2017-18 Annual Report

"Over the past year Frayme has positioned itself to address urgent priorities in youth mental health and addiction service delivery. Our work and the work of our network is ensuring that youth and family voices are at the centre of service design and that evidence is integrated into practice and policy in Canada and around the world. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and this is especially true in the healthcare field - I encourage all of you working within mental health and substance use to take advantage of this unique opportunity to be part of a collaborative global network with a mission to ensure the best and brightest future for our youth."

"Since our launch in June 2017, Frayme has grown from a concept into a full-fledged organization. As we developed the network from the ground up, we established a small but mighty Secretariat guided by a wonderful Board of Directors and Leadership Team - all committed to changing how youth interact with mental health care systems worldwide. We can already see the impact of the connections being made within the Frayme network - an exciting indication of what's to come."

Nicholas has struggled with depression and anxiety since his early teens. For the majority of that time, he dealt with his mental illness alone, hesitating to tell friends and family because of stigma. “You’re seen as weak and that it should be a matter of ‘manning’ up,” Nicholas said. “But it’s really not about being mopey or sad; it’s an illness just like any other.”

While Nicholas was still in his teens, his father, picking up on the fact that something was wrong with his son, insisted they go to the hospital emergency room, where they waited hours. When Nicholas finally did receive medical attention, it was chalked up to simply being a teenager going through puberty.

After that first time at emergency, Nicholas started seeing a psychologist. When therapy alone wasn’t enough, he was told there was an 8-month waiting list to see a psychiatrist.

“It made me feel hopeless. The psychologists saw my problems as inconsequential.”

When Nicholas entered university things escalated quickly. He started to self-medicate with alcohol and had thoughts related to suicidal ideation. After a suicidal act, Nicholas was again forced to seek help.

This time he was met with a better psychologist, specializing in treatment for youths, and was introduced to the right tools and medication to help him cope with his sickness.

“It was a process, not something that happened over night,” Nicholas said. “Once I was prescribed medication and given tools to deal with anxiety, it started to help.”

It took a few years of hard work, and even with the right recipe, there were times when the medication would simply make Nicholas feel numb.

Nicholas is now working towards a PhD in experimental psychology, conducting research on sleep and memory in conjunction with his schooling.

Although Nicholas is doing much better nowadays than previously, he knows his mental illness is something he will have to continue to manage and cope with.

“It will never go away, but I feel comfortable handling situations when they do arise.”

Compelled by his own experience with the mental health system and more specifically, the stigma he felt preventing him from being open about his illness, Nicholas became an advocate working with Jack.Org in mental health. Part of his goal was to become part of the solution for normalizing mental health conversations.

Another important aspect for Nicholas was advocating for actual policy change as well. “I remember how difficult and frustrating it was to navigate the mental health system.”

Nicholas now believes he could have gotten help years earlier had the system been properly set up to help him, rather than turn him away because he wasn’t sick enough.

These experiences encouraged Nicholas to become involved with Frayme and to use his voice to help ensure that health systems communicate with each other, share knowledge and use models of care designed with youth needs at the centre.

“As a member of Frayme’s Advisory on Youth Matters, I want to see policy change happen. It’s time for a rebuild of the mental health care system. I believe Frayme is the ideal vehicle to drive this policy change into action.”

As a part of the Frayme network, Nicholas has been able to share his voice among other youths, policy makers, academics and service providers at convening meetings. He will also act as a co-researcher in the evaluation of Frayme and has been appointed to a ministerial committee on mental health.

“As youth, we want to feel validated when we reach out for help. Asking for help is a big step for anyone who might be struggling, so when we do reach out we want service providers to genuinely listen and provide help.”

Nicholas thinks that traditional approaches to treating mental illness are no longer working. He also thinks that Frayme can play a role in ushering in a new era for system change.

“I want to encourage service providers to be receptive to changes, improvements and new approaches or treatments. As youth, we are asking for help, and change will not work if nobody is listening.”