Dal experts on mental health commission

The newly-created Mental Health Commission of Canada will tackle tough challenges in the years ahead, aided by the expertise of four Dalhousie faculty members.

Rounding out the Halifax contingent of expertise are three residents from the local community, also recently appointed to the commission.

“We just held our first national meeting, and the running joke is that all of the delegates were either from Dalhousie or Halifax,” says David Gardner, a psychiatry professor at Dalhousie with a cross-appointment in Dal’s College of Pharmacy.

Also appointed to the commission are: Stan Kutcher, the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre in Mental Health Training and Policy Development; Pat McGrath, professor of psychology, pediatrics and psychiatry at Dal and vice president of research at the IWK Health Centre; and Archie Kaiser, professor at Dal’s Faculty of Law with a cross-appointment in psychiatry.

“We have a high level of representation on the commission, which goes to show the commitment Dalhousie faculty members have regarding mental health issues,” says Prof. Kaiser. The commission will benefit from the diverse backgrounds and expertise of Dalhousie faculty, who each share a connection to the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine.

“When it comes to mental health issues, we each have different perspectives, but our outlooks are broadly shared,” says Prof. Kaiser.

Dr. Kutcher is on the children and youth advisory committee, Drs. Gardner and McGrath serve on the science advisory committee and Prof. Kaiser is on the mental health and the law advisory committee.

Funding for the commission was announced in last year’s federal budget and former Senator Michael Kirby was appointed its first chair.

The commission has three main priorities: to create a national strategy on mental health issues; develop an anti-stigma campaign; and create a knowledge-exchange centre, which will provide a range of resources for mental-health consumers, families, health care professionals and the public.

An important component of the national commission is the input it will receive from members of the community who access mental health services, says Prof. Kaiser.

“Among the Dalhousie faculty, there is the shared notion that mental health consumers are vital to the process.”

LINK: Mental Health Commission of Canada.