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Health News For Champlain

Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Ottawa Public Health
Ottawa Public Health encourages parents to Have That Talk for mental health

Ottawa – Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is pleased to launch a mental health video campaign to help parents discuss mental health with their child or teen. The Have That Talk campaign offers a video series that’s designed to answer common questions parents have about their child’s mental health such as how to know if your teen is stressed, depressed or suicidal and where to find mental health services for children in Ottawa.

“I am proud that the Have That Talk campaign offers Ottawa parents the information they may need to have for those difficult conversations with their children,” said Councillor Diane Holmes, Chair of the Ottawa Board of Health. “By supporting parents to talk openly about mental health with their children, we are taking important steps to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and help to connect individuals to programs and services sooner.”

Mental health conditions affect one in five Canadians and 75 per cent of these conditions start during the teenage years. Only 30 per cent of Ottawa youth who had rated their mental health as “poor” had seen a mental health professional at least once during the previous year.

“We know that as children transition to high school, bullying, low self-esteem and stress can have negative impacts on mental health,” said Dr. Isra Levy, Medical Officer of Health. “It’s crucial that parents have relevant and accessible information, and tools to help them have that talk with their children about their mental health.”

The Have That Talk campaign is being featured as part of Bell’s “Let’s Talk” Day. Today, Bell will donate five cents for every text, mobile and long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers along with every tweet using #BellLetsTalk and every Facebook share of the Bell “Let's Talk” Day image. Bell’s donations are made at no extra charge to Bell “Let’s Talk” Day participants, though normal long distance or text charges, if any, apply.

“Supporting youth mental health programs is an important part of the Bell ‘Let’s Talk’ mental health initiative and we congratulate Ottawa Public Health on this innovative approach to helping parents whose children may be struggling with mental health,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell’s “Let’s Talk” initiative. “By talking openly, we can all help to reduce the stigma and improve mental health. I invite everyone to join the conversation about mental health.”

To view the Have That Talk videos, visit HaveThatTalk.com. For more information on mental health, visit ottawa.ca/MentalHealthResources or call the Ottawa Public Health Information Line at 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-580-9656). You can also connect with OPH on Facebook, Twitter (@OttawaHealth), Tumblr, or Pinterest.