Halifax will soon be home to the province’s first mental health day hospital, which will offer intensive care for 10 patients at a time. The day hospital, which will be located within the Abbie J Lane Memorial Building, near the corner of Summer Street and Jubilee Road on the QEII Health Sciences Centre campus, is […]
Mental Health
Posted inNews + Opinion
Let’s Talk about action
Today is the day. The day I mute every thinkable combination of words and hashtags across all social media platforms. The day I turn off the television and radio and anything that could have advertisements. The day I wonder if I can detach my retinas by rolling my eyes too hard. Today is Bell Let’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tim Houston promises virtual health care for all who need it by December
On the fourth and final day of premier Tim Houston’s health care tour of Nova Scotia, he announced an expansion of the province’s virtual care program, and renewed his pledge to knock off each item from the hefty Progressive Conservative health care platform promise list. “Today we’re moving forward with one of our campaign initiatives, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New ministers talk health care priorities
Premier Tim Houston and his novice cabinet met for the first time Thursday. The three ministers in charge of the newly divided health portfolios spoke about plans for race-based health data, universal mental health care, and the difficulty of trying to hire 2,000 new nurses and continuing care assistants for long-term care. Barbara Adams, minister […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to tune in to the Portapique memorial service livestream
It’s been a year since a man who was a known domestic abuser went on a killing rampage that would become the largest in recent Canadian history. To remember the 22 victims, the Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society has organized a memorial service, which will be held Sunday, April 18 at 3pm. You can tune […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Psychologists step up to offer free services in wake of shootings
On Tuesday, just nine days after the worst massacre in Canadian history, Nova Scotia announced mental health supports for anyone living in the province who needs it. The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) says is it arranging one free-of-charge psychological support session per Nova Scotian thanks to a roster of psychologists who are volunteering their […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
OPS opposition and government inaction in Halifax’s addiction services
I am a white, privileged, female physician who has never injected drugs. I serve some of the most vulnerable people in our city. I care deeply about their safety, dignity and well-being. Before medicine, I worked in the downtown east side of Vancouver, and in my early years of practice I served Calgary’s inner-city as the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Why getting a hobby is a perfect form of punk rock rebellion
S ometimes the pulse of a moment is best tracked not in books or headlines or even philosophy, but a snippet of song lyrics that, looking back, tell more than any diary entry ever could have. Richard Hell and The Voidoids did just that with their proto-punk anthem “Blank Generation,” a niche hit that distilled […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Refugee moms at serious risk for postpartum depression
Her first pregnancy is a unique experience in any woman’s life. Welcoming a new family member could be an exciting event, especially for a woman becoming a mother for the first time. However, this isn’t always the case for newcomer Syrian refugee women resettling in Canada. From November 2015 to January 2017, 40,000 Syrian refugees […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mental health supports remain overburdened on campus
Counselling and mental health services at universities have seen an increase in demand in recent years. The 2017 National College Health Assessment, as one example, found one in five students will show up to university with anxiety- and/or depression-related concerns. Given the pressure to get a perfect GPA while maintaining a full course load, extracurriculars […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Men, boys and mental health
Recently I was on a hike with a male client who was sexually abused by his father and was currently struggling with chronic depression, an addiction to prescription drugs and under-employment. Walking side-by-side this particular morning, we happened across a bullfrog—likely injured from some predator—dragging a bloodied limb behind. He stared for a while—tears appearing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Precarious labour is exploiting university educators
University campuses across Nova Scotia are continuing to benefit from contract faculty who face high workloads, low job security and lower wages than tenured professors, leaving a mental health drain on this province’s educators. The common assumption is that contract professors, who Dalhousie Faculty Association president Darren Abramson calls “precarious academic staff,” are mostly graduate […]