New programs

One of the long-term recommendations of the Towards Recovery Framework (2017) states that:

“the province, through a stepped-care approach, develop and offer a range of mental health and addictions services integrated, wherever possible, within existing community and primary health care services throughout the province.” (Towards Recovery Framework, 2017)

As we prepare for the new adult mental health and addictions facility, we continue to build on existing services in the community and expand service delivery. Some examples of services offered through our mental health and addictions programming include:

Self-management programs for mental wellness, anxiety and depression:

• Counselling services.
• Strongest Families Program for children, youth and their families.
• Therapist-assisted, online, cognitive behavioural therapy for depression, anxiety and addictions.
• Peer support.
• Provincial Warm Line.
• 24 hr /7 day access to medical withdrawal management.
• Day treatment programs.
• Access to in-patient services for eating disorders.
• Single session walk-in clinics.
• Assertive community treatment (ACT) teams.
• Mobile crisis intervention teams.
• Dedicated mental health services for first responders, including ambulance personnel, firefighters, police officers and correctional staff.
• Support for families and caregivers of people living with mental illness and addiction.

Additionally, in 2020 we began to expand services throughout the province to include Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams.

What is a FACT Team?

• An interdisciplinary team that provides treatment of serious mental illness and symptoms, hands-on assistance with daily living activities and recovery support for individuals, usually over 18 years of age.
• Often referred to as a “hospital without walls,” FACT teams strive to ensure continuity of care and prevent admission to hospital by providing alternate levels of intensity services for individuals in the community through assertive community outreach.
• FACT teams work in close collaboration with community-based service providers to support individuals’ ability to find and maintain health management services, housing, education and employment, and access to community-based activities and leisure.

Who does FACT serve?

• Individuals, usually over the age of 18, with serious mental illness who might otherwise require hospital admission, particularly during episodes of acute mental illness.
• The largest group of individuals serviced by FACT teams have psychotic disorders (i.e. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,) bipolar disorder and major depression.
• People with other mental health disorders, as well as substance use disorders, may also be considered for FACT, depending on the severity and complexity of their illness.