National Office

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is one of the oldest continuing voluntary health organizations in Canada. The forerunner of CMHA, the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (CNCMH), was founded in 1918 by Dr. Clarence Hincks -- a mental health professional and himself a consumer of mental health services. The CNCMH was formed by a group of professionals in reaction to appalling conditions in mental hospitals and institutions at the time, such as gross overcrowding and severe under-staffing. The expressed objectives of the organization were as follows: to fight mental illness; to prevent mental illness; and to promote good mental health.

The CNCMH conducted surveys in every province concerning the care of people suffering from poor mental health and made recommendations to provincial governments for improving care and treatment. They advocated for substantial increases in resources for hospital and community services, a re-orientation from the custodial mode to active treatment, and more professionals to be trained to provide better care.

CMHA National Office

In the 1920's the CNCMH initiated a public education campaign on the nature, extent and proper treatment and prevention of various psychiatric illnesses. Also at this time the organization established mental health programs for pre-school and school age children, including organizing nursery schools and parent education courses.

On December 1, 1926 the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene became formally and legally incorporated under Letters Patent which set out the purpose of the CNCMH and provided its Dominion Charter. These have remained essentially unchanged to this day, although changes in the name of the organization and in several of the by-laws have since been made.

During the Second World War, the CNCMH facilitated the organization of psychological and mental health screening of Canadian recruits for armed services. After the war, it participated in post-war planning with the Federal Government and secured annual mental health grants paid to all provinces for new psychiatric hospital construction and more staff. Additional funds were acquired to establish post-graduate training in medical schools for health professionals, especially psychiatrists.

The advent of psychotropic medications (in particular, anti-psychotic drugs) in the 1950's lead to monumental changes in the care and treatment of individuals suffering from poor mental health. These drugs were seen as the key to unlock the doors to the backwards and return chronically mentally ill individuals to their communities and to their families. Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, a concerted policy of de-institutionalization was launched across North America to reduce the population of large institutions.

Initially it was perceived that with de-institutionalization, families, communities and the new "wonder" drugs were enough to ensure that supports and social networks would take care of the large numbers of newly released patients. Unfortunately, neither the de-institutionalized patient nor the family was given sufficient concrete assistance; nor were the communities assisted in coming to terms with their prejudices, assumptions and fears about the influx of "psychotic patients" on their streets. Gradually governments and professionals became aware that de-institutionalization was not, in itself, a solution.

In the 1950's, the National Committee of Mental Hygiene changed its name to the Canadian Mental Health Association; simultaneously, it revised its by-laws in order to allow for the development of provincial divisions and local branches. At this time, the Association recognized the absolute necessity of community-based initiatives; not only so they could address the needs of de-institutionalized patients and their families, but to promote better understanding and awareness of mental illness at the local level. This recognition represented a fundamental turning point in the goals, activities and objectives of the Association. No longer was the focus on surveys of mental health hospitals and institutions. From this point on, the major thrust of the CMHA has been on the encouragement and promotion of community-based mental health service alternatives as indicated by an ongoing emphasis on the development of provincial divisions and local branches.

For further information visit the national website at cmha.ca.