Category: Advocacy, Policy, Public Health

Gabor Maté has been walking the streets of Downtown Eastside Vancouver providing care to people who are often living in circumstances of severe addiction. Over the years, he has become one of Canada’s leading thinkers on trauma and addictions. In this, he draws on various knowledge systems as he seeks to understand the causes of human suffering and… Read more »

This is Peter A. Levine’s latest work on trauma. Levine hold doctorates in both medical biology and is the founder of “Somatic Experiencing”. He draws on his broad experiences as a clinician, brain researcher, stress scientist, and as a keen observer of the naturalistic animal world to explain the nature and transformation of trauma in the body, brain and… Read more »

Hi folks, I am just back from a National Aboriginal Health Research Conference and Summer School on Indigenous mental health, held in Montreal. It was my good fortune to meet some of the leaders in the field and discuss where we are at in the research community regarding our growing understanding of trauma and the… Read more »

There’s a new series on CBC called 8th Fire. 8TH Fire draws from an Anishinaabe prophecy that declares now is the time for Aboriginal peoples and the settler community to come together and build the ‘8th Fire’ of justice and harmony It is a four-part series that documents and discusses the relationship between Aboriginal people and Canadians. Written,… Read more »

This is a fantastic presentation from the 2012 Ontario Harm Reduction Conference presented by Allison Potts, Concurrent Disorders System Integration Lead at the Mental Health and Pinewood Centre Program of Lakeridge Health.  The presentation focusses on the interation between substance use and mental health and the consequences of service providers working in “silos”. Download presentation… Read more »

Here is a great presentation from Dr. Evan Collins from the University of Toronto discussing mental health issues in HIV and Aging.  The presentation discusses emerging issues and the complications that can occur with concurrent issues.  Download the presentation here.

While looking for information to share on this blog, I came across an absolutely wonderful resource for service providers who are interested in learning more about integrated care.  To be honest, I am not sure how I could have missed it!   The site is by the American Psychological Association, but this section of website focuses… Read more »

Please check out the new BC Mental Health, Substance Use, HIV & HCV Services map on our website.  Using this map you can search for services in your area, or in other areas.  Find the map by clicking the link above or by following the menus: Provincial Working Groups – Mental Health – Resources –… Read more »

Here are some tips we can all use! 1. Build Confidence Identify your abilities and weaknesses together, accept them build on them and do the best with what you have. 2. Eat right, Keep fit A balanced diet, exercise and rest can help you to reduce stress and enjoy life. 3. Make Time for Family… Read more »

A great document out of the UK, and brought to us by the Ontario HIV and Substance Use Training Program this report provides a general description of the harmful effects of various drugs, including alcohol, methamphetamines, opioids, and over-the-counter drugs, just to name a few.  The report was completed by The Centre for Public Health,… Read more »

  Take a few minutes for yourself and play some mental health games, brought to us by the National Insitute of Environmental Health Sciences out of the US.  They are not as easy as you think!