May 21

Provincial Snapshot: Mental Health and Addiction Treatment in Quebec

This month's Provincial Snapshot will take an all encompassing look at accessing mental health, drug rehab, alcohol treatment, and addiction treatment in Quebec, and the policies underpinning these services. In months past we have split this into two blogs. However, we are unfortunately all Anglophones in the office so the resources available to us are limited and we are unable to go into depth about the government policies on mental health and addiction treatment in Quebec. Luckily, we will be...
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May 14

The Evolution of Addiction Models: How Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Program Thinking...

Introduction The twentieth century saw serious scientific inquiry into addiction and addictive behaviours. The two main addiction models that sprang forth from the discourse are contradictory, and new theories are bringing us closer to a middle ground. These two models were the moral model and the disease model. In response to the pervading idea of sinful addicts, the 'disease of addiction' came about which removed the burden of blame from the substance user. However as the field of addiction...
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May 10

Tobacco Facts: Drug Fact Sheet on Tobacco

Early History Tobacco is a plant native to the Americas, and it is believed to have been first used in society around 1 BC. Indigenous North Americans used tobacco for both religious and medicinal purposes. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries when Europeans went to the Americas, tobacco was used in trade and was taken back to Europe to grow. Tobacco became popular and by the 18th century, companies were being established in America to process tobacco into cigars and snuff. Early 19th...
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May 2

Mental Health Week: Mental Illness Treatment Programs in Canada and Community Gardens

Community Garden Programs Help Those with Mental Illness Thrive Did you know there is a branch of therapy called ecotherapy? Ecotherapy is any kind of therapy that integrates activity in nature. Horticulture therapy is a growing part of ecotherapy as “the essential components of a community garden program (growing plants, spending time with others in a safe and supportive environment, being active outdoors and bringing home healthy produce harvested from the garden) can contribute to...
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