Dr. Srividya Iyer was undaunted by the hundreds of weekly patient caseloads in one of India’s busiest hospitals. She saw in this challenge an opportunity to explore how to improve patients’ lives by meeting their mental health needs.
She moved to the US to study for a PhD in Psychology and worked with people with severe mental issues. This experience led her to focus on early intervention since it is known that mental health issues start before age 25.
“Youth is a period of great promise,” she said, “yet it is also the period of greatest vulnerability for mental health problems. Without good-quality treatment, long-term impacts can be considerable.”
With 70 percent of mental health problems beginning before age 25, early intervention measures are critical and lead to better outcomes.
An opportunity to work at the Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychosis at Montreal’s Douglas Mental Health University Institute (Douglas) brought Dr. Iyer to Canada in 2006. She still had a strong passion for helping the youth when she co-founded ACCESS Open Minds, a network to remove barriers to mental health treatment for youth and led ground-breaking research.
According to its website, ACCESS “connects youth, families/carers, researchers, service providers, and policymakers to improve youth mental health care across Canada.” The organization’s commitment to improving accessibility and outcomes in youth mental health services is evident from the broad range of stakeholders listed under their work.
As the name suggests, accessibility is critical, so youth have walk-in services and do not need referrals.
The project goes beyond mental health treatment and assists youth in their search for jobs, housing, and doctors. ACCESS is integrated into provincial youth mental health care in nine Canadian provinces.
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But Dr. Iyer wears more than one hat. She is also the lead researcher for “Aire Ouverte,” Quebec’s integrated youth services initiative. However, that is not all; Dr. Iyer is a McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry professor, psychologist, and researcher at Douglas.
According to the Aire Ouverte website, “teenagers and young adults, as well as their families and friends, are welcomed and can access services geared to their needs.” Nurses and social workers are available to speak with the youth about their circumstances and suggest solutions. The website also notes that the centers are developed with the participation of young people aged 12 to 25, and services are free.
Other projects keep Dr. Iyer busy. She has partnered with Dr. Chris Mushquash, Canada’s Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction and a Lakehead University professor to build a national network of youth, Elders, communities, researchers and Indigenous organizations to advance Indigenous youth mental health. This network builds on the work of ACCESS Open Minds’ Indigenous Council.
Dr. Mushquash commended Dr. Iyer for her work. “Dr. Iyer takes the importance of improving mental wellness for youth seriously. She worked very hard to partner with indigenous communities.”
Dr. Franz Veru, a doctoral student of Dr. Iyer’s, agrees. “As a supervisor, she pushes you forward and builds you up. She gives people like me hope – she shares the message that as an immigrant and a person of colour, you can contribute to Canadian society in important ways.”
Dr. Iyer’s commitment to youth mental health aligns with the federal government’s focus. A Health Canada release on June 14, 2024, said, “Young people across Canada are struggling with their mental health, and it’s crucial that they have timely access to appropriate services and supports in the communities where they live.”
Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, launched a national call for proposals to develop a collaboration centre to strengthen Integrated Youth Services (IYS) across Canada. The aim is to create an IYS hub as a “one-stop shop” for people aged 12 to 25 to access various services and supports, including mental health counselling, addiction services, primary care, peer and family support, and more ─ to be offered in-person or virtually.
According to the release, the IYS hubs could change the healthcare system for youth by reducing barriers to care, offering more opportunities for early intervention, and making the system easier to navigate by bringing resources together.
As part of the goal to put young people on the path to success, the government’s focus includes proposed Budget 2024 investments for a Youth Mental Health Fund and Kids Help Phone – initiatives that would help give young people access to support when and where they need it.
Social media and other tools expose young people to what is happening worldwide. Some of the information they consume impacts them directly and negatively. Dr. Iyer has set her sights on how to deal with this aspect of youth mental health.
“Youth today are connected worldwide, so they are constantly aware of climate change, humanitarian crises, economic problems and more. How do we consider the way these social factors might be affecting them?” Dr. Iyer is always looking for ways to support the youth. Her work continues.
