Inuit Mental Health                                                                                [Return to Health Topics page]

 

Mental health has been identified as the highest priority health issue by Inuit.

That message came out loud and clear in the 1999 Inuit Mental Health Strategy Workshop held by the national Inuit organization, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Three years later, in community workshops conducted by the Inuit Tuttarvingat (then known as Ajunnginiq Centre) in the four Inuit regions, Inuit again noted that mental health is a key health concern in their communities.

Some factors that contribute to difficulties with mental health for Inuit are:

• loss of culture;
• lack of recognition;
• poverty;
• housing; and,
• addictions.

 

Although there are few statistics on the rates of mental illness among Inuit, we do know that some Inuit, like other people around the world, suffer from mental illness.

Inuit Tuttarvingat recognizes the value that Inuit place on mental wellness. In fact, two of our projects focus specifically on mental well-being, counselling skills and mental illness.

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Mental Illness

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An important part of Inuit Tuttarvingat's work on mental wellness is sharing information on mental illnesses.

Like people around the world, some Inuit also suffer from mental illness. Yet, mental illness is not well understood, and sometimes people will avoid those who are ill or make comments about them because their behaviour seems strange.

To help Inuit better understand mental illness, Inuit Tuttarvingat has gathered the latest facts on mental illnesses and developed an easy-to-read booklet.

“What is Mental Illness?” provides examples of common illnesses, such as depression and schizophrenia, and describes their causes, symptoms and treatments.

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Counselling

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Inuit Tuttarvingat's manual on counselling skills is a useful tool for counsellors throughout the North. The manual outlines effective counselling methods, and covers essential topics such as building a counselling relationship, good listening skills, gathering information from the client, helping clients cope with and solve problems, and more.

Interestingly, the manual highlights the importance of combining traditional Inuit helping skills with modern counselling methods. Inuit have said they want counselling that uses the best old ways and the best new ways. The manual captures this by providing examples of how Inuit Elders counselled and helped individuals in the past, and shows how these traditional helping skills are still effective today.

The manual is named “Ikajurniq, Basic Counselling Skills: Inuit Voices, Modern Methods”.

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Coping Skills

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In 2005, Inuit Tuttarvingat (then know as Ajunnginiq Centre) recorded an interesting and informative play for broadcast on community radio stations across the Arctic. The play has a unique focus on Inuit health and wellness, with particular attention on mental well-being.  

The play is called Nunaliit, Inuktitut for communities. Nunaliit follows the members of a fictitious Inuit community as they deal with overcrowded housing, relationship difficulties, stress, and other health and wellness issues many northerners face. Recorded in Inuktitut, Nunaliit shares health and wellness information with Inuit in their own language.

Nunaliit focuses on a young married couple, Johnny and Sapina, who are expecting their first child; Sapina’s elderly parents who move in with them after their house burned down; and Sapina’s half-sister Jeannie, the Community Health Representative who learns her son may have caused the fire. Through their interactions with family, friends and community members, these and other characters find positive ways to cope with and resolve various problems.

Rather than providing direct health information, the play explores ways in which the characters make positive choices to deal with problems and resolve situations. The goal of Nunaliit is to highlight to Inuit that there are many people and places they can turn to for information on health and wellness, whether it’s their family, friends, or neighbours.

Order a free Inuktitut cassette tape and poster 

 

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Suicide Prevention - learn more about our health promotion activities in this area

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