School-based FRIENDS for Life Program, British Columbia
The FRIENDS for Life program is an internationally recognized, school-based early intervention and prevention program that builds resilience and reduces the risk of anxiety disorders in children. Since 2004, FRIENDS has been implemented for students in grades 4 and 5 in BC schools across the province. A youth program for students in grades 6 and 7, a Fun Friends program for children in kin-dergarten and grade 1, and culturally relevant program materials for First Nations students have also been introduced. Over 75 parent workshops have also been delivered through the FRIENDS parent
There is growing evidence about what kinds of programs can be effective. The best results for mental health promotion, mental illness prevention, and suicide prevention have been achieved by initiatives that target specific groups (defined by age or other cri-teria) and settings (school, workplace, home). They address a combination of known risk and protective factors, set clear goals, support communities to take action, and are sus-tained over a long period of time.16, 17 Better mental health promotion and mental illness prevention will improve well-being, reduce suffering and ease demand for more special-ized services so that they are more readily available to those who need them most.
Mental health needs to be addressed in everyday places like schools, workplaces, long-term care facilities, and at home. Doing so will also contribute to achieving broader goals such as increasing productivity and rates of employment, improving physical health across the lifespan, helping people to do better in school, and reducing crime.18, 19 Addressing mental health and mental illness as everyday issues in the community will also help to change perceptions and reduce stigma and discrimination. To accomplish this, work is needed both inside and outside of health care and mental health settings.
The role of the health and mental health systems is addressed in Strategic Direction 3.
It is important that, in promoting mental well-being and reducing risk factors for every-one, we do whatever we can to reduce the gap between those who are thriving and those whose mental health is most at risk. Strategic Direction 4 focuses on what can be done to reduce disparities across the population by attacking underlying risk factors, such as poverty and racism.
It is important that we find ways to com-municate the connection between mental well-being and economic prosperity, school performance, and physical health and well-being, so that mental health can be promoted in policies and practices in all areas of social and economic life.
At the individual and community levels, there are many things that can be done to protect and improve mental health. Some of the simple steps that can be easily integrated into our daily activities—such as making a conscious effort to connect with people around us, being physically active or doing something to help someone else—have been shown to contribute to our individual mental well-being.22 We also need to work to create healthier commu-nities and reduce barriers that can inhibit individuals from acting to foster better mental health.23 For example, improving access to recreation for low-income fam-ilies can help them to be physically active.
People also need knowledge and skills which help them to recognize mental health problems and illnesses, in
themselves or others, so that everyone can obtain the support that they need as early as possible.24 Ideally, acquiring this kind of knowledge of mental health and mental illness will become as widespread as training in first aid for physical injuries and illnesses. This, along with knowledge and skills in suicide prevention, is particu-larly important for front-line service provid-ers, not only in health care, but also in the education and justice systems, as well as for those providing emergency, long-term care and social services. The people who are most directly involved in delivering services are best placed to recognize early warning signs, support people to get help, and prevent their mental health from deteriorating.
People living with mental health problems and illnesses often report that the experi-ence of stigma—from members of the public, from friends, family and co-workers, and even at times from the very service systems that they turn to for help—has a more devastating impact on them than the illness itself.
PRIORITY 1.1
Increase awareness about how to promote mental
health, prevent mental illness and suicide wherever
possible, and reduce stigma.
Changing attitudes and fighting stigma require more than just improving under-standing of the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and illnesses.
The best way to break down stigma is through ‘contact-based education’—
meeting and talking with people who can share their experiences of mental illness and recovery.26
Reducing stigma is important for changing how people think, but addressing dis-crimination, upholding rights and elim-inating structural barriers are critical for changing how people act. This will be addressed as part of a broader discussion of rights in Strategic Direction 2, which also includes a description of Opening Minds, the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s anti-stigma/anti-discrimination initiative.