Ensuring optimal mental health is necessary for a thriving Queen’s community. This university, like many others, has been troubled by events such as student suicide, faculty distress, and the high rate of mental illness in our community. And to be sure, health professionals are not immune from mental health challenges; to the contrary, we have long known that the rates of suicide are higher among physicians, for example, than in the general population.1,2
This past week, the report on the Principal’s Commission on Mental Health was released.3
All members of Queen’s community should take the time to read the entire report.
Don’t just scan it: http://www.queensu.ca/cmh/index/CMHFinalReport.pdf Don’t just read the executive summary, but actually read the report. Ultimately, the effectiveness of the recommendations will be predicated by the understanding and buy in from all of us.
The commissioners, David Walker (Chair), Lynann Clapham, Roy Jahchan, Jennifer Medves, and Ann Tierney have produced a superb report that suggests a four-level pyramidal framework and includes 116 recommendations. The four parts to the strategy are depicted below.
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The report recommends that the value of mental health be prominent at the highest levels, including the vision and mandate of the university. Commissioners underscore the importance of making sure all entering Queen’s students, and their parents, are made aware of the facilities and supports available. The Commission emphasizes the importance of dealing head on with the issue of stigma. “Stigma is a complex cognitive and emotional process, sustained by societal attitudes and processes. Reversing it is also complex and requires patience fortitude and vision.”3 Quoting from the 2006 Mental Health Commission of Canada report, Out of the Shadows at Last ,5 is the frightening reality as expressed by one of the interviewees who said…”I would do anything to have breast cancer over mental illness. I would do anything because I would not have to put up with the stigma.” Additionally, the document recommends that we undertake a formal review of our Health Counseling and Disability Services.
If you have any comments on the report, or perhaps personal stories to share, comment on the blog…or better yet, please stop by the Macklem House, my door is always open.
Richard
1. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp058014
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/health/views/07chen.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Interesting but concerning posting Richard. The prevalence of binge drinking is no surprise but is a not the kind of tradition one hopes for, especially persisting into the academic year , long after Frosh week. I was surprised to see that almost 1/3 Queen’s students felt they were not Involved in meaningful and enjoyable activities.
Makes me wonder if different models of engagement (quieter Dorms for students who don’t want to consume alcohol) and smaller class sizes with more face time with Professors (to increase sense of engagement and being “known”) might help.
Stephen
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree, the statistics are frightening. However, the commission data gives us all a better understanding of the magnitude of the concern, and provides a prescription, which if followed, may start to address the myriad of issues.
Richard
I agree that those suggestions would be very helpful. I am currently a first year student at the UofC and I was certainly overwhelmed at the beginning, with the huge class sizes and constant parties going on in my dorm. Getting to know some of the professors helped me to adjust to university life, and whenever I was feeling a bit lost in the huge institution, my much smaller (~30 person) language class was a welcome reprieve.
Recently there was someone sitting outside my door in the hallway, drunk, talking on the phone about how he was sick of living in residence and its culture. Depression and other mental health challenges are a serious problem, and it is encouraging to see universities across Canada taking steps to overcome these challenges.
Michael, Thanks for sharing your perspectives,
Richard
Dear Richard
As the psychiatrist at the Queens Health Counselling and Disability Service I welcome this report and am grateful to you for bringing this issue into the light by writting about it in your blog. For too long mental illness has been in the shadows and tragically maybe even more so in the health disciplines. As the university continues to grow in size and diversity many of the traditional mechansims of support and cohesion have fallen by the wayside. We all must make that extra effort to make Queens again a welcoming inclusive place that fosters excellence. To do so however we need to find new ways. The Principals Mental health Commison lists a good number of ideas and hints at more that could help lessen the burdens for those living with mental illness and hopefully also prevent some. In our own faculty we have the chance to develop the first ever Division for Student Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry. Like Heather Stuart’s ground breaking role in the anti-stigma field we have the opportunity to set a new standard for interdisciplinary collaborative care of postsecondary students. The time is right for some very exciting developments. Like Cornell we need to make the Principal’s Commision report a living document and never let this issue slide again from view.
Stephen,
Thanks so much for your comments. They nicely outline strategies of of how we, as a Queen’s community,can proactively respond.
Richard
Well done. Recognition without stigmatization is key.
Mental health, as with all forms of health, is relative. We need to understand the spectrums of medical health we have all experienced and that very few of us have ideal mental health all the time. So, it is not and either or scenario. It is a continuum of mental health and, as such, identifying those persons moving towards the danger portion of the continuum is critical. Hopefully, this is a solid start toward achieving that goal.
Jim, Thanks for your comments. They enrich the discussion.
Richard