Mental Health Week: Mental Illness Treatment Programs in Canada and Community Gardens
Community Garden Programs Help Those with Mental Illness Thrive Did you know there is a branch of therapy called ecotherapy? Ecotherapy is any kind of therapy that integrates activity in nature. Horticulture therapy is a growing part of ecotherapy as “the essential components of a community garden program (growing plants, spending time with others in a safe and supportive environment, being active outdoors and bringing home healthy produce harvested from the garden) can contribute to positive mental health outcomes”. Ecotherapy is a technique used in combination with other therapies to help people with disorders like PTSD and anxiety. Mental Health Benefits of Dirt Mycobacterium vaccae is a naturally occurring bacteria in soil that has similar properties to antidepressants. It has been found to boost the production of serotonin, one of the chemicals in the brain that makes us happy. Gardeners inhale this bacteria or have topical contact and the positive effects can be felt for up to 3 weeks. In one study, lung cancer patients were injected with this bacteria and they reported less nausea and pain, and overall increased wellbeing. In a follow up study, scientists injected the same bacteria into mice and saw that it stimulated the same nerves that activate serotonin production as Prozac. Social Connections The mental health benefits abound from partaking in community gardening. We’re fortunate in Canada in that even the most urban of locations, think Toronto or Vancouver, often have community garden program. The community and garden components each bring different benefits that work amazingly well together. The community aspect means participants are working with other people and building social networks, while the gardening itself helps with reducing stress, increased self-worth, as well as improvements in physical health. The Stop is a community food centre in Toronto that runs community garden programs for local residents. These programs are often targeted at newcomers to the area and seniors, as these are two demographics that are susceptible to social isolation. In a 2012 survey of participants 80% said they made a new friend in the program and 90% felt they belonged to a community at The Stop. Community gardens are springing up all over Canada, from Sackville, New Brunswick to Lutselk’e, NWT. Now is the time to do a Google search and find out if there is one in your city, you might be surprised! References: Mental Health Benefits of Community Gardening Antidepressant Microbes in Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy Is Dirt the New Prozac? The Stop: Community Food Centre Canada’s Community Gardens JMC: 2018.04.26 The post Mental Health Week: Mental Illness Treatment Programs in Canada and Community Gardens appeared first on Canada Drug...
Five Questions to Ask Private Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Programs
There are many questions to think about as you decide between private treatment programs for drug rehab, alcohol treatment, or other addictions. Price is important of course, but what you get for your money is the key. What kind of staff are on site, and what are their qualifications? Is there a refund policy? Remember to also ask about extra-curriculars, including family programs and aftercare. Let’s go over five questions to ask before deciding which treatment program is right for you. Price What is the cost? Asking right away will allow you to gauge whether you can afford the program. Remember, there will often be additional costs like transportation to and from the facility if you live far away. What do you get for this price? Private drug, alcohol, and/or addiction treatment programs in Canada range from the thousands to tens of thousands for programs that can be a few weeks long to a few months. Ask the following questions to ensure you are going to get value for your money. Staff What is the staff to client ratio? Do you think it will be sufficient or not quite what you were anticipating? What are the credentials of the staff providing therapy? Some expensive private treatment programs only offer you low-level counseling certificate counselors, while others offer Masters or PhD level counselors. A Masters level or above counselor will be able to offer a variety of counseling techniques that a lesser trained counselor will not. An assumption many people have is that they will be having frequent counseling sessions. In fact, some private programs offer no one-on-one sessions unless specifically asked for and rely heavily on group work instead. Ask how many individual counseling sessions you are guaranteed. Refund Policy People get refunds all the time at stores so it is almost assumed that a private treatment program would be the same. In fact, it can be hard to find out a treatment program’s refund policy. Some vary on whether the client was discharged by the program or discharged themselves. Others may offer a partial refund by charging a per day rate for how many days the client was there, plus an admin fee. Do not go to a facility that has a zero refund policy or does not want to discuss it, red flag! Extra-Curriculars There are some great high-end private treatment programs that, along with medical and emotional support, offer extra-curriculars. These can include massage therapy, pool time, indoor and outdoor recreational activities, and sports. While not specifically part of treatment, many clients find these activities fun and a respite from the intensive therapies. It’s worth asking about additional program features like a family program or aftercare. Loved ones of the client are often hugely impacted by the client’s substance use. A family program can help heal old wounds, as well as prevent relapse by ensuring the support team is on board. Making sure family members are accommodating of the client’s new needs and new life when they return home from treatment is critical for sustained change. Additionally, some private treatment programs offer aftercare in the form of alumni networks and/or online support. There should be a discharge plan where the client is given a list of local meetings and support for when they return home. Of course, remember to ask if these family programs and aftercare programs are included or an additional cost. Medication Those who have prescriptions need to ask if their medication is allowed on site. Most facilities are abstinence-based and many do not allow any kind of medication into the facility. If you...
