Here is a collection of the Georgia Straight's coverage of mental-health subjects, including issues such as anxiety, mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, addiction, stress, therapy, and more.

Health Notes

Vancouver art-therapy program for mental-health recovery finds new operator

The Art Studios is a psycho-social rehabilitation program offering free classes for clients with mental-health or substance-use challenges.

LGBT

Vancouver queer male health groups offer support for reducing or ending meth usage with sex

Men struggling with their crystal-meth use for sex can find support from some upcoming groups.

Health Features

Childhood exposure to dogs associated with less risk of schizophrenia later in life

The purpose of the project was to see if there was a relationship between exposure to a household cat or dog during the first 12 years of life and a diagnosis later in life of either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Music Notes

On Our Radar: Sarah Jickling uses "Villain" video to debunk the myth of the crazy bitch

Families are complicated.

Health Notes

Update: Coquitlam RCMP detachment says Forensic Psychiatric Hospital patient has been found

Sukhdev Singh Badyal, 47, was unlawfully at-large from the Colony Farm facility.

Straight Talk

Vancouver man sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail after beating building manager to death in drunken stupor

The accused man had two prior convictions for assault.

Commentary

VANDU: As VPD budget spirals out of control, defunding police is our community alternative to drug war

A group of drug users wonders about the cost of diverting so much of the city's budget to law-enforcement in the midst of an overdose crisis.

Life

CounsellingMatch website pairs people with compatible mental health practitioners

CounsellingMatch, headquartered in Vancouver, is a free website that matches users seeking mental health support with qualified and compatible professionals.

Theatre Reviews

In The Father, Kevin McNulty summons a devastating depiction of dementia

The Father marks the debut of Mindy Parfitt’s new theatre company, the Search Party, and what a gutsy, brilliant choice it is.

Theatre Reviews

In Certified, Jan Derbyshire adroitly untangles her experiences in the mental-health system

Structured as a mental-health review board hearing, the dynamically yet sensitively performed show is a comic breakdown of how she became "certified" eight times.

Book Features

Anna Mehler Paperny's blunt memoir Hello I Want to Die breaks mental-health stigma

With blunt honesty, relatable humour, and a journalist’s insatiable curiosity, the Toronto-based author investigates our best attempts to treat mental illness.

News Features

Six years ago the Vancouver police declared a mental-health crisis; since then, little has changed

VPD apprehensions under the B.C. Mental Health Act are no longer rising but haven't declined either, calling into question authorities' use of involuntary care.