Wellness in Indigenous communities and cultures is about being in balance and harmony. Wellness focuses on strengths rather than deficits or weaknesses. It is about being connected to family, community and nature. This is in contrast to some mainstream or North American treatment models that focus more on people as individuals, separate from their community.
Within Indigenous communities, health is about the whole person. It is about mind, emotions, body and spirit.
In response to years of colonization, residential schools, child welfare programs and intergenerational trauma, Indigenous communities have been challenged with high suicide rates, difficulties with substance abuse, and family violence.
There are a variety of services available for Indigenous children and youth in Ontario. These are for young people of First Nations (status and non-status), Métis and Inuit communities.
Some community services are culture-based specifically for Indigenous peoples. Others are mainstream services offered to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Indigenous healing methods use holistic approaches that focus on the connection with family, community, spirituality and nature. Traditional healing may include:
- ceremonies, songs, stories, dances and prayers
- traditional medicines; for example, using sacred remedies such as tobacco, cedar, sweetgrass and sage
- healing circles, talking circles
- connections to Elders, traditional healers, Medicine people and other helpers
Mental health services for children and youth can be provided in many different settings, as follows.
Aboriginal Child and Family Services. There are many Child and Family Service agencies in the province that offer a broad range of mental health programs, including ones for children and youth. These exist both in urban areas and on reserves. Examples are Native Child and Family Services of Toronto and Kunuwanimano Child and Family Services in Timmins.
Aboriginal Health Access Centres (AHACs). AHACs provide different types of health and social support services to First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. Right now, there are 10 AHACs in Ontario. They provide care both on- and off-reserve, in cities, and in rural and northern communities. Services include mental health counselling, traditional healing and addiction programs, and youth empowerment. You don’t need a referral, and there are no fees.
To book an appointment at an Aboriginal Health Access Centre, go to the website of the Association of Ontario Health Centres (www.aohc.org), click on Find A Centre, and then type in your city and postal code. Under the drop-down menu for Type, click on Aboriginal and then click Search.
Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Nursing Stations. Anishnawbe Health Toronto and Misiway Milopemahtesewin CHC in Timmins are community health centres that serve the Indigenous community exclusively. But there are many other CHCs in Ontario that serve both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Nursing stations provide health services on reserves, but often have fewer services than CHCs in cities. Connect with the health centre in your community.
Indigenous Friendship Centres. There are 28 Friendship Centres in towns and cities across Ontario that offer various health and social services. Examples of their services include:
- The Children’s Mental Health Project, which has programs at five Friendship Centres in Ontario for children aged 7–15 and their families
- The Children Who Witness Violence Program for children aged 7–14.
To find an Indigenous Friendship Centre, go to the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (www.ofifc.org) and click on Friendship Centres.
Métis Nation of Ontario. Mental health services include screening and assessment, intake, early intervention, referrals, case management, and aftercare (post-treatment) support using contemporary and traditional therapeutic interventions, such as healing circles and individual or group counselling. Mental wellness promotion and peer support are also available. More information and contact details are available on the website at www.metisnation.org.
Ontario Native Women’s Association. The association offers a variety of programs for Indigenous girls and women and their families in Ontario. Visit the website at www.onwa.ca to learn more.
Mainstream services. A variety of health centres, clinics, mental health agencies, psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units at general hospitals provide mental health services in Ontario for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.
How to access services
Referrals can be made by a parent or guardian, family doctor, community workers and agencies, school staff, and correctional facilities.
Many Indigenous mental health programs will accept self-referrals from young people over the age of 12, although the parent or guardian is usually involved.
What to expect
Upon first contact with an agency, you will probably be asked to participate in an intake process. The health worker will ask for basic information about the issue you need help with and what your goals are. Depending on the agency, intake may be done over the phone or in person.
If further assessment is needed, you will be asked for more detail about:
- your strengths and weaknesses or needs
- the different stresses you are experiencing
- support systems you might have—in your family, school and community
If you live in a community that doesn’t have services close by (for example, in a rural or isolated community) and there is a specific concern about your mental health, further assessment might be able to be arranged through videoconferencing. This is called telemental health or telepsychiatry. Through telemental health, you could live thousands of miles away from an assigned psychiatrist, but be able to speak to each other through a video camera, as long as each person is at a health centre, hospital or agency that has the right equipment.
Wait times can vary. At Anishnawbe Health Toronto, for example, the wait time is usually about four to eight weeks. However, wait times at most mainstream psychiatric services can be much longer—for example, as much as six months or even more for ongoing psychiatric support.
Some agencies provide community-based services while a youth waits to get into a day program or other, more intensive treatment. Services such as recreational supports, homework clubs, school programs, support groups, cultural ceremonies and drop-in services are often much quicker to access than psychiatric services.
If you are in crisis, some agencies also provide walk-in or crisis counselling. Anishnawbe Health Toronto has a 24-hour crisis line that any Indigenous person can access: Workers can provide support and usually try to arrange for follow-up the next day for ongoing supports.
Children and youth in crisis can also call and speak to a counsellor at Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.
Types of services
Mental health services for Indigenous children and youth may include:
- individual and group therapy
- cyber-counselling by e-mail or live chat
- crisis intervention
- day treatment: Youth attend the program daily for both schooling and mental health treatment, for example, for help in dealing with issues such as bullying, violence prevention, social and life skills teaching, problem-solving and role-modelling, art lessons and cultural teachings.
- residential program: This could be a youth addiction program or live-in residence for children with behavioural problems that are difficult to manage at home.
- non-residential programs; for example, a sweat lodge ceremony, a talking and healing circle, or community wellness workshops
- case management: Case managers assist youth to realize goals they have identified—for example, by making referrals, advocating for them, and helping them navigate the system
- youth outreach services: Outreach workers in most cities and on some of the larger reserves engage at-risk youth on the street. They provide information, offer mentorship, and help young people to access programs.
Family mental health services may include:
- family counselling
- support and education for parents and guardians (for example, while children are receiving counselling)
- home visits—for parenting support, education, monitoring and skill-building
- parenting programs
- family violence healing programs and violence prevention
- infant/child development (with a broader health focus on children younger than 6 years)
Where to find Indigenous mental health service
The following directories are available to link you to Indigenous mental health care in your community.
Health Care Options
Mental Health Helpline
Za-geh-do-win Information Clearinghouse
The Clearinghouse publishes The Key: Aboriginal Mental Health Services/Support Directory. An up-to-date version can be ordered for free by calling the Clearinghouse, or you can download a PDF of an earlier version on their website, under Our Library.
Kids Help Phone
Off-reserve services for Indigenous children and youth have increased considerably, especially in the larger cities. However, on reserve, there are still very few mental health services, much less medical care. A psychiatrist may visit a reserve about once a month or as little as once or twice per year.
Some regions in Ontario do have centralized places to find Indigenous services, often including mental health services. For example, Indigenous people in Toronto can contact Anishnawbe Health Toronto about health and support services in the city. Similarly, Thunder Bay and District has an Access Network that can link people to culturally sensitive services for Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples.
One Indigenous agency will often be able to refer people to other agencies that offer child or youth mental health services if they don’t offer them themselves.