By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The growing demand for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has prompted continued expansion of culturally based programming at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, where staff say healing is strengthened when traditional Indigenous practices are integrated with clinical care. Ryan Thomas, manager of Indigenous Health Services for Mental Health and Addictions with Shared Health, said more Indigenous people accessing mental health services are presenting with increasingly complex needs, often while living with the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma, grief, substance use disorders, social isolation and housing insecurity. “The need for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has grown significantly in recent years,” Thomas said. He said there is also greater recognition that recovery is most effective when it addresses the whole person. “For many Indigenous patients,… <\/p>\n
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The growing demand for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has prompted continued expansion of culturally based programming at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, where staff say healing is strengthened when traditional Indigenous practices are integrated with clinical care. Ryan Thomas, manager of Indigenous Health Services for Mental Health and Addictions with Shared Health, said more Indigenous people accessing mental health services are presenting with increasingly complex needs, often while living with the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma, grief, substance use disorders, social isolation and housing insecurity. “The need for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has grown significantly in recent years,” Thomas said. He said there is also greater recognition that recovery is most effective when it addresses the whole person. “For many Indigenous patients,... <\/p>\n