Collaborating to Connect More People to Care

CAMH’s efforts to improve mental health care in remote and rural areas have received a tremendous boost; six new ECHOs are being funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Through weekly teleconferences, ECHOs connect academic health science centres with the frontline of community care to share knowledge, expand clinical skills and capacity, and improve care for people with mental illness.

ECHO Ontario Mental Health at CAMH and the University of Toronto is launching ECHOs focused on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Wellness; Trans and Gender Diverse Healthcare; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (with Sunnybrook Hospital); Addiction Medicine and Psychosocial Interventions (with St. Michael’s Hospital); Structured Psychotherapy; and Advanced Practice Mental Health.

Working with University Health Network, U of T and Queen’s University, CAMH has formed the ECHO Ontario Superhub to teach other centres how to operate their own ECHOs.

“This training offers an excellent opportunity to teach new ECHOs about implementation in the Canadian context and provide better mental health care to people living in remote areas,” explains Eva Serhal, Director of the ECHO Ontario Superhub and Outreach, Telemental Health and ECHO at CAMH.