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mental health

September-October 2017

How to provide a safe haven for those struggling with mental health challenges

Inside Percy Sacobie's Take a Break Lodge

Maverick Canterville@mavjaycee

“You have to stay here with me ’cause I don’t want you to be responsible for me,” insists a visitor to Percy Sacobie’s cabin in the woods behind his mother’s house. “You’re responsible for what you do to yourself,” Sacobie replies. He stops by the cabin every morning and every evening, but beyond that, its […] More »
March-April 2017

Thousands of Canadian women are dismissed by their doctors—because of their gender

Lisa Benshabat was told by doctors that things were "all in her head" when she was unwell. Then she took her life. Why women are routinely silenced by medical professionals

Talia Wooldridge@TaliaWooldridge

On February 9, 2016, at 3:45 p.m., Gail Benshabat sent a text to her 27-year-old daughter, Lisa, asking if she wanted to catch an early movie. Benshabat was wrapping up her workday at a quiet special needs school in the north end of Toronto, about a 30-minute drive from the third-floor apartment where she lived […] More »

I’ve lived with Borderline Personality Disorder for years. Why I’m finally talking about my diagnosis

Erica Ruth Kelly was diagnosed in her teens, but stigma has kept her quiet—even amid calls for more acceptance of mental health challenges

Erica Ruth Kelly

Current photo of the author. Trigger warning: self-injury, suicide When I was 18, a psychiatrist kicked me out of her office in my hometown of Montreal. A framed Sigmund Freud witnessed my humiliation. I’d raised my voice, confessing that I’d scratched up my arm again because I was “fucking sad.” My psychiatrist told me to […] More »
March-April 2017

Canadian university students aren’t getting the mental health care they need after graduation

Universities offer students mental health care to deal with the challenges of post-secondary education. But what happens when they graduate? On the tricky navigation of counselling after school

Carine Abouseif@carineabouseif

Illustration by Matt Daley “Open or closed?” “Closed, please.” I click the wooden door shut. I walk past the poster-lined office, climb the stairs out of the building, and emerge onto the sunny Ryerson University campus in downtown Toronto. I trudge to the subway, shuffling onto a northbound train just as the door closes. I […] More »
March-April 2017

This Alberta animal-assisted therapy takes an inventive approach to mental health care

Eileen Bona's Dreamcatcher Nature-Assisted Therapy Association uses animals to put Canadians back in touch with nature

Laura Eley

Photo by Stephanie Willis, Falling Leaves Photography Thirty minutes due east of Edmonton, where the traffic signals turn from streetlights to stop signs, is the town of Ardrossan. Here, you’ll find the Dreamcatcher Nature-Assisted Therapy Association, perched on 40 acres of lush, tree-lined, and trailed land. Founded in 2003 by psychologist Eileen Bona, Dreamcatcher has […] More »
January-February 2017

2017 Kick-Ass Activist: Dexter Nyuurnibe

In 2012, Dexter Nyuurnibe tried to take his life. Now, he’s a leader for greater mental health awareness among Canadian youth

Emily Rivas@RivasEmily

Dexter Nyuurnibe has the ability to command attention in any room. The 24-year-old is well-spoken, well-dressed, and charming. He’s a self-proclaimed lover of people, pugs, poutine, and unicorns. He’s that guy at the bar who ensures everyone is having a good time. He’s also probably the last person you would think would be struggling with mental […] More »
September-October 2016

Inside Toronto’s arts education revolution

Just BGraphic's summer academy providers accessible, constructive activities during "at-risk" hours

Steph Wechsler@steph_wechsler

A scene from Just BGraphic’s Summer Arts Academy 2016. Photo courtesy of Just BGraphic Past the gymnasium and down a stairwell, a standard classroom scene unfolds in Toronto’s Downsview Secondary School. Students file in, arrange themselves around tables, chat as their instructor, Josh Watkis, asks for order. Watkis, a spoken word artist, has scrawled “my childhood […] More »

Wanted: Social Justice All-Stars

This Magazine Staff

Do you know an all-star Canadian working for social justice action? Our upcoming issue will feature Canadians from across the country who are working to make Canada a better, more progressive place. We’re focusing on issues of: diversity and multiculturalism, disability and LGBTQ rights, mental health, women’s rights, youth, poverty and income disparities, housing—and so […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Doug Ford promotes discrimination against autistic children

Kelsey Braithwaite

Toronto city councillor Doug Ford believes that people with autism, when integrated, can ruin a community. It’s as simple as that. He shared this opinion with the staff of an Etobicoke home for teens with autism, owned by the Griffin Centre, a non-profit mental health agency. The Etobicoke Guardian reports that Ford held a public […] More »

FTW Friday: Better health care for mentally ill inmates … maybe

Kelsey Braithwaite

The Ashley Smith inquest has encouraged Ottawa to make the first steps towards improving the lives of mentally ill female inmates at provincial health centres. Recently, Steven Blaney, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, launched a pilot mental health plan. The idea is to begin sending intensely ill offenders to treatment centres. The Royal […] More »

Celebrity meltdown coverage: gender matters

Lisa Whittington-Hill

  When male celebrities implode on the world stage, they’re arty heroes. When women do it, they’re called “troubled” and worse Did you miss the recent Valentine’s Day announcement that winning warlock Charlie Sheen is getting married for the fourth time? Maybe you were busy having a life, or watching season two of House of […] More »