Doctors: How you can be strong advocates for youth mental health

We need to keep the passion alive! - Dr Rummy Dosanjh, GP, CYMHSU Community of Practice.

May 7th is Child and Youth Mental Health Day, and through the Institute of Families I Care About You campaign, we all have the opportunity to acknowledge and commit to preserving the mental health of our children and youth across Canada.

For physicians, the potential impact as a caring adult can be a significant one – not only by connecting with patients and families in your practices, but also behind the scenes as strong advocates and influencers for system change.

When the Doctors of BC/BC Government’s Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use (CYMHSU) Collaborative wrapped up last December, a large group of physicians felt strongly about the need to continue to work together to advocate and influence wherever possible around CYMHSU priorities and improvements.

As a result of their efforts, and engagement of other colleagues, an official CYMHSU Community of Practice (CoP) was created. Supported by the Doctors of BC and BC Government’s Shared Care Committee, the CoP has 150+ physicians and partners, including representatives from Ministries and Health Authorities. Two meetings have already taken place, which focused on how the Community of Practice can be most effective.

Three priority areas were determined 

1. Ensuring ongoing, productive discussions with government
2. Implementing policy and practice to address and preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences
3. Continuing to build community networks of physicians.

Work continues between meetings to achieve important objectives  – with the ultimate goal summed up by one participant “We are thinking and doing what is best for the future of our children”.

The next meeting is scheduled for October in Vancouver. For more information, and a breakdown of who’s involved, click here.

If you’re passionate about child and youth mental health and would like to get involved, please email View Email Addressshared_care@doctorsofbc.ca.