Panel on MAiD and Mental Illness The differences in laws in other countries that seem to have more safeguards in place What are the moral and ethical questions facing medical and mental health providers? “Do we have the right – the moral right – as therapists, mental health professionals of any sort of background or license, to tell clients that they must live or that it is okay for them to end their life?” – Curt Widhalm, LMFT What responsibilities do mental health providers have to their clients related to end of life? Who will be negatively impacted versus who will be positively impacted? Who would qualify and who would seek out assistance in dying? “I'm not worried that someone that's a little depressed is going to decide they want to die by suicide… I think it's more that there are going to be folks [diagnosed with serious mental illness who are receiving insufficient mental health care] … who really don't feel like they have options (and maybe they don't) and they choose to die by suicide versus advocating for stronger treatment.” – Katie Vernoy, LMFT What is mental illness? Is it only what is in the ICD or DSM? What are the impacts of these laws on physicians? Concerns raised by First Nations groups in Canada Our Generous Sponsors for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide: Thrizer Thrizer is a new modern billing platform for therapists that was built on the belief that therapy should be accessible AND clinicians should earn what they are worth. Their platform automatically gets clients reimbursed by their insurance after every session. Just by billing your clients through Thrizer, you can potentially save them hundreds every month, with no extra work on your end. Every time you bill a client through Thrizer, an insurance claim is automatically generated and sent directly to the client's insurance. From there, Thrizer provides concierge support to ensure clients get their reimbursement quickly, directly into their bank account. By eliminating reimbursement by check, confusion around benefits, and obscurity with reimbursement status, they allow your clients to focus on what actually matters rather than worrying about their money. It is very quick to get set up and it works great in completement with EHR systems. Their team is super helpful and responsive, and the founder is actually a long-time therapy client who grew frustrated with his reimbursement times The best part is you don't need to give up your rate. They charge a standard 3% payment processing fee! Thrizer lets you become more accessible while remaining in complete control of your practice. A better experience for your clients during therapy means higher retention.