Concerns over sustainable mental health supports in central Alberta

She says ending up in the psych ward can be a good thing because it’s where somebody will want to finally help bring you changes.

“Unless you are a proactive person, which I would have to say most mentally ill people aren’t because they’re ill or have someone very proactive in your life,” adds Scharf. “It’s very difficult to get and continue those follow-ups and you are what I believe the term is ‘lost to follow-up’ which is basically, you just kind of drop off the map and eventually your care is lost and YOU become lost unless someone is advocating for you.”

Although her current situation is now excellent, Scharf says what she had to go through to get to this point is 100 per cent unacceptable.

“I had to get to such a level of crisis in emergency that I was ‘informed’ which means that they take away your rights and put you on a mental health watch for 24 hours,” she explains. “I was in the emergency room because I was in such a state of frustration from not being able to receive the care I was asking for. I literally said, ‘I’m not leaving until somebody commits to my care.’”

Scharf says that although society is now starting to address the stigma of mental illness, she feels much more can still be done to address the actual care being provided.

“There’s not the dollars and professionals to support the need. Change is starting but the support isn’t there for that change to actually happen. There needs to be a lot of behind-the-scenes-work and that’s what people need to be aware of.”

Laurie Holt, AHS Program Manager for Community Addictions and Mental Health in Red Deer says many people in need of help can start by calling or visiting their 49th Street location.

“We have booked appointments where clients can be referred in and have a therapist,” says Holt. “You can also walk-in any day Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and if you’re having a mental health crisis, you will be seen by somebody and that will get the ball rolling. We also have single sessions every day, so you can walk in and see someone every day.”

Holt feels the current system is fairly well-rounded but admits some people may require a more individualized type of care.

“We never turn anybody away,” says Holt. “It might not be the right door but there are lots of agencies in the community that we work well with. So if we can’t help you or if you don’t like the services here, we will make sure that you’re connected to some other service in the community.”

“It’s an ongoing concern,” Holt continues. “The demands are forever increasing and we’re always trying to adjust our programming and service delivery model to fit the needs of the community. Sometimes we don’t know where the problem is until we have somebody make a concern or statement towards our patient relations line, so we can’t change that unless we know that.”

Christine Stewart, Executive Director, Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in Red Deer says their goal is to try and meet the needs of people who may not be getting support through other resources in the community.

“Our largest program is our Mental Health and Wellness Education program,” says Stewart. “We offer support groups for people with mental illness or just general mental wellness concerns. We have support groups for parents of children that are struggling, we’ve got courses that teach people how to deal with mental illness or how to improve their day to day mental wellness and then we offer things like assist facilitator training to educate people about what to do if someone is feeling suicidal and that type of thing.”

Stewart also agrees with Scharf’s concerns however that mental health care organizations could use more staff to meet a growing need in the community.

“Mental health is a growing concern for people, partly because we’re working on stigma and people are becoming more free to talk about their struggles and are looking for people to turn to,” she points out. “Definitely wait lists don’t help anyone, so I would say we are definitely under-staffed in this area.”

She says CMHA may not be your one-stop shop for all your mental health care needs but adds they can connect you with the resources you need if they can’t.

“My recommendation to people is to be specific. It’s one thing to just complain that there aren’t enough services, it’s another to say, ‘this is exactly what I need and it’s not there’ because we have lots of services. (Tell us) which particular gap needs filling because that helps us to know where we need to strengthen our services.”

by Sheldon Spackman

Concerns over sustainable mental health supports in central Alberta

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