Peters, Heather

People in rural settings deal with many barriers to accessing Mental Health and Substance Use services. Living and accessing services in a small community presents challenges which are impacted by an individual, family or a community’s social determinates of health. Many service providers accommodate large geographic catchment area with limited resources. Furthermore, many rural people face barriers to accessible funds or reliable transportation. These disadvantages to equitable access can prevent community members to see a clinical counsellor or to pick up any of the pharmaceuticals that are essential to their treatment plan. There are also ethical challenges with providing counselling services in a rural setting. Conflicts may arise in respect to one’s own social location and dual relationships within professional roles and responsibilities. During my practicum at Canadian Mental Health Association Cariboo Chilcotin, I worked with an adult population for the first time. This experience provided me with a wealth of knowledge of the diverse needs of people at different stages across their lifespan. My practicum lead me to the realization that best practice includes multi-disciplinary collaboration and continued educational pursuits in order to provide services of the highest quality.

People who reside in rural areas are faced with ongoing barriers to accessing mental health services. A number of aspects of rural life such as the rural community, social networks, and limited access to service all have particular implications for people experiencing mental health issues. Additional issues such as the effect of rural culture on help-seeking for mental illness, the lack of anonymity in small communities and the difficulty to maintain confidence, and mental health and addictions stigma may further impact the recognition, treatment, and maintenance of mental health problems for people in rural and remote locations. Providing mental health services to residents in these places requires creative and flexible service delivery options. This practicum report details my experience with the Virtual Mental Health Program at Alberta Health Services and highlights the role that social workers play in delivering mental health services in underserved locations as well as the potentials for further developing these services.