Jason's Lens: Breaking down cultural barriers to mental health care

Over the last couple months, I’ve had the privilege of spending even more time with different community groups in Wood Buffalo, having in-depth conversations about mental health support. I’ve heard personal stories of struggle and I’ve learned more about cultural disparities when it comes to getting mental health care. 

One thing is clear: we still have work to do. 

In the last few years, we’ve been working on changing the focus of Some Other Solutions to be more inclusive, to break down barriers and work to ensure mental health and wellness support is accessible for all. It’s one reason we are working to maintain our pro bono counselling program even without government funding. Not everyone who needs counselling can afford it — this program is designed to remove that cost barrier.

But there’s another barrier that keeps coming up: stigma. 

It’s not a new word. We’ve heard about stigma around mental health for years, and while we are making progress in the general community, that stigma still exists in many areas of Wood Buffalo. There are cultural, religious or family stigmas that may prevent those in the community from accessing mental health care. 

Dr. Ahmed Hassan, a psychiatrist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), recently released a study about stigmas related to substance use disorders among Canadian Muslims. According to his research, addiction stigma is so prevalent in Muslim communities because of a misconception or lack of understanding of available services, worry about treatment being disclosed to employers and that their disorder is shameful and shouldn’t be discussed. 

I’ve spoken with those in Islamic communities who recognize they have a mental health challenge in their community, but they need education to support the outreach. Those in our Pakistani communities feel there’s a lack of acceptance and care for their group. They want to talk more about mental health. 

Stigmas occur when we don’t have the information. When we don’t know or understand the facts and the circumstances, we get nervous, unsure and anxious. We don’t want to engage in the conversation. That’s fair. It’s our job to help.

We are committed at SOS to continue having those conversations and it starts with education and awareness. We need to step into each and every community in Wood Buffalo to listen, learn and elevate the conversation about mental health. What do they need from us? How can we help? 

As we move forward into the next few months and the continued impacts — both physically, socially and emotionally — of the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to take this moment to reaffirm my commitment to this community and building SOS to be a leader in mental health and wellness support in Northern Alberta.