Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Colonization and the legacy of residential schools have had significant negative effects on the mental well-being of Aboriginal people in Canada. Stigma is a significant problem for those living with mental health concerns and is a major barrier to accessible care, recovery and quality of life. Aboriginal people with mental health concerns can experience double stigma; encountering health care practitioners who do not fully appreciate the impact of their historical and current realities. Further, the health care providers may feel overwhelmed and inadequate in their ability to help. The Mental Health Commission of Canada evaluated a training program, Cognitive Behavioural Interpersonal Skills (CBIS) and found positive, favourable results in effectiveness for reducing mental illness related stigma among healthcare providers and lent further evidence to the theory that increasing healthcare providers' skills, confidence and comfort in treating people with mental illness can reduce stigma. A collaborative partnership between CBIS and Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre on Vancouver Island BC, enabled the CBIS training and materials to be made more culturally relevant through the inclusion of cultural competency training and direct reference to Indigenous ways of supporting mental health. In 2015, two "CBIS Indigenous Approach" workshops were held that brought together approximately 200 primary care practitioners (family doctors, nurses, students) and Nanaimo and Cowichan Tribes First Nations health, housing and educational programs. Evaluations and post workshop focus groups showed very positive responses. This grant would facilitate partnerships within BC and also with Ontario's Lakehead University to examine CBIS Indigenous Approach for its potential as a culturally safe and relevant primary mental health care educational strategy for providers working with Aboriginal persons and investigate the effect of the training on reducing stigma.