Mental Health & Substance Use (MHSU)

Overview

As reported by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in 2021, in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will personally experience mental health concerns or illness. Only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services receives them.

There have also been specific impacts on addictions and substance misuse. The most visible is the ongoing opioid crisis, particularly in Vancouver where the number of overdose deaths continue to be reported at horrific numbers.

From a 2008 (but still relevant) Canadian Medical Association report, many Canadians (58%) say they would socialize with a friend who has a mental illness. However, when focusing on addictions, the proportion who say they would socialize with a friend who has an alcohol (32%) or drug addiction (26%) is significantly lower. This suggests that the stigma of addictions is significantly greater than that associated with mental illness, which still requires attention.

The Vancouver Division of Family Practice recognizes the importance of supporting patients through mental health, substance misuse and process addictions within primary care.

Mental Health & Addictions Committee

To support the Division’s priority, the Mental Health & Addictions Committee was established to improve the delivery of services in Vancouver and growing the capacity of its members in this area of care. The Committee developed a White Paper to support Division advocacy and program development that support family physicians in their practice. Members have told the Vancouver Division* that more than 50% of their panel suffers from mental health and/or addiction conditions. However, appointments related to mental health and addictions take a disproportional amount of time each week.

An important outcome of this work, has been the development of the tiers of service as a working model for clinical Mental Health navigation in Vancouver. 

Mental Health Resources

Working with the Committee, the Vancouver Division is prioritizing development of MHSU Resources. Please find the latest Resources in the list below. 

Resources coming soon.