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Personal Understanding Aids Professional Growth at Mental Health Speakers Bureau

While mental health may be a taboo topic in some circles, for the attendees of a recent Canadian Forces (CF) Health Services Speakers Bureau, talking about mental health widened perspectives, built understanding and opened new avenues for communication.

The Mental Health and Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Joint Speakers Bureau was held in Ottawa from October 20-31. The session was voluntarily attended by CF personnel, staff and volunteers from Military Family Resource Centres (MFRCs), CF family members and mental health professionals, all aiming to improve services in their communities.
 
The Speakers Bureau course taught participants about the content and purpose of ‘mental health awareness and issue recognition’ sessions offered to CF members. The sessions are given as part of CF members’ Primary Leadership Qualification, and at Third Location Decompression, a program for CF members as they come to the end of their deployment. The intent of the Speakers Bureau course was to educate participants on how to extend a parallel level of support and knowledge to families.  This way, overseas and at home, all family members will be given the same information on recognizing possible mental health issues, helping family members cope and asking for support when needed.

“The model that they provided makes so much sense,” said Kym Wolfe, a staff member of the London MFRC. With many local CF members currently deployed in Afghanistan, Wolfe will soon use the information to help families prepare for the return of their loved ones. “This will really help create a family dialogue. They will have some common language and a common understanding.”

The Speakers Bureau course also included presentations from CF members and families personally affected by OSIs and mental health issues. The sessions were interactive, and participants contributed to discussions about post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, addictions, stress management, and combating mental health stigmas.

“There’s a lot more that you’re getting here than what we can put into a binder,” training leader Major Suzanne Bailey said to the group. “We learn so much. Not just from the presenters but from everyone in the room.”

For Brenda Davidson, a staff member at the Edmonton MFRC, the learning didn’t stop when the training sessions ended. A trip to the Canadian War Museum on the group’s Sunday off was an especially eye-opening experience for her.

“We walked around and told stories – the guys who’d been to Afghanistan, the people who’d stayed home,” she said. “It really helped us understand what each other had been through.”

Ray Parfitt, a CF member from 4 Wing Cold Lake, also valued the honest communication developed between attendees. He felt that the training prepared participants to open discussions about mental health with CF members and their families at home.

“It used to be that the returning soldier was like one of those ‘pink elephants in the room,’” he reflected. “There was a lot going on, but nobody talked to him or talked about it. Now, we can talk about it.”

He noted that the relationships forged at the Speakers Bureau course will allow attendees to communicate about local mental health initiatives and to provide consistent mental health services for families.

“Building relationships and understanding has been the whole key for me,” Parfitt said. “We need to work together to help the families understand the soldier, and we also have the ability to help the soldiers understand the family.”