Mental Health Literacy

The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) is in the midst of developing a national strategy on improving mental health literacy in Canada. They are surveying as many Canadians as possible.

Mental health literacy is defined as the knowledge, beliefs and abilities that enable the recognition, management or prevention of mental health problems. CAMIMH's investigations thus far indicate that enhanced mental health literacy appears to confer a range of benefits: prevention, early recognition and intervention, and reduction of stigma associated with mental illness.

If you are interested in becoming involved in this initiative you are requested to fill out the following survey. All submissions will be treated as confidential.

Ce questionnaire est aussi disponible en français.

L’Alliance canadienne pour la maladie mentale et la santé mentale (ACMMSM) est au cœur du développement d’une stratégie nationale pour améliorer l’alphabétisme en matière de santé mentale au Canada. Par conséquent, ils enquêtient autant de Canadiens que possible. L’alphabétisme en matière de santé mentale est défini comme étant les connaissances, les croyances et les aptitudes qui facilitent la détection, la gestion ou la prévention des problèmes de santé mentale. Jusqu’à maintenant, les investigations de l’ACMMSM indiquent que l’alphabétisme en matière de santé mentale semble conférer une variété d’avantages : La prévention, la détection précoce et l’intervention, et la réduction du stigmate associé avec la maladie mentale.

Si vous êtes intéressé à vous engager dans cette initiative, nous vous demandons de remplir le sondage suivant. Toutes les soumissions seront traitées dans la plus stricte confidentialité.

International Initiative on Mental Health Leadership

The international meeting of the International Initiative on Mental Health Leadership is fast approaching.

Canada will be hosting the formal events in Ottawa at the Chateau Laurier from August 29 - 31, 2007.

As a member of this initiative, the National Network for Mental Health will be hosting like organizations from around the globe including but not limited to the following guests:

- Jenny Speed, Deputy Director, Australian Mental Health Consumer Network Inc (Australia)

- Noreen Fitzgibbon, Regional Co-ordinator, Cork, CountyCork, Irish Advocacy Network (Ireland)

- Judi Chamberlin, Consumer Survivor / User Advocate, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (United States)

- Shaun McNeil, Secretary, VOX-Voices Of eXperience (Scotland)

- Susan Crooks, Chief Executive Officer, THE LIGHT HOUSE TRUST (New Zealand

- Anne Beales, Director, Together Working for Well Being (United Kingdom)

For more information on this initiative please visit this website.

RBC donates $2 million for children's mental health

Thank you RBC!

Toronto, ON, June 22, 2007 - The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) will be furthering much-needed training, research and outreach into paediatric mental health thanks to a $2 million commitment from RBC. June 21's official announcement is part of a week-long employee celebration of RBC "Putting Communities FIRST," that this evening will see hundreds of committed RBC employees walking five kilometres to SickKids in support of the hospital.

This $2 million gift from the RBC Foundation will allow SickKids to share critical knowledge with remote communities and focus on advanced training opportunities in clinical research through fellowships while providing seed funding for new research opportunities.

"Our ultimate goal is to find the causes of behavioural and emotional problems affecting children and adolescents in order to sharpen our treatment interventions. Our hope is that greater knowledge will reduce stigma and help improve long-term outcomes for children and youth," said Abel Ickowicz, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at SickKids. "Research and innovation is critical to open up the dialogue with all of our communities to share critical information and improve access to care for all children and their families."

Mental health issues are the leading health problems that Canadian children currently face after infancy. One in six Canadians is affected by behavioural or emotional problems severe enough to impact their quality of life and the lives of their family. Without effective prevention or treatment, these problems often lead to distress into adulthood.

"This gift recognizes the importance of investing in children's mental health today, so that we can make the adult health system more sustainable in the future," Dr. Ickowicz added.

"RBC is proud to be putting communities first," said Jennifer Tory, RBC Regional President, Greater Toronto Region. "We've partnered with SickKids for the past 20 years because we know it is vitally important for the future well being of our children. SickKids is known for its research discoveries, and we are excited about the possibilities of this gift and its impact on the communities where our employees live and work."

This gift will impact three key areas in paediatric mental health:

1. RBC Mental Health Knowledge Exchange Program - The creation of an education network based on existing tele-psychiatry infrastructure in Ontario. Its purpose is to support knowledge exchange through professional development and public education forums. By increasing knowledge among front-line caregivers and parents, our communities will have increased capacity to care for children with mental health problems. A national conference/symposium will also encourage best practices in tele-health education.

2. RBC Fellows Fund in Mental Health Research - The creation of a fund to support four fellowships in mental health research per year to advance the training opportunities in this field.

3. RBC Seed Fund for Mental Health Research - The creation of a seed fund to be allocated through the scientific review process established by the SickKids Psychiatry Department. A minimum of two projects will be funded each year.

Time for renewal

No matter how much I prepare for moving, it still becomes a stressful event. To give you a sense of what I went through this weekend my movers were 6 hours late and scratched up my dining room table. At least I HAD movers as it would have taken a long time to do everything without them.

Now, to finish unpacking. This part is a mentally healthy event. Establishing order in my surroundings is something others with anxiety disorders can relate to, I'm sure.

Moving, Part 2

I have not forgotten about my loyal readers! Things have been very busy. My partner and I are moving again. Yes, it was only last November that I wrote about the stress of moving. While we are much more prepared this time, I'm still a little anxious - hoping everything goes smoothly.

We will be moving within Ottawa and this time around we bought a house, a townhome, actually. We hadn't planned on moving so soon. However, our landlady would like to occupy her home - something we could never have planned for.

While I work on the move, I'll leave you with some reading during my short absence.

Interesting stories to check out:

-54 million people suffer from mental illness (United Nations)

-scientific breakthrough with stem cells provides hope for better treatment of Alzheimer's and diabetes

-gene discovery to aid in the development of new treatments for bipolar disorder, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure and Crohn's disease.

-Systems Enhancement Evaluation Initiative (SEEI) suggests that the new money invested in Ontario's mental health since 2004 is making an impact.

-Regina, Saskatchewan struggling to hire more mental health professionals; rates of mental illness much higher among low-income population - study's results reflect the incidence of mental illness in the poor around the world