Police have been described as “street corner psychiatrists.” They are often the community resource that responds at all hours when emergency calls come in for someone in mental health crisis. Police also serve a gatekeeper function in determining what services are required for an individual in crisis. They are tasked with the important and difficult …
At long last, people are talking about postpartum depression. Dismissed for years as no more than a touch of the baby blues or else unheard of entirely, postpartum depression — or PPD, as it is often known — has become an open subject. Healthcare providers are aware of it, many nurses and physicians routinely screen mothers for …
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I am looking for a geriatric psychiatrist. I am 77 years old and I have newly surfaced emotional problems. It started with physical symptoms, which were treated …
Canada’s prisons have become the “asylums of the 21st century”. Yet despite evidence from the Mental Health Commission of Canada that the current criminal system is failing to address mental illness in our prisons, the Government of Canada continues to push a “tough on crime” agenda. According to a report from the federal prison ombudsman, …
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I am a man who suffers from severe depression. I seem to be medication resistant, as I have tried many. They work for a while and then …
Psychiatric medications are valuable tools for treating many mental illnesses. Some psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, can only be effectively treated with medication. However, pharmaceuticals have become the default treatment for all mental illnesses in Canada, even when the evidence suggests that medications are not effective for all of the conditions for which they are …
Chris’ story Chris is a family doctor at a Family Health Team in a Southern Ontario farming community (some details including his name have been changed to protect his and his patients’ identities). He sees many children and youth who have mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and severe ADHD. While he can care for …
Stigma is a significant challenge that infects every issue surrounding mental illness. Mass media depictions of mental illness and treatments of psychiatric disorders perpetuate misconceptions by repeated presentation of negative stereotypes. The impact is seen when patients with mental illness are reluctant to seek the treatment they need. Negative depictions of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) contribute …
In our society, the disease of schizophrenia is shrouded in fear, isolation and ignorance. The initial symptoms, which include hearing voices, mental delusions and paranoia, may at first be attributed to a bad day, an odd drug reaction, or any other number of conditions. Someone having these experiences does not suspect that a journey is …
Sayid is a 65 year old South Asian man from Toronto. He has schizophrenia, but with the proper medications and supports, his illness is well controlled, allowing him to work full-time in a manufacturing job. For years, like many of Toronto’s working poor, he lived paycheque to paycheque. When his company underwent downsizing, Sayid lost …
I would like to start out by thanking all the fantastic health care workers. As a recovering person with diagnosed concurrent disorders – having both addictions and mental health issues – I have seen the challenges and abuse often faced by doctors, nurses, counsellors and support staff working within the healthcare system. This article is …
Walking through the streets of any large city, one sees many homeless people. Nearly two in three have a history of some form of mental illness. Hospitals have become the place where homeless people with serious mental illness go during a crisis, but hospitals are poorly equipped to meet their needs. How can society improve …