Indigenous Mental Health, An Issue of Inadequate Support

Mental health crises are a prevalent issue on many indigenous reserves across the country, especially for youth. Current mental health resources available to these communities are not only scarce, but mainly emphasize reactive treatment versus prevention. Mental health services reaching these areas often have high staff turnover and short-term shifts for personnel. As a result, impactful therapeutic relationships are hard to come by. The issue is complicated by the fact that many of the common mental health issues experienced by members of indigenous communities, such as sexual abuse, substance abuse, or depression, cannot be effectively resolved in a short time frame. Thus, novel strategies need to not only focus on acute mental health, but need to address the many factors that precipitate these crises such as inadequate housing, poor drinking water, and other social determinants of health. It’s time to focus on prevention.

For the full article, visit:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/lack-of-services-contributing-to-indigenous-mental-health-crisis-frontline-workers-1.3178797

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