As difficult as it may be, try to set aside the Trumpian focus here for a moment, and let’s just talk about the DSM diagnostics–the criteria set by the American Psychiatric Association that are used widely in many parts of the world to diagnose mental illnesses. What you see there in Dr. Frances’ tweets are […]
I participated in a codesign workshop in Toronto yesterday put on by the Evidence Exchange Network, focused on identifying mental healthcare evidence gathering priorities in the province, and I was so impressed to see that the top three priorities selected by the stakeholders attending were: accessibility, effectiveness, and supporting the voices of those with lived experience. […]
For OCD Awareness Week, Mark did a Q&A with The Mighty all about recovery from OCD, an overview of some of the OCD symptoms he dealt with, the benefits of approaching comorbid mental illness labels as one big bucket rather than a million different problems, the problems with our mental healthcare system, the differences between how his […]
In this interview from the City of Brains Project, Mike shares the story of supporting his brother finding help for schizophrenia in Toronto’s mental healthcare system. The story spans several years, bouncing around multiple hospitals and mental health services, interactions with the justice system, and personal mental health challenges. It’s a detailed, all-too-common description of […]
A story submitted to the City of Brains Project by a woman in Toronto covers the complex, difficult journey of trying to get access to mental health help for OCD. It’s so frustrating that there are evidence-based treatments, very well-supported by research, but they’re not actually made available to people. As you can see in the story, […]
Forest Grove is a city of around 22,000 in the US state of Oregon and the police log from the last couple days of June, 2016, and the start of July, illustrates why training on mental health skills and services is so important for police officers: because they’re essentially dealing with mental health issues, from delusional episodes to […]
Eighteen years ago, I was studying Egyptology in university and thought I had my career path planned out – until my entire world came crashing down around me. I found myself on a rollercoaster that never seemed to slow down, that went completely off the rails and the safety bar had flown off thirty seconds […]