Committee to guide mental health board

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A desire to see mental health services delivered in a way that is acceptable to the Aboriginal community has prompted the creation of a wisdom committee by the Alberta Mental Health Board.

Marty Landrie, the board's mental health co-ordinator, said they consulted the Capital Health Authority's Aboriginal service department, which has a wisdom committee, about ways to develop mental health services for Aboriginals.

The result was the Alberta Mental Health Board's own wisdom committee. The role of the new committee will be to provide guidance and advice to the board.

"It was a process that evolved," said Landrie.

Most of the 17 committee members are Elders. Although the majority hail from First Nations and Metis communities across Alberta, a handful come from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Alex Crowchild, an Elder for the Tsuu T'ina First Nation, is co-chair of the committee, which met for the first time Sept. 25 to 27 at Alexis First Nation near Lac Ste. Anne.

"As Elders we have a lot more say," he said. "People tend to listen better (to Elders) when it comes to making recommendations, like to the mental health board."

Landrie said, "Guidance will allow the board to be more sensitive in its approach to mental health services to the (Aboriginal) community. It will be culturally sensitive and it will help break down the barriers."

The first meeting of the wisdom committee established some areas in which the members would like to see the board focus attention.

"(The wisdom committee) would like to see developed integrated service models," said Landrie.

This means offering mainstream Western health approaches alongside traditional Aboriginal approaches and practices.

Crowchild sees the Spirit Healing Lodge on the Tsuu T'ina First Nation as being a part of this approach. Crowchild is a counsellor at the Spirit Healing Lodge.

"It can be used as one of the means by which the mental health board can reach the people," he said.

Lodge practices include sweat lodges, sun dances, taking clients out into the mountains, picking sweetgrass and buffalo sage, and teaching about medicines from the mountains.

"We want to develop mental health services so (that Aboriginal) people are a little more comfortable," said Landrie.

A second focus will be training Aboriginals as mental health service providers.

"We want to develop training programs so that people of Aboriginal communities can go into mental health (training) and then return to their communities," said Landrie. "If more Aboriginals come on board, clients will be more comfortable."

Landrie stressed that services offered in each Aboriginal community will be geared towards that particular community.

"The Blackfoot do things differently than the Cree and the Dene," he said. "It will be across the board development, but according to that community."

He said the board will not only be for Aboriginals on reserves or in settlements, but also urban Natives.

"Communities where there's a large number of Aboriginals, we'll be developing relations with the leaders already involved with the Aboriginal community."

The wisdom committee, which will meet four times a year, will be making its recommendations to the mental health board in the spring.

"The wisdom committee is designed so that it will provide continuing guidance," said Landrie.

Crowchild is optimistic the wisdom committee will make a difference.

"We want to see action," he said. "We don't want our information to gather dust on a shelf."

Crowchild has committed a year to the committee.

"If it's effective, I'll be willing to serve more time," he said. "If I don't see results, I'm wasting my time-time I could be spending (at the Spirit Healing Lodge)."