Canadian Muslims are a growing population at an increased risk of addiction who have been found to underutilize health services. The Canadian-Muslim Addiction Program (C-MAP) offers an innovative intervention serving as a practice for public-health education to transform addiction care in this population by reducing stigma and increasing help-seeking.

To support population mental health, mental hygiene propounds a universal public recommendation. March 2022 was the inaugural mental hygiene challenge where community members were invited to spend 10 minutes a day throughout the month engaged in mental hygiene activities. The outcomes suggest daily mental hygiene supports mental well-being.

This rapid review investigated the mental health concerns of sexual orientation and gender identity expression (SOGIE) refugees in Canada. Database searches yielded 365 results across five databases, providing 12 papers for final thematic analysis once inclusion criteria were applied. Three themes emerged: (1) Stigma and discrimination negatively affected mental health and well-being; (2) SOGIE refugees faced challenges accessing services; and (3) the refugee claims process adversely affected well-being. Recommendations to improve SOGIE refugee well-being include implementing culturally safe policies in agencies, life-skills programs, and supportive spaces; promoting inclusivity, interprofessional collaboration between services, and innovative agency outreach to refugees; addressing biases in refugee claims boards and extending the refugee claim eligibility period.

The idea of community in community mental health has recently been criticized as problematic in that it has been ill defined, under-investigated and under-theorized. In this article we introduce actor-network theory as a useful framework for the analysis of everyday psychiatric and legal interventions and their effects. We focus on the community treatment order (CTO) in Alberta as one such intervention, showing how community positions people diagnosed with mental illness as risky subjects. In examining the CTO as an important actor in the construction of mental illness, we argue that the idea of community acts as a counterweight to balance rights, a carrot in a mechanism of consent, and as a crucible where interpretive work on a subject must be done in chains of examinations. Further, we propose a procedural and relational definition of community to inform scholarly work as well as professional practice.

Partnering with patients and family caregivers (commonly referred to as patient partnership) is increasingly common in health services, research, education, and policy. In the field of mental health, service user involvement intersects with distinct historical trajectories and as such, may take on unique forms. This review draws on a broader systematic review of literature on patient partnership. We ask: How does literature on patient partnership in mental health and addictions describe the history of service user involvement and the roles of service users? Two broad frames for service user involvement are identified, which offer contrasting perspectives about the history, value, and power relations involved in service user involvement. Future research can consider implications of these perspectives, and opportunities for synthesis.

This article describes a novel framework for the provision of individual psychotherapy for youth with histories of homelessness. We discuss the value of a one-at-a-time therapy approach in stepped care contexts through the Housing Outreach Project—Collaborative (HOPC), a comprehensive program for young people transitioning out of homelessness in Toronto, Canada.

Cet article présente le modèle des Men’s Shed, ou ateliers pour hommes, comme pratique innovante en santé mentale communautaire. Il détaille les problématiques auxquelles ils répondent, leur fonctionnement et les défis. Nous soulignons le besoin de littérature scientifique en français sur la question.

In this qualitative study, researchers interviewed 10 participants (five mentees and five mentors) of the 2020–2021 Artemo Black Youth Mentorship program session. The Artemo program takes place with Black youth across Alberta, with a focus in Edmonton, Calgary, and Fort McMurray. The program focuses on providing supports for a mental health preventative approach, employment/educational supports, and a gender intersectionality focus throughout Alberta. To assess the program, organizers hired an independent researcher to maintain anonymity. Findings from the interviews spoke to larger themes related to Black youth mental health and well-being, as well as community-based approaches to supporting them. Our findings offer three key themes. First, youth offered their own perceptions of mental wellness. Second, they explained stigma, a lack of cultural competency and representation among service providers, and financial costs, as significant barriers to mental health and wellness. Third they discussed opportunities for youth mentorship to fill service gaps and act as a form of resistance. Opportunities include strategies to navigate mental health stigma, opportunities to build trust, benefits of centralizing experiences of race and culture, and benefits of non-medicalized mental wellness support.

This article explores the integration of cultural continuity in health programs for Indigenous youth, leveraging insights from Indigenous Youth Wellness Facilitators, in the Culture Is Healing program. It identifies four practices and their impacts, strengthening community and identity among Indigenous youth. The findings provide valuable recommendations for practitioners and policymakers.

Findings from a novel Primary Care (PC) Mental Health (MH) pathway for children and young people in Northern Ontario, Canada are presented. Overall, 166 MH referrals from PC to a community-based child and youth MH and addictions agency (CB-CYMHA) occurred, with outstanding PC uptake (100%) and faxing referral outcomes (99%) from the CB-CYMHA to the PC provider. Half of referral outcomes (50%) were returned within 2 weeks and 83% of contacted clients reported satisfaction with services received. This successful pilot serves as an example for care pathway improvements and mobilizes knowledge for other pathway sites across Ontario.