HALIFAX – A leading expert on adolescent mental health is calling for dramatic changes in Nova Scotia’s mental health system.
Dr. Stan Kutcher said an incident involving a 14-year-old getting arrested while seeking mental health help at the IWK shows that the system needs help.
The teen sought help Sunday night but was turned away by staff. She was eventually admitted after police re-arrested her under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act.
“With young people going to emergencies for mental health care, this tells us we need to make some specific changes in the system,” he said.
A report released last month by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows a growing trend of youth turning to hospitals and emergency rooms when they face a mental health crisis.
Kutcher said that is not only costly but shows youth are not getting the help they need early enough. He said statistics show only one in four young people who need mental health care, get it.
Various changes can be made to reach youth before they reach a crisis point, said Kutcher.
“One is enhancing the competencies of primary health care providers and secondly is modifying the type of services that are available in primary health care, for example, counseling services for young people should be easily accessible through primary health care,” he said.
“The second is through schools. Youth health centres would be an obvious place to change the way they function and provide good healthcare. If you have an urgent care need, maybe what we should be looking at are community access points where a young person or family could go to as the crisis is escalating.”
Kutcher said that now is the time for change to the mental health system.
“We have some obvious solutions. The challenge we now have is putting into place those things we know can solve the problem.”
Health Minister Leo Glavine acknowledged there are some shortcomings but urged Nova Scotians to have patience.
“We have some very good programs and providers in place. We have some gaps in the system that do need to be improved upon,” he said.
“Our report card is not abysmal but can we be doing more? Absolutely.”
Glavine admits that mental health is becoming more top of mind for health ministers across the country.
“The quicker we build greater capacities in our community, that is exactly what is taking place, but it’s not overnight.”
Hitting close to home
The story of 14-year-old Lily touched a chord for Magen Low, 20.
Low has had anxiety since she was four-years-old and when she was 15, she fell into depression.
“I was violent, very suicidal. I was violent to the point where my grandmother did call the police to come and escort me to the IWK,” she said.
However, once there, Low said the staff were inconsiderate and indifferent to her mental health needs and turned her away.
“This woman told me I was just looking for drama and attention,” she said.
“I felt at a loss because obviously I was there for a reason. I wanted help. I wanted not to feel that way anymore.”
Low said she went to the IWK four times within a span of a few months but each time, she could not get the help she was looking for.
“It makes me mad. Especially a child, if you’re suicidal or violent, you’re so angry and no one is there to help you. They tell you they’re there to help you at the emergency room and that’s where to go and they just tell you to go back home,” she said.
Low said she dealt with her mental health issues herself and with the help of family and friends, but she said she feels like the system let her down.
“I feel like there’s not much we can do on our own with mental health. We really need the help but there’s nobody there to give it to us.”
Lily’s story isn’t rare
Angela Rudderham, the director of behavioural and social skills and community outreach for Bridgeway Academy, said she has heard many stories like Lily’s.
Rudderham works with youth who are at-risk for mental health issues. She said many families feel dejected when trying to get help.
“Unfortunately the story we hear over and over again is that there’s not a lot out there. If it is, it isn’t well known and those agencies aren’t well connected,” she said.
“I think there’s a lack of programs. I really don’t think there is a lot of funding.”
She said there needs to be more integration between agencies and more needs to be done to make mental health a priority.
“I think it’s important Nova Scotia start putting together a plan for success for these students, looking at our agencies in Nova Scotia, what we currently offer, how to strengthen the communication between those agencies and how to build a referral base within the agencies themselves.”
“I don’t think there’s a large emphasis in the province on care for mental health.”
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