Leading with empathy

When Shak Simms was training to become a nurse, she didn’t plan on spending her career in mental health and addictions.

“It wasn’t something that happened on purpose,” says Shak. “It was just my journey through nursing and seeing where the need was.”

She saw how mental illness and addictions could affect anybody at any time. She also recognized the challenges people face in getting help.

“One of the biggest barriers is just the stigma that is out there,” says Shak. “That’s largely due in part to society and how we portray mental health and addictions as a failure of the person. It makes people feel a lot of shame, a lot of guilt, and it makes it hard to reach out. And I think those barriers still exist for people.”

Today, Shak is Nurse Team Lead at CAMH’s Concurrent Outpatient Medical & Psychosocial Addiction Support Services (COMPASS). COMPASS comprises a multidisciplinary team that supports all facets of care for people with addiction and mental health concerns. Seeing 4,400 patients per year, the program provides specialized addictions treatment that increases accessibility and meets people where they are at with respect to their recovery goals. It's one of the many programs at CAMH that aims to reduce barriers to care so people can access support when and where they need it.

In her daily work, Shak and her colleagues offer people a nonjudgmental environment, with a focus on empathy and engagement.

“The greatest gift we can give each other is acknowledgement and acceptance.” 

“Mental health and addictions go hand in hand,” says Shak. “They’re happening at the exact same time. We can’t treat one without treating the other,” says Shak. “We are meeting you where you are, and we want to work with you, whatever that looks like for you. Everybody’s journey is different.”

As a nurse on the front lines of the mental health and addictions crisis, Shak feels a responsibility to share her experiences. She wants people to know CAMH is the place to go for help and hope.

“Even if someone doesn’t choose to move forward with their treatment on day one, knowing that we are there and the door is open and they can come back any time—that is one of the keys,” says Shak. “CAMH is doing really good work to acknowledge the bravery that it takes for people to reach out and letting them know that they don’t have to do it all at once. It’s going to take time, and it’s going to take work. That’s part of the journey.”

Shak has seen a lot in her 10-plus years in nursing. That includes big steps toward the shared understanding that mental health is health. But she wants to see more awareness and less stigma in society to ensure better mental health can be a reality for everyone—and she believes CAMH can lead that change.

“There’s still so much work to be done. And I'm looking forward to it,” says Shak. “It’s not easy, but there is change that’s possible, and we can achieve that. That’s something I'm very much wanting to be a part of.”