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April 2009 – Volume 5, No. 2
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MHCC releases its vision
for a national mental health strategyby Jadranka Bacic
It was a long time coming, according to the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA), but Canada is one step closer to achieving a national mental health strategy.
Hot on the heels of the release of its draft framework document, Toward Recovery and Well-Being, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) hit the road for a cross-country consultation with mental health stakeholders in 11 communities. The meetings started February 3 in St. John’s and have since taken place in Halifax, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Regina, Vancouver, Montreal, Yellowknife, Edmonton and Iqaluit. A corresponding online consultation of Canadians continued until the end of March.
Several representatives from the CPA, including President Susan Abbey, were invited to participate in the focus group meetings.
Howard Chodos, director of the Commission’s Mental Health Strategy, says the draft framework details eight broad goals that will guide the development of the strategy. It proposes a comprehensive approach to mental health, one that both fosters recovery for people living with mental health problems and illnesses, and promotes the mental health and well-being of all Canadians.
Donald Milliken, CPA past-president and now chair of the association’s Advocacy Committee, agrees that a national mental health strategy should provide hope to people and promote recovery, but is careful to point out that without proper treatment and services combined with increased research, the promise of recovery will never be fulfilled.
Roger Bland, psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, welcomes the fact that the document addresses mental health and not just mental illness. “I think that psychiatrists and the CPA should have an interest in population health," he says. “We should also have some concern for broader social issues known to be risk factors for mental illnesses or poor mental health, such as housing and family violence, since these factors can affect the welfare and well-being of patients who are seen by psychiatrists."
The framework also includes a focus on correcting inadequacies in the systems of care along with their inability to consistently provide best practice care.
“A successful national strategy would work towards a situation where any individual, wherever they are in Canada, could expect to be helped in roughly the same way for the same kinds of problems," says Simon Brooks, a psychiatrist from Nova Scotia, in his response to the CPA’s request to members to help inform the Association’s organizational response to the draft framework.
Mr. Chodos was pleased with the input the Commission received through this collaborative process. “Judging by the many signs of growing public interest in mental health issues, the momentum for change is building," he ays. “Working together, we will be able to transform our current mental health system and enhance the mental health and well-being of all Canadians."
The MHCC is revising the document based on feedback received and a final version will be released in the late spring.
“Once we finalize the framework with the help of the mental health community and interested Canadians, we will be able to move on to the second phase – producing a roadmap for how to achieve the eight goals for transforming the mental health system in our country," says Mr. Chodos.
MHCC goals for a transformed mental health system1. The hope for recovery is available to all.
2. Action is taken to promote mental health and well-being and to prevent mental health problems and illnesses.
3. The mental health system is culturally safe, and responds to the diverse needs of Canadians.
4. The importance of families in promoting recovery and well-being is recognized and their needs are supported.
5. People of all ages have equitable access to a system of appropriate and effective programs, services and supports that is seamlessly integrated around their needs.
6. Actions are based on appropriate evidence, outcomes are measured, and research is advanced.
7. Discrimination against people living with mental health problems and illnesses is eliminated, and stigma is not tolerated.
8. A broadly-based social movement keeps mental health issues out of the shadows – forever.
© Copyright 2009. Canadian Psychiatry Aujourd’hui. All rights reserved.
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February 04, 2012
