The future of mental health care looks promising to Jordan Robinson. According to Jordan, a mother of five children with varying mental health diagnoses, it’s because of the positive change happening at CASA Mental Health.
Jordan learned long ago how to advocate for her family. She also has a unique perspective: she’s worked in health care since 2016, including alongside a physician who specialized in child mental health and complex diagnoses. This knowledge of the workings of family medicine has undoubtedly helped Jordan navigate mental health care for her own kids, but even that advantage hasn’t been enough. 
Over the past 10 years, the right care or intervention hasn’t been available to Jordan’s family, and she wants to change that.
“My eldest, Anthony, was diagnosed with multiple complex conditions including ADHD, Tourette syndrome, conduct disorder and emotional dysregulation, among others. Two physicians later noted emerging psychopathic traits and a distinct lack of empathy at nine-years-old,” says Jordan.
When Anthony was between the ages of five and 15, the family explored every intensive psychiatric program available in Edmonton, including the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital’s Unit 301, the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s child psychiatry unit and the Stollery Children’s Hospital urgent psychiatry ward. He wasn’t eligible for CASA’s highest intensity program – CASA House – because Anthony’s behavioural needs at the time exceeded what CASA House could safely manage.
Now, Jordan has three children in CASA Mental Health’s services – aged five, eight and 10 years old – and she says it still isn’t easy. Not every physician or type of therapy is a good fit, and she still finds herself advocating for her family regularly. “We’re still in crisis,” says Jordan. “It feels never ending, but we’ve adapted.”
Jordan shares her knowledge and personal experience by volunteering on CASA Mental Health’s Youth and Family Advisory Council (YFAC). On the council, she and other members provide advice to CASA staff and leaders on policies, projects and even expansion. “I always say that I’m not advocating for CASA or for mental health care to fix it for my kids,” says Jordan, “I’m trying to fix it for other people’s kids because I don’t want other families to go through what we’ve gone through.”
She’s quick to point out the positive change she’s witnessed at CASA Mental Health, including the introduction of the Core program in fall 2022, which is now the first stop for most families who come to CASA. It provides general mental health treatment for a wide range of concerns, and flexibly allows patients to be moved up to a more intensive program or down to the original level of services.
Core Clinical Manager Caitlin Ebbers says, “In Core, we partner with families to define and work towards meaningful goals for therapy. These goals that are not only achievable, but impactful, like helping a child find their voice and courage in the face of fear or building their strength and resilience after experiencing adversity. Many children and youth reach their goals within six to eight sessions, sometimes in fewer sessions, and sometimes it takes a few more. Along the way, families often discover strengths they didn’t know they had. It’s a journey of growth, hope and surprising breakthroughs.”
“I think Core could have solved a lot of things for our family,” Jordan adds.
She’s excited about CASA’s Psychiatry and Medical Clinics program, which serves kids with complex, chronic mental health disorders, but who would not necessarily benefit from a traditional CASA program.
Jordan is also thrilled that the Youth and Family Advisory Council has been engaged for the past three years in CASA’s operational planning days. YFAC members have an opportunity to provide input as departments plan for the year ahead.
“Most of the parents on CASA’s Youth and Family Advisory Council have never worked in health care. They stay at home and have been advocates their entire kids’ lives. They get genuine joy from advocating for kids they don’t even know and because of the respect employees are showing.”
CASA’s vision is for a community where all children, youth and their families are provided with timely mental health care and are empowered to thrive. This includes being open as an organization to learning and growing from all patient and family experiences.
“Seeing where CASA is going nullifies that we’ve had bad experiences because you are actually trying to improve access and quality. CASA is advocating for change and is actually doing it. CASA will find a way. That initiative and tenacity is super important,” she adds.
