“Thirty years ago, there was as much stigma towards breast cancer as there is towards mental illness today. Reporters could not use the word ‘breast’ in a news story about breast cancer. (…)Thirty years ago, oncologists said ‘disease of the outer chest wall’ when they talked about breast cancer. Look at the changes in attitudes 30 years later. (…) More than a million people will run this Sunday for breast cancer to help find a cure. We do not intend to wait 30 years for changes in attitudes and behaviours towards mental illness, but we are confident that we will change them: we will aim for 3 to 5 years.”

These were the words spoken by the Honourable Michael Kirby yesterday as he addressed a crowd of attentive listeners at Douglas Hall. Michael Kirby, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mental Commission of Canada, gave the audience an overview of the work being conducted at the Commission and officially announced the financial support granted to two researchers from the Douglas.

The Commission’s work

In the context of developing the National Mental Health Strategy, the Commission is in the process of putting together a compendium of best practices to be made available to mental health care professionals in all provinces and territories.

In order to help change attitudes and behaviours towards people with mental illness, this Friday the Commission will launch a ten-year anti-stigma campaign that targets three major groups: children and youth, health care providers, and people in the workplace.

Early next year should see the creation of what Mr. Kirby called a “social movement,” which is designed to encourage all people involved in mental health across the country to join efforts to raise awareness about mental illness. The program is called Partners for Mental Health.

Celebrating excellence in research at the Douglas

Mr. Kirby took the opportunity to officially announce two grants totalling just over $4.5 million for projects by two Douglas researchers.

Eric Latimer, PhD, is an accomplished academic and policy maker whose research has centered on Assertive Community Treatment and Support Employment for people suffering from severe mental illness. He has been designated as Principal Investigator for the Montreal site of the Canadian Multi-Site Research Demonstration Project in Mental Health and Homelessness, otherwise known as Projet Chez Soi.

Anne Crocker, PhD,—whose work focuses on mental health and the law—is a young and prominent researcher here at the Douglas. She is also the Director of the Services, Policy and Population Health Research Theme. She will be leading the National Trajectory Project Grant for the next three years in collaboration with many partners across the country.