A Winnipeg psychologist with 25 years in the business is being called before the Psychological Association of Manitoba for a conduct hearing next week, saying she and many of her patients believe the scrutiny is related to RCMP and military patients she has diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dr. Solange Lavack has treated an estimated 60 RCMP officers, all of whom, she says, meet the criteria for the disorder from traumatic work events. But she says she battles with the federal police bureaucracy over many of her assessments and has been pressured to downgrade diagnoses so that personnel return to high-stress, high-risk work.
“I can’t talk about the details at this time, but what I can say is that there has been efforts from certain individuals, from health services to communicate with a lot of organizations for the purpose of discrediting me,” Lavack says.
In 2017, she complained to the Civilian Complaints and Review Commission about bullying and privacy and billing issues.
The complaints commission found many of her concerns were valid.
“I just feel that I’m subjected to ongoing retaliation because I’m the whistleblower but more than that — worse than that — is that you have RCMP members and vets who have been caught in the crossfire,”Lavack says.
The federal government de-listed her as a provider, meaning military, RCMP or other federal employees who use her services have to pay out of pocket.
“She had been part of the providers’ list for many many years and (problems) only started when she started to stand up to bullies that were trying to force her to write things their way and now they have it out for her,” says military veteran Ron Martin, a long-time patient.
“There’s a shortage of currently serving members of the RCMP and military and they need those people to (stay in) their jobs.”
Military veterans (l – r) Graham Rowe, Ron Martin and Doug Tizya have been diagnosed with PTSD and are patients of Dr. Solange Lavack, who they say has been targeted by complaints to the provincial psychology regulator because of her support for police and military personnel who’ve suffered traumatic events while on the job.
Josh Arason / Global News
That has left many care providers pressured to diagnose a personality disorder instead of PTSD because “it keeps them on the payroll as a serving member,” Martin says.
He and three other patients told Global News they don’t believe they would be alive if not for Lavack’s care.
“She’s all about the patient, all about providing the best help she can to us,” says Graham Rowe, who completed three tours overseas with the Canadian Armed Forces and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
“We’ve all seen things that we shouldn’t, and shouldn’t be going back into (those situations) again,” he says. “When they get misdiagnosed, that’s when you get all the suicides, the drinking and drugs…”
The Psychological Association of Manitoba won’t provide details of who complained about Lavack or the nature of those complaints and declined interview requests until after the conduct hearing which begins Monday and could take until the end of the month.
In a statement, the RCMP says “the health and safety of employees is a top priority and essential to public safety,” and they have “zero tolerance for the outdated attitude that mental health injuries are not real.”
Lavack continues to see patients pending the outcome of the conduct review.
