I would say, absolutely. One of the lessons that I hope we can take away as we move forward is the opportunity to rethink the way we organize and deliver mental health care.
I would say that two particular pieces are important. The first is to really stress, emphasize and support self-management by individuals of their own care. This is not original; it's something that is part of all care. I think the pandemic has taught us not only that this is a way of greatly expanding the reach of the mental health services, but that it's effective. We know that virtual care and online CBT can be as effective as face-to-face.
Providing resources and support, but in a targeted way because it's not one-size-fits-all.... Different populations, whether it be young adults or parents who are dealing with problems with their children, may need different kinds of resources and services.
The other way we can broaden the scope of the mental health system is to realize that there are many other people. One of our greatest untapped resources is health care providers who are not working to full scope. Another is families. I don't think we've taken advantage of not only the willingness, but the expertise of families to assist in the care of their loved ones, and similarly as supports for individuals.
If we can support families and also primary care providers, public health nurses, other community visiting nurses and people working in community agencies with simple stepped approaches.... We're not turning everybody into a mental health specialist, but we're saying that there are lots of things around lifestyle and dealing with stress and family relationships that anybody can be trained to deliver.
Let's rethink how we do that. Let's try to broaden the base of our mental health care system, so we can use more expensive and highly trained resources in a much more targeted way for those people who really need that expertise.