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In 2024, the Dal Department of Psychiatry celebrated 75 years. To recognize this significant milestone, the department hosted two community engagement events — a public talk about new mental health services and a mental health mini-conference for front-line staff of community-based organizations serving people experiencing homelessness. The events were planned to align with the department’s more recent commitment to, and advances in, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) and social policy & advocacy.

Closing the gap: Expanding access to mental health care in Nova Scotia

On Nov. 30, 2024, the department, in collaboration with Mental Health and Addiction Programs at Nova Scotia Health Central Zone and IWK Health, hosted the public event “Closing the gap: Expanding access to mental healthcare in Nova Scotia” at the Halifax Central Library. Together, these groups have expanded access to mental health care for residents of Nova Scotia. 

“In the past three years, we have focused efforts to close treatment gaps, and are expanding our clinical programs to meet the needs of different communities in Halifax and elsewhere around the province,” said Dr. Vincent Agyapong, Department of Psychiatry head for Dal and NS Health Central Zone, as he addressed attendees.

Presentations were made by psychiatrists and learners about the newest mental health services available for equity-deserving populations: the Transcultural Mental Health Program, Concurrent Addiction and Mental Disorders Program, Rapid Access and Stabilization Program, and the Neuropsychiatry Program. Nova Scotia Health Central Zone and IWK directors of Mental Health and Addictions were also available to answer questions.  

“Providing more mental health care faster for Nova Scotians is a key goal of our department’s Transformational Plan, and new clinical programs initiated as part of this plan have expanded direct access to psychiatrists for residents of Nova Scotia.”

Dr. Agyapong also relayed the goal of the event was to have a two-way conversation and hear ideas about how we can all work together to deliver mental healthcare in a way that leaves no one behind. 

Mental Health Mini-Conference

The Dal Department of Psychiatry and North End Community Health Centre (NECHC) hosted a mental health mini-conference on Dec. 7, 2024 for front-line staff of community-based organizations serving people experiencing homelessness.

The department and North End Community Health Centre (NECHC), with support from the department’s Social Policy and Advocacy Initiatives Fund, hosted a mental health mini-conference on Dec. 7, 2024. The event was a learning opportunity for front-line staff of community-based organizations serving people experiencing homelessness, with priority for non-health care professionals. These workers often interact with people with complex mental health needs but have limited formal training. Attendees included client case managers, shelter manager, supported housing workers, supportive housing manager, library support worker, shelter staff, and health centre manager. 

Four psychiatrists volunteered their time to present to attendees on person-centred mental healthcare, motivational interviewing, and boundary-setting with the event concluding in an informal question-and-answer and discussion session over lunch. 

“As a member of the Social Policy and Advocacy Committee, I know that people who are homeless and experience poverty comprise one of the equity-deserving groups we are trying to serve better,” says Dr. Zenovia Ursuliak, director of wellness for the Dal Department of Psychiatry, a psychiatrist, and one of the event organizers and presenters. “Over the last two years I have been walking past tent encampments on University Avenue and South Park Street and listening to patients' fears around housing security.”

“This event builds capacity in people who directly serve this equity-deserving group and the lunch provided also enabled the workers to attend this training as these workers may be facing food insecurity themselves.”  

Becky Marval, manager, Mobile Outreach Street Health (MOSH) and Chronic Disease Self-Management Educator - Diabetes, NECHC describes the event as a “very positive experience that provided much needed access to practical, evidence-based knowledge and strategies for front-line staff.” 

“Feedback about the topics and presenters was entirely positive,” she says. “The respect that the psychiatrists demonstrated and the relevance to the work was heavily emphasized.”

Participants highlighted the importance of the psychiatrists’ education in supporting people experiencing homelessness, emphasizing the value of a person-centred, strengths-based approach that considers everyone's unique experiences and needs. They noted that this perspective promotes ethical and equitable care, fostering more open and understanding interactions while reducing negative encounters.

“This knowledge translation initiative provided by our faculty will promote a sense of belonging and community between the Dalhousie Department of Psychiatry, NECHC staff and some partner agencies that MOSH interfaces with like shelters and harm reduction outreach programs,” says Dr. Ursuliak. “This feedback from a participant captures it, ‘It was meaningful ... to see several psychiatrists approach people struggling with mental health, disabilities, and using substances with such care and compassion.’"