Opening Minds in Canada

It's early October and at this time of the year Calgary is still in darkness at 6am. But with this one symbolic gesture, a new day dawns in Canada.

Opening Minds is Canada's equivalent of Time to Change - a 10-year anti-stigma / anti-discrimination initiative created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). The objective is to change the attitudes and behaviours of Canadians toward those living with mental health problems. The Opening Minds initiative was launched on the observation deck at the top of the Calgary Tower on October 2 as a new day unfolded with the hope of a stigma-free Canada.

The Tower flame was lit from 6:00 to 8:30am to draw the attention of downtown commuters and to symbolically bring mental illness out of the shadows forever. "More than seven million Canadians will experience a mental health problem in 2009," says Michael Kirby, Chair of the MHCC, speaking at the launch. "Many of these people will not seek help because of the stigma associated with the illness. "In fact, people who live with mental illness tell us the stigma is often worse than the disease itself." In its first year, Opening Minds will focus attention on two groups:

o Youth (aged 12 to 18) because early intervention can make an enormous difference in quality of life and recovery. Also, for more than 70% of adults living with mental illness, symptoms developed before they were 18 years old.
o Health care professionals because it's in the front lines of mental health that people seeking help say they experience some of the most deeply felt stigma and discrimination.

The MHCC's anti-stigma initiative issued a Canada-wide Request for Interest (RFI) earlier this year to groups already running programmes aimed at the two target groups. 37 contact-based education projects were selected from 248 proposals received. These projects will be evaluated for their effectiveness and their potential to be rolled out nationally. In subsequent years, the MHCC will include additional target groups, starting with the workforce in 2010. Opening Minds also conducted a media campaign in autumn 2009 in two Canadian newspapers (one English and one French), on two national TV networks (one aimed at youth and one targeted to a general audience), and online. The campaign featured personal stories of hope and recovery. In addition, Opening Minds is reaching out to both working journalists, and journalism schools, encouraging the media to consider the power of their words.

Opening Minds is also learning from and collaborating with other international anti-stigma programs, including Time to Change. Claire Henderson, Scientific Coordinator for the evaluation of Time to Change and Clinical Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry with the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, has been invited by Opening Minds to speak at the Into the Light, Transforming Mental Health in Canada Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in late November  2009. Henderson will speak about how the UK is working to reduce stigma among individuals with mental illness.

To learn more about the Opening Minds media campaign in the Globe and Mail

To learn more about Opening Minds