The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is calling for a national mental health promotion strategy to identify and help Canadians at risk of mental illness.
The strategy is one of six recommendations outlined in an association policy paper released as part of Mental Health Week, which continues until Sunday.
“As a community, we need to develop positive mental health among all people, whether they live with or without mental illness. An increased focus on mental health promotion and prevention efforts will better serve everyone in Canada, including those who currently struggle with their mental health, because it will have a positive impact on individual well-being, relationships with others, work-life, and overall community health," said Dr. Beth Mitchell, CEO, CMHA Middlesex.
According to the association, the country's current "patchwork efforts" to promote mental health in schools, workplaces, and communities have been underfunded and lacks coordination. That is despite evidence that good mental health practices are most effective when taught early in life, making schools an ideal setting to start the conversation.
“We all understand we have to brush our teeth to avoid cavities. We teach our kids about fire safety to stave off house fires. But our society still doesn’t get that it’s the same with mental health,” said Dr. Patrick Smith, national CMHA CEO. “Waiting until the house is on fire is way too late to start teaching kids not to play with matches.”
Roughly 70 per cent of mental health problems start in childhood and adolescence, the association notes.
In addition to school-based interventions, there is strong evidence that workplace-based mental health promotion programs effectively reduce absenteeism, improving productivity and reducing health care costs.
To put the best national promotion strategy in place it must be properly coordinated, well-funded, sustained and monitored, the association said. It also needs to include a special focus on seniors facing loneliness and youths subjected to social media stressors.
Putting a national strategy in place will also help Canadians by alleviating pressure on the acute-care system, cutting down on wait times to ensure those suffering from issues such as anxiety or depression get help sooner.
To read the full 57-page CMHA policy paper, Cohesive, Collaborative, Collective: Advancing Mental Health Promotion in Canada click here.