Current Government Approach to Ontario’s Mental Health and Addiction Treatment
Introduction In this month’s Provincial Snapshot, we look at Ontario’s mental health and addiction strategy and the subsequent updates and recommendations. Every month we look at another province, and what their provincial government’s approach to mental health and addiction treatment is. For April, we assess Open Minds, Healthy Minds, Ontario’s Comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Strategy released in 2011. The four guiding goals for this strategy were “improve mental health and well-being for all Ontarians; create healthy, resilient, inclusive communities; identify mental health and addictions problems early and intervene; provide timely, high quality, integrated, person-directed health and other human services.” Following the 2011 Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, a Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council was formed in 2014 to ensure the implementation of the Strategy. In 2015, this council released their first annual report with recommendations on how the work is going. The council outlined five priority areas for continued focus: prevention, promotion, and early intervention; youth addictions; supportive housing; system alignment and capacity; and community mental health and addictions funding reform. In 2016, the council released their second annual report which looks again at these priority areas and any improvement. This blog will focus on these priority areas and associated recommendations to give the most up to date assessment of Ontario’s progress. 2015 Recommendations for Drug Rehab, Alcohol Treatment, and other Addiction Programs In 2015, Ontario’s mental health and addiction advisory council unanimously supported urgent action be taken on five recommendations: Make it easier for young people to transition from youth to adult mental health and addictions services and supports Expect the same focus on quality from Ontario’s mental health and addictions system as you do from other parts of the health care system Move on key First Nation, Metis, Inuit, and urban Aboriginal mental health and addictions needs. – The Ontario government needs to prioritize funding for nurse practitioners to be able to prescribe Suboxone. Also, allow for Indigenous mental health programs and infrastructure to work parallel with the Ontario government programs. Prioritize investments in supportive housing focused on meeting the needs of individuals with mental illness and addictions. – Multiple government strategies have suggested more affordable housing and it is time to deliver on these recommendations. Clarify which provincial ministry should lead the development and implementation of youth addictions policy and programming. – There are two different ministries currently both sharing responsibility. To improve service delivery just one ministry in charge is recommended. 2016 Reflections on 2015 Recommendations In 2016, the council revisited some of their recommendations to see what, if any, progress had been made in Ontario’s mental health and addiction services. Two ministries are still sharing responsibility for youth addictions but they have worked together to look for service gaps and how to improve them. Quality guidelines were laid out to ensure a high quality of care across community programs. A number of organizations and ministries are working together to evaluate priorities for Indigenous mental health. There is also work being done to enable Suboxone prescribing by nurse practitioners, a key recommendation from 2015. Housing remained the same with no further money allocated to supportive housing since 2014. 2016 Recommendations Finally, a look at the three recommendations to come from the council’s 2016 report to improve Ontario’s mental health and addiction support systems. The first recommendation has been one of the council’s guiding principles since the beginning; promote, prevent, and intervene early. This is a smart recommendation, as “70% of mental health and addiction issues begin in childhood or adolescence and can contribute to physical health problems, poor educational outcomes, and involvement with...
