Ottawa’s children’s hospital, its main health centre and largest school board are combining forces to ensure better psychological support for young people in the city.
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario held a public information session on Sept. 30 in cooperation with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and Ottawa Carleton District School Board to address the increase in the number of youth seeking help for mental health issues.
Fifteen to 25 per cent of Canadians experience a mental illness before the age of 19, according to the Royal.
Unlike “mental distress,” a stressful mental state that may be in response to a life event, the Royal defines a mental illness by longer lasting symptoms – even without any environmental stressors.
The most prevalent concerns in schools are depression and anxiety, according to survey results from 155 schools within the OCDSB. Suicidality, self-harm and psychosis are also noted.
The information session also explored the policies governing mental health issues and resources available in public schools to assist students.
“Recognizing that teachers spend six hours a day with children, they get to know their students extremely well, and they’re oftentimes amongst the first to pick up when there’s something a little challenging for a student,” says Dr. Petra Duschner, mental health lead at the OCDSB.
In the last five years, additional strategies have been implemented to train teachers to recognize signs and symptoms of mental disorders such as anxiety, ADHD, depression and bipolar disorders.
“We really focus on capacity building for educators,” Duschner says. “It’s important for us to ensure that our staff feel confident and have the skills to be able to manage those conversations, but also to have information in terms of being able to provide resources.”
Anti-stigmatization campaigns, such as Bell Let’s Talk and Do It For Daron have made it more acceptable to talk about issues such as depression and suicide.
Student volunteers in the community are also promoting mental health awareness alongside their teachers by organizing awareness-raising days and bringing in speakers, says Duschner.
“That’s a real positive because it’s basically normalizing the everyday life challenges that people face. It’s OK to talk about it and, in fact, it’s important to talk about those sorts of things and to think about and learn ways to manage and cope,” she says.