The making of the Toronto Star Supplement

By Michael Torres, Media Relations Coordinator, Public Affairs

Over the last eight weeks CAMH’s Public Affairs Department worked with the Toronto Star on a special section to bring awareness to mental health and addiction issues by highlighting the work of CAMH. Focusing on a range of programs and client stories, the section gives readers a better understanding of mental health through our clients’ eyes, as well as an appreciation for the different ways mental illness and addictions are treated at CAMH. As the hospital’s media rep assigned to help pull together these stories, I was able to visit clinical areas of the hospital that I had never seen before.

Dr. Catherine Zahn and Christopher Hume discuss the CAMH redevelopment project in front of Unit Three.

People always wonder what the emergency department is like at a psychiatric hospital. For the first time, we allowed media to spend a few days in the CAMH ER to see how we provide treatment to those most in need, when they need it most. Shadowing Dr. Paul Kurdyak and the ER clinical team-- with Dr. David Goldbloom as their guide-- Star reporter Megan Ogilvie and photographer Rick Eglinton experienced first-hand what our staff see everyday. Following clients from triage through to the next day, this story shows a side of the hospital that not many have seen before.

What struck me during the time I spent in the ER was the range of clients we see, and the dedicated work of our staff. Everyone talks about the importance of teamwork in the workplace, but our ER is a true example of this dynamic in practice. While in the ER, I witnessed how staff come together to prepare for a possible Code White. The physicians, nurses, social workers and residents were extremely well prepared and calm under pressure, and were able to successfully de-escalate the situation while keeping the client and their colleagues safe. The Star team was also impressed by what they saw, making the ER the lead story in the special section.

Children and youth

Focussing next on children, the Star team spent the day in CAMH’s CATCH classroom for children from grades 1 to 3 with unique challenges, including difficulties with behaviour and aggression. The skills of the CAMH multidisciplinary team and the classroom curriculum provides our students with the same education they would receive in a community school, but with the treatment and supports they need to be successful. The reporter, Andrea Gordon, remarked that the teaching techniques used in our classrooms would benefit students in community schools as well.

Photographer Rick Eglinton photographs Dr. Michael Colleton on the steps of Old City Hall.

The story on CAMH’s REACH high school classroom features two students, Sam and Kathleen. Both struggled with school due to mental illness and addiction problems and had dropped out of community high schools several times. Kathleen shared her struggle with bipolar, OCPD and substance use, and was clear that having the constant support of the care team on a daily basis is what keeps her on-track. Sam agreed, and remarked that by going to school here, he finally feels like he can connect with his peers. Inspired by her experience at CAMH, Kathleen plans to continue to post-secondary education in social work.

CAMH and the community

More and more we come to see that mental health can be successfully treated outside the hospital setting, and our Schizophrenia Program provides several examples of this success. The Toronto Star interviewed Megas, a client in CAMH’s ProAct outpatient clinic, and John, a client who was treated by our Home Intervention for Psychosis (HIP) team.

A well-known B-boy from Toronto, Megas became ill in his early twenties and was referred to CAMH’s Schizophrenia Program. In addition to treatment, the ProAct team worked with our housing partners to find Megas a home. With the help of his care team and the support of his family, Megas is successfully living on his own today, and leads workshops teaching youth how to dance. He also volunteers several times a week in a local bike and skate shop and hopes to be able to work again soon.

John is a client who was seen by our Home Intervention for Psychosis Program. In the interview, he describes how he and his family struggled with his illness. When psychotic symptoms first appeared, he became withdrawn and was unable to work or go to school – the symptoms of paranoia became so severe that he was unable leave his home. He describes how the CAMH clinical team helped him and his family gain a better understanding of how the illness affects the brain and how medications help.

Photographer Rick Eglinton and Reporter Bill Taylor interview Dr. Michael Colleton in Mental Health Court at Old City Hall.

John is now able to manage his illness and works full-time. He no longer has to receive home visits and is able to come to CAMH on an outpatient basis. John’s mother remarked that not only has the program helped her son, but has benefited her entire family and brought them together. Both these stories show that not all successful treatments occur in a hospital setting, and that with the proper supports, clients can truly regain health and independence.

Another program that takes us out into the community is the brief assessment service that CAMH’s Law and Mental Health Program provides to the Toronto Mental Health Court in Old City Hall. Dr. Michael Colleton attends court twice a week to conduct assessments to determine whether a person who has been charged with a crime qualifies for diversion from the court system. If a mental illness is found to be a factor in a person committing an offense, our LAMHP is able to refer them to Community Resource Connections of Toronto to receive treatment and support rather than becoming involved with the judicial system.

Population-specific treatment

To profile the work of our programs geared towards specialty populations, the Star attended a teaching led by Elder Vern Harper of our Aboriginal Services Program. Listening to the stories of the clients who attended, one really begins to understand the need for population-based programs.

As our clients discussed their histories of abuse and intergenerational trauma, one thing was clear – the support they receive from the clinical staff and from each other is paramount in their recovery. One client, Tonie, talked about how her long-time friend, who is also a client in the Aboriginal program, encouraged her to seek help, saying, “he’s really been there for me – he saved my life.” She spoke about being taken away from her family at a young age and ending up living on the streets in Toronto. Embracing as they left the group, they left each other words with of encouragement.

All the clients who spoke about their experiences in the Aboriginal Program spoke about the importance of integrating Aboriginal traditions into treatment. One client told me that in other programs, First Nations history or the concept of the spirit guides and other traditions may not be understood, while at CAMH, it is not only understood, it is respected.

After visiting all these programs, it put our final story into better context. Dr. Catharine Zahn took architecture writer Christopher Hume on a tour of our Queen Street site, including our redevelopment project, our current units and our alternate milieu units on White Squirrel Way. There, CAMH client Angela Foot spoke about the difference between receiving treatment in one of our older units, and in the alternate milieu setting – she was among the first clients to be treated at 30 White Squirrel Way in 2008. I think Angela described the redevelopment best, saying that while the care and treatment provided at CAMH was always great, it’s finally time that the buildings match the amazing work that is happening inside them.