Clark MacFarlane has over 20 years of experience in the health care sector, and is currently the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Cochrane-Timiskaming Branch, in northern Ontario. In a recent interview with the Queens University’s Industrial Relations Centre, MacFarlane discusses some of the recent opportunities and challenges facing the branch. He touches on a variety of issues including funding, the challenges of being a multi-site organization, and the transition to a unionized environment. He also talks about the branch’s current process of implementing a new service delivery model.
“We’re moving towards a recovery approach in our mental health service delivery,” said MacFarlane in the interview with Queens. “Currently, our mental health system is more deficit-based. It is focused on a person’s diagnosis, and disabilities. The recovery approach flips that on its head and it looks at the person’s strengths and asks, ‘What are your abilities? What are your hopes and dreams?’”
To read the whole interview, go to Queen’s IRC website.