The Real Psychology Crisis
By an anonymous Health NZ Clinical Psychologist
Yesterday, Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocey proudly announced that Auckland University of Technology (AUT) was the second University selected to run the new associate psychologist programme in 2026 in response to what he has repeatedly called a “psychology crisis.” According to Minister Doocey, we “can’t just sit around and do nothing.” But for those of us working in mental health, this feels like exactly what the government is doing — repackaging the problem instead of addressing its root cause.
Let’s look at the numbers.
According to data taken from the most recent Annual Report from the New Zealand Psychologists Board (March 2023 – March 2024; see below), there were 4,857 psychologists holding current annual practising certificates. Of these, 4,026 were actively practising (this means working as a psychologist with clients). Notably, 256 were newly registered within that reporting period.
And yet, according to the table below - taken from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora’s Adult Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Estimates for that same year - fewer than 300 registered psychologists were employed within Secondary Mental Health and Addiction Services — across the entire country. Even more concerning, psychologists make up only 4.5% of the total mental health workforce within Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora. In contrast, managers and administrators together account for approximately 12%.
So, what’s the real crisis here?
Rather than creating parallel training pathways for “associate psychologists” — a title that’s still fuzzy (at best!) in terms of scope and recognition — we should be asking: Why aren’t we using the workforce we already have? Why are only a handful of psychologists sitting on the most senior pay scales? Why are psychologists leaving Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora in droves, or avoiding the public system altogether?
This isn’t just about workforce numbers — there were 178 new psychologists coming out of NZ training programmes and applying for registration in the last (reported) year alone (NZPB, 2024). Rates of trained psychologists have been slowly increasing and set to grow further. It’s about valuing the role of psychologists and psychology in Mental Health Services. It’s about asking questions about why those psychologists who are employed by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora leave. It’s about asking why, despite New Zealand’s deeply concerning suicide rates — particularly among our rangatahi/youth — individuals are still facing wait times of up to six months to access a psychologist through mental health services.
So, what is the cause of the so-called psychology crisis? It’s not a shortage — it’s a systemic failure. A failure by the government and Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora to recognise and invest in attracting and retaining psychological expertise.
The solution isn’t to dilute the profession with half-measures and parallel pathways. It’s to value the workforce we already have. To ask why psychologists are leaving, and to create a system worth staying in.
Minister Doocey, you say we can’t sit around and do nothing. We agree. So start by employing the psychologists who are already here — and ready to work. New Zealanders deserve nothing less.
