Care disengagement: Staying connected to mental health care
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Getting through the door is only one part of the mental health care story.
MHRC's latest polling finds that 52% of people who have accessed mental health support ended care earlier than planned or needed. Disengagement is especially high among people experiencing more severe mental health challenges. The reasons people give are practical: not seeing progress, unclear goals and not feeling understood or respected.
What happens once care begins, and what can make the difference between staying connected and leaving before someone feels ready?
This episode of The Better Mental Health Briefing brings together perspectives from research, mental health system leadership and community-based care to examine what the evidence tells us and what disengagement can look like in practice. Where does engagement start to break down? What helps people stay connected? And how can care respond when something is not working or a person's needs change?
Expert Voices
Akela Peoples
Mental Health Research Canada
Akela Peoples is Chief Executive Officer of Mental Health Research Canada, where she leads efforts to turn mental health research into action. Since joining MHRC in 2019, she has helped grow the organization into a pan-Canadian charity with partnerships across the country. She holds a master’s degree in education and executive leadership certificates from Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, the Ivey School of Business and the Rotman School of Management. A values-driven, impact-focused leader, Akela has twice received the WXN Top 100: Canada’s Most Powerful Women Award. She has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the YWCA Toronto Women of Distinction Award and Rotary International’s Paul Harris Award.
Claire Hlavacek
Mental Health Research Canada
Claire Hlavacek is Manager, Bilingual Data Partnerships at Mental Health Research Canada, where she supports MHRC’s National Polling project and broader data partnerships. She holds a research master’s degree in political science from Sciences Po Lille in France. Before joining MHRC, Claire worked as a research coordinator at a sustainability research hub, managing projects, supporting large-scale collaborations and engaging stakeholders to strengthen the impact of research. Her experience also includes data reporting, visualization and translating complex findings into clear, accessible narratives. She brings a strong personal commitment to mental health and works across research coordination, stakeholder engagement and careful communication of population-level findings.
Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie
Strongest Families Institute
Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie is Co-Founder, President and CEO of Strongest Families Institute (SFI) and Co-Founder of its proprietary digital health platform, IRIS. She is also an Assistant Professor in Dalhousie University’s Department of Psychiatry and a Scientist at the IWK Health Centre. With more than 38 years of pediatric nursing experience, her work has focused for 26 years on psychological research and using technology to deliver accessible, timely, evidence-based interventions. Under her leadership, SFI’s virtual stepped-care system has scaled across Canada in both official languages, with international implementation in Finland and Vietnam. Her contributions to mental health innovation have been recognized with awards including the Governor General’s Innovation Award.
Dr. AnnMarie Churchill
Stepped Care Solutions
Dr. AnnMarie Churchill is President and Lead Executive Officer of Stepped Care Solutions (SCS), where she advances mental health system transformation through innovation, collaboration and person-centred care. Under her leadership, SCS has implemented its Stepped Care 2.0 open-access model across public, private and charitable services, post-secondary institutions and international systems, including Wellness Together Canada. Her work is informed by more than 30 years of clinical practice across community, hospital, research and post-secondary settings. AnnMarie holds a PhD in experimental psychology and a Master’s in clinical social work. She is also co-author of Person-Centered Diagnosis and Treatment in Mental Health: A Model for Empowering Clients.
What is The Better Mental Health Briefing?
The Better Mental Health Briefing is MHRC’s webcast series that puts mental health research into context. Each edition brings together researchers, experts and other informed voices to examine what the evidence tells us, what it may mean and how it could support better decisions for people in Canada. From time to time, the series may also feature initiatives, such as MHRC’s studentships, that help support and expand mental health research.
