Earlier this month, Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the country’s largest research centre for addiction and mental health issues, received a donation of $100 million from an anonymous source. As the Globe and Mail puts it, it’s a donation that underscores the importance of properly treating issues of mental health and addiction in Canada. It’s part of a growing recognition of mental illness in the country over the last few years, with initiatives like Bell Let’s Talk.
Previously, stigmas around mental health and addiction issues were a barrier people faced when getting help. Luckily, that’s changing, and with that change comes a need for mental health professionals to help a growingly visible community. Becoming someone that helps those with mental health issues is a noble calling, and Centennial College can help you achieve this career with its Addiction and Mental Health Program.
The same Centre for Addiction and Mental Health that the donation helped out outlines why mental health workers are needed. We live in a time when 1 in 4 Canadians have a mental health or addiction problem, which frequently starts in their youth. Not only that, but mental health and addiction are connected to each other, with mentally ill people being twice as likely to also have a substance addiction. It works the other way too, with people with substance addictions being three times as likely to have a mental illness.
Addiction and mental illness also result in a lower employment rate, which can lead them into a lower income bracket. Other factors include potential homelessness and premature death. Canada’s First Nations can be hit particularly hard by these issues, too. This is why we need professionals, and why Centennial College has a program to help you become one.
Centennial College’s Addiction and Mental Health program runs for two years, and teaches you the hands-on skills needed to work with individuals, families and groups impacted by mental health and addiction problems. It contains classroom learning that’s supplemented with a field placement to give you real-life experience, giving you the skills you need to deliver care to those that need it the most. The program has also been approved by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and, when you graduate, you’re eligible to register with them, which will help you gain employment, due to the organization’s reputation.
By Anthony Geremia