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    Home > What We Do > Seniors
    Seniors

    Seniors

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    Overview|Resources

    What is the issue?

    With our growing seniors population, mental health problems and illnesses among older adults are likely to affect every family. If not addressed, the increasing pressure on the health-care system will have significant social and economic impacts.

    To meet this challenge, community-based services and primary care providers have a vital role in helping people to stay mentally well and manage mental health problems and illnesses as they age.

    Services and policies to support their care must also seek to reduce the overlapping stigmas they face: from being older and from living with a mental health problem or illness. Older people from the LGBTQ+ community and other backgrounds or cultures may encounter additional stigma.

    What are we doing?

    The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has developed a range of projects to help policy makers, service providers, and caregivers ensure that older Canadians get the mental health supports they need.

    Health-system change

     Health-system change

    The Mental Health Strategy for Canada identifies seniors mental health as an action priority and makes several recommendations for improvement.

    guidelines

     Guidelines

    • Guidelines for Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Older Adults in Canada is designed to help policy makers and service providers plan, develop, and implement a mental health service system that better responds to the aging population. 
    • Summary: Guidelines for Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Older Adults in Canada
    • Compendium of Good Practices for Improving Seniors Mental Health in Canada, a resource to support the implementation of the Guidelines
    mental health first aid

    Mental Health First Aid

    MHFA Seniors is a course to increase the capacity of older adults and their families (informal caregivers), friends, care-setting staff, and communities to promote mental health.

    mental health promotion

    Mental health promotion

    • Age-friendly communities (from the Public Health Agency of Canada)
    • Fountain of Health
    • Living Life to the Full (from the Canadian Mental Health Association – Ontario)

    For more information, email us at aging@mentalhealthcommission.ca

    The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has developed a range of projects to help policy makers, service providers, and caregivers ensure that older Canadians get the mental health supports they need.

    Featured Resource:
    pdf
    Mental Health Commission of Canada Seniors Guidelines - Executive Summary
    517.05 kB

    Resources

    pdf
    Mental Health Commission of Canada Seniors Guidelines - Executive Summary
    517.05 kB
    pdf
    Fact Sheet - Municipalities and the Aging Population
    As 2,000 municipal leaders gathered at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities…
    297.19 kB
    pdf
    Seniors Mental Health Policy Lens Toolkit
    1.52 MB
    pdf
    2010 Spring Roundtable Meeting - Seniors' Mental Health
    722.29 kB

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    Robert Munsch speaks about mental health
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    Guidelines for Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Older Adults in Canada
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    Contributors talk about the Mental Health Strategy for Canada
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    Launch of the Mental Health Strategy for Canada
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    MHCC Mental Health Strategy Launch - full webcast

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