Help is on the way!!

No matter what reason you are coming to Canada, whether it is to escape war tone country or just because you want a change, you will experience some struggles and stresses. It is a natural thing because you are putting yourself through a major life change. Now, think about coming to a new country while you are also facing mental health issues. This is especially a problem when the country you are fleeing to does not provide you with the services you need.

When a refugee comes to Canada or any other new country they face many challenges. I am only assuming this, but they are probably already under a lot of stress and have experienced some difficulties or even trauma’s in their country of origin. According to TheFreeDictionary, a Refugee has fled their country of origin due to “war or political oppression or religious persecution.” Like I stated above, one can only assume that because of this they are already under great stress. Stress can lead to many different health problems if it gets to be too much. It is stated that, “some people develop depression after a stressful event in their lives” (Price-Evans, 2011). This can be referred to as post-traumatic stress and is considered a mental illness. This is something that many refugees are at risk of suffering from. There are also many refugees who may come to Canada already experiencing some form of mental illness. What Canada now wants to do is develop better services and supports for people with mental health problems and illnesses across the lifespan (McKenzie et al, 2009). This new development is meant for all people with mental health problems, but there is a specific focus on mental illnesses in what they refer to as IRER groups (immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized). They have 5 groups of action to improve mental health services for IRER groups which are:  

1) Changed focus – an increased emphasis on prevention and promotion

2) Improvement within services – organisational and individual cultural competence

3) Improved diversity of treatment – diversity of providers, evaluation of treatment options

4) Linguistic competence – improved communication plans and actions to meet Canada‟s diverse needs

5) Needs linked to expertise – plans to offer support by people and services with expertise to areas with lower IRER populations so they can offer high quality care (McKenzie et al, 2009)

With these new developments occurring, hopefully the amount immigrants, refugees,

ethno-cultural and racialized people with mental health problems will decrease. I believe this is a fantastic program that looks like it will be successful and beneficial to many people in our society. Coming to a new country, especially after leaving hardships can be very overwhelming and hard on people so anything to make their transition an easier one, regardless of whether or not they suffer from a mental health issue, is a good idea in my mind.

-          Michal B.

References:

Price-Evans, P. (2011). Stress and Depression. All About Depression: Home Page. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from http://www.allaboutdepression.com/gen

McKenzie, K., Hansson, E., Tuck, A., Lam, J., & Jackson, F. (2009, November 12). Improving mental health services for immigrant, refugee, ethno-cultural and racialized groups. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Retrieved November 11, 2011, from www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/Key_Documents/en/2010/Issues_Options_FINAL_English%2012Nov09.pdf