previous next

Video: Patient-provider relationship

With Jothi Ramesh (Director, Population Health and Community Engagement, Women's Health in Women's Hands)

The most important aspect in therapy is the relation dynamics between the therapist and the client. Our therapists are aware that their beliefs may sometimes differ from their clients, but clients are always made to feel understood and they are treated in a very non-judgmental manner. This is very important in developing the trust and the rapport and for the client to heal from the trauma. Sometimes the therapist might be the only person in the client's world who understands their feelings and how they respond to the trauma. For the therapist to understand their role in the client's life is very important and this is emphasized in our services.

Video: Addressing mental health stigma

With Bonnie Wong (Executive Director, Hong Fook Mental Health Association)

It's important for the community to be aware of what mental health is. That will help to reduce stigma. We promote a lot through community education and workshops. We work with the broader community like schools, community agencies, libraries and faith communities to make the services more available and accessible for people so they don't hesitate to call us for support. We also created an alternate door for people to reduce the wait time to access psychiatric services. Stigma is still very strong. It's embedded in culture and language in the immigrant community. We would like to make sure that this problem becomes less of an issue. So we set up a primary care clinic whereby people come in to just look at their psychosomatic symptoms but at the same time they have access to psychiatric support. All these are some unique programs we provide at Hong Fook that hopefully will benefit more people in the community.

Overview of health care coverage for refugees and immigrants

map of canada
icon

A number of clinics across Canada focus on providing health care services to refugees and uninsured clients. Examples include the Transitional Health Clinic for Refugees in Halifax, the Crossroads Clinic at Women's College Hospital in Toronto and the BridgeCare Clinic in Winnipeg. In Ontario, Community Health Centres (CHCs) typically also serve uninsured individuals. New free psychotherapy services also emerged as a response to the mental health crisis in the country (e.g., Ontario Structured Psychotherapy, Bounce Back Programs).