Older Adults
What is the issue?
With the growth in our aging 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 adults from the 2SLGBTQ+ community and other backgrounds or cultures may encounter additional stigma.
What are we doing?
We have developed a range of projects to help policy makers, service providers, and caregivers ensure that older Canadians get the mental health supports they need.
Guidelines and tools
- Guidelines for Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Older Adults in Canada (Guidlines) 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
- Supporting Older Adults: Using Principles and Values to Promote Best Practice, a checklist designed to help individuals and organizations put the Guideline’s principles and values into action.
- Applying the Guidelines for Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Older Adults in Canada during COVID-19, a resource discussing how the Guidelines can be leveraged in a COVID-19 context
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
- 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)
Related Initiatives
Improving Access
E-mental health with stepped care
Engaging Caregivers
Informing the Future
Mental Health Indicators for Canada
Recovery
Resources
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.
- Sep-09-2021
- Sep-09-2021
- Sep-09-2020
- Jun-06-2020
- Oct-10-2019
- Jan-01-2019
- Jan-01-2019
- Jul-07-2015
- Jun-06-2015