Mental health consultant hopes to inspire change in P.E.I.

A Nova Scotia mental health consultantis on P.E.I. to meet with mental health and addiction groups as well as hosta talk at UPEI.

Consultant Todd Leader hopeshis effortson the Islandwillprovide people with a deeperunderstanding of mental health care providers andwhat needs to change.

"Tonight is about the kind of transformational leadership that's needed in order to take a public service like mental health and addictions take them and turn them into client-centred systems," Leader told CBC'sCompass.

"Often they serve the needs of the system morethan they serve the needs of the public. It's not anybody's fault, it's just that that's the way it's evolved," he added.

Dropped wait times in Nova Scotia

Leader helped revamp mental health services on Nova Scotia's south shore, making their programsmore client focused.

This means theirservices havemore personal interactionwith a client, he said.

We need a real person answering thephone, for instance the impact it can have on the client is tremendous. Todd Leader

"We went through this meticulous process of transforming itto make it about the client, about the public, and we achieved much greater public satisfaction."

As a result, he added, wait times for clients dropped dramatically.

What can be done differently?

Leader saidthere's a few small changes that can have a big influence, like changing a voice-automated call service toa real person.

"If you're dealing with depression, anxiety, or some early psychosis, trying to actually tolerate listening to those numbers and deciding which one you shouldpick is different for somebody who's having some type of mental illness," Leader said.

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The automatedservice is a prime example, Leader said, ofa system focused on efficiency rather than client care.

"We need a real person answering the phone, for instance the impact it can have on the client is tremendous."

Leader held a free public talk at UPEIat McDougall Hall Wednesday night.

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