Battlefords Mental Health Centre, North Battleford, Saskatchewan was the site of my practicum experience from January to April, 2009. The opportunity to practice social work and counseling theories in North Battleford was significant, given the history intertwined within the local area. Saskatchewan Hospital was the first institution specifically designed to provide mental health care and rehabilitation for individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses. With the introduction of psychotrophic medication in the 1970’s, individuals were treated instead of controlled, and institutions were replaced by mental hospitals in local communities. The Saskatchewan Plan changed mental health policies from an institutional approach to small mental hospitals (Dickinson, 1984), followed by a community based system. Today, federal and provincial governments are endeavoring to change the face of mental illness. As the highest indicator of disease that results in unemployment, disability or death (Conway, 2003), the alleviation of mental illness has grown significantly in public importance. The National Mental Health Commission, launched in 2007, was created in response to recommendations of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (2006) report “Out of the Shadows at Last”. Governments now recognize that without intervention, individuals with mental illnesses are at risk of further marginalization in our globalized economy.
Mental health centers play a major preventative role for governments in ensuring individuals with mental illnesses have access to support as requested. Social workers implement brief therapies to empower clients in articulating their chosen goals and assisting them in lifestyle changes. Examples of cognitive behavioral and solution focused therapies demonstrate that social workers can implement therapies to assist individuals in creating positive life changes.