LONDON, ON -- A new project launched online today aims to improve the experiences of young people entering the mental health care system.
The project is a joint venture between Western University researcher Dr. Javeed Sukhera and mindyourmind.
The project includes an online module for youth called Shared Humanity http://sharedhumanity.ca/Youth
The goal is to help youth learn about the mental health care system and be better prepared to build a trusting relationship with their health care provider.
“There’s a lot of research and talk about the stigma in the system”, says Dr. Sukhera. “And what this module does it takes all this knowledge and puts it directly into the hands of the people using this system…and it helps to build a community where we can all tackle stigma together by improving relationships and trust."
Through mindyourmind, the module was co-created with young people, who helped create content, write the scenarios and design the graphic illustrations. It takes about 30 minutes to complete and has three main sections – shared trust, shared power and shared humanity.
The next part of this project includes a shared humanity module for the health care providers, which is expected to be launched in the next year.
