Dr. Laura Slade is a recently licensed psychiatrist at Trillium Health Partners, working in Ambulatory Care and the Emergency Department. Throughout her career, she has constantly focused on pursuing her strong passion towards helping people in the medical field. Her amiability, professionalism, and charm is reflected in the manner she views her patients, treating them not as cases, but as individuals with unique identities.
“The work I currently do is centred around helping patients who have experienced psychosis. This includes people who have been diagnosed with illnesses like schizophrenia. I work with a team that includes social work and occupational therapy so that we can help people manage their illnesses with a combination of medication and cognitive-behaviour therapy approaches. Other work I do includes teaching medical students who are completing their rotations on psychiatry. I really enjoy teaching them how to conduct an interview with patients in a way that is both empathic and informative.
The first time I ever conducted an interview with someone during my training in medical school, it was on a psychiatry ward. My classmates and I had never interviewed before, aside from practicing on one another. In some ways it felt like going swimming for the first time and jumping in the deep end! However, I enjoyed the experience - this first exposure to the interview with an unwell patient made me curious to understand the person, their illness, and to try to figure out the role that the medical system would have in improving their life. That was my introduction to any type of patient care, and really fostered my interest in understanding people and their illnesses more.
I think if I had to choose one thing within the Canadian health care system, specifically for mental health, it would be to secure the funding needed to staff and run therapeutic programs in all of the communities where there is such high need. Not only would this mean more access to care close to where people are living, but would reduce the wait times that people face in getting into programs that help them manage their illnesses. I think there would be good 'downstream' effects as well, such as less need for people to reach 'crisis situations' and use the emergency department to try to get help.
It's hard to think of just one stigma that is associated with health. Sadly, there are many stigmas that remain. One that stands out particularly for me is the shame that some people feel in having any type of mental illness - and how that can lead people to try to manage their symptoms on their own, or feel like they are 'not strong enough' to manage what often are very challenging symptoms of very real illnesses. Fortunately, the last few years have brought far more open conversations about mental health - whether we are speaking about specific illnesses, or how to improve overall wellness. It is an important start that is helping people realize that they are not alone in what they are experiencing, that seeking help is not a sign of weakness, and raises more awareness that there are treatments that can help.
Ultimately what made me choose to work in the field of psychiatry was the idea that if I help the individual, it not only benefits them, but also helps to improve the lives of others around them. For example, helping someone manage their symptoms allows them more opportunity to be social, to return to work, to re-engage in the activities in their community that they enjoy! When someone comes back to see me for an appointment and tells me that their family or friends have noticed how much better they have been doing, it really affirms to me that doing this work makes a difference. Nothing makes me happier for my patients than hearing that they are getting back to "feeling like themselves again" - those are the moments that mean a lot to me. This work is really challenging, but can also be very rewarding. Thank you for giving me the chance to tell you a bit about it!”
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