Drugs: A Key Focus of the Liberal Convention
As we previously reported on, Halifax hosted the Liberal National Convention this past week. Party members voted on proposed resolutions that should become official party policy and guide future policy decisions. However, technically these resolutions are nonbinding, and because Justin Trudeau and party elite are not proponents of some of the resolutions, they may not be included in the 2019 platform. The outcome of the convention clearly shows a left-leaning, forward-thinking young Liberal membership hungry for drugs reform. Among the resolutions passed were: Address the Opioid Crisis through a Public Health Approach Implementing Universal Access to Necessary Medicines Inclusion of Mental Health Services in Medicare and the Canada Health Act Decriminalization of small possession of all illicit drugs Despite being one of the most popular resolutions to pass, the proposition for decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs was flatly dismissed by the Prime Minister immediately following the convention. The Health Minister was inline with the PM, saying the Portugal Model of decriminalization could not work in Canada. While the Justice Minister did say the government had no plans to institute widespread decriminalization, she was open to listening to the arguments for decriminalization of small amounts of illicit substances. Universal Pharmacare As Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault commented, universal prescription coverage has been on the Liberal docket some twenty years. A resounding yes vote on this shows that the Liberal membership wants universal pharmacare, whether its likely to come about soon is questionable though. The Canadian public would save billions annually on prescription costs, while it is estimated the government would spend an additional 7 bil to accommodate. Trudeau seems hesitant on any resolution that requires loosening the purse strings. This seems to be yet another member-supported progressive policy that has proven success in other countries, but that may not see the light of the 2019 election platform. We will continue reporting on the progress from propositions to actual policy as the lead up to the 2019 election continues. References: Pharmacare, Decriminalizing Drugs and Mental Health Services Top Priorities for Grassroots Liberals Liberal Leadership and Grassroots Members Appear to be on a Different Path at Policy Convention: Chris Hall Liberal MP Still Wants Drugs Decriminalized Despite Health Minister’s Objection Liberal Caucus Supports Decriminalization The post Drugs: A Key Focus of the Liberal Convention appeared first on Canada Drug...
Addiction to Remission: Recovery Terminology to Know about Drugs and Alcohol
When working on your substance use issues, you’ll encounter some recovery terminology you may not know yet. A lot of the terms sound similar but have quite different meanings. Read on to learn more about what industry professionals mean when they use them, and how they apply to your journey. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is one of the resources used to compile this list of terminology. It is an authority in the world of addiction medicine, and also acknowledges that terminology is always changing, so is a good current frame of reference. Addiction ASAM’s short definition of addiction is: “Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.” Not everyone subscribes to the concept of addiction being a disease, however the physical impact on the brain is often very real. Our brains can be rewired many times over, and addiction is a very capable electrician. It is also important to note here that certain characteristics must be present to confirm a true addiction. A quick test is the Three C’s, compulsion, control, and consequences. Compulsion is the obsessive behaviour preceding using (i.e. daydreaming about next use). Control is what happens after using (i.e. no control to set limits, engaging in unhealthy behaviour in order to use). Consequences are what truly seals the addiction definition. Continuing to use even after being faced with negative consequences like losing a job, family, or having trouble with the police. Recovery “A process of sustained action that addresses the biological, psychological, social and spiritual disturbances inherent in addiction.” Recovery is the journey to remission. Whether the client is in outpatient or inpatient treatment, the work they are putting in is their recovery. Recovery is not a linear journey but it is the “sustained action” that counts. Remission “A state of wellness where there is an abatement of signs and symptoms that characterize active addiction.” In a disease model, remission means the disease is out of the system and is no longer causing concern, like when someone goes into remission from cancer. Therefore, this is the word used to demonstrate that a client is now functioning like a person without an addiction. Relapse “A process in which an individual who has established abstinence or sobriety experiences recurrence of signs and symptoms of active addiction, often including resumption of the pathological pursuit of reward and/or relief through the use of substance and other behaviours.” Relapse can be very disheartening, however, it is very common. Just like learning to ride a bike, a client should expect a few falls along the way. The client is learning healthy behaviours and making huge life changes to get to a remission state. As mentioned above, the most important thing is to get back on the recovery journey and keep trying. Abstinence “Intentional and consistent restraint from the pathological pursuit of reward and/or relief that involves the use of substances and other behaviours.” Abstinence is promoted by numerous organizations and is the crux of many philosophies. However, abstinence as a concept really does not hold up under scientific scrutiny. Abstinence sees the drug as the problem and the reason for the addiction. If this were true, however, everyone who drank alcohol or tried a drug would become addicted. It has been proved many times over that in order to prevent addiction we must look at the individual. Why is this person drawn to becoming intoxicated? Do they have an undiagnosed mental health issue, have they experienced trauma, are they in a less than ideal work/living/family situation? When we answer these questions we usually find the...
