How a city councillor could reduce mental illness more than a counsellor

photo from www.chooselethbridge.ca

Let's get one thing straight. We need mental health professionals. Skilled ones. But in order to reduce the epidemic of mental illness (I prefer saying brain illness and will do so from here on out) we need a broader approach than supplying therapists on every corner.

At the risk of drawing ire from my colleagues I feel that part of my ethical obligation is to promote wellness not just the wellness business. What I'm suggesting in this post is that there are ecological factors to brain illness that have to be remedied by forces beyond the walls of a psychologist's office.

Primarily, we as a society are suffering from social disconnection. Our brain health relies deep, meaningful bonds and there are a few ecological realities that make it difficult for us to form and maintain those bonds. Neighbourhoods are more like isolated living pods. Few people know their neighbours anymore and therefore miss out on the psychological benefits of having positive relationships where you live.

Another key ecological factor in the deterioration of our brain health, particularly in our children, is the decreasing opportunities for unstructured play. Gone are the days when our children would round up the neighbourhood kids to play kick the can or organize a game of softball in the field. One reason for this is fear, even though our kids are safer than they have ever been. The other is that our cities are no longer engineered to allow such play.

Our landscape is increasingly compartmentalized. This is where we live. Over there is where we work. Way over there is where we shop and over yonder is where we play. Very few people can walk where they need to go. Our kids aren't walking to school anymore (which has a significant negative impact). They aren't playing outside with friends and we wonder why there is so much ADHD and obesity and so little social skills or executive functioning.

Communities that have high walkability scores lead to health, environmental, and economical benefits (watch Jeff Speck's Ted Talk for more on this topic). Basically if it's difficult or annoying to drive somewhere, that is where I want to live. Narrow streets lead to slower traffic, which leads to less traffic, which leads to safer walking. Our neighbourhoods need to be reengineered so that we can live, play, do a little shopping, and maybe even work within walking distance.

This is how a city council could drastically change the landscape of a city and improve the collective health and well-being of a community. We need to ask our governments to invest in infrastructure that promotes interconnection and community. We need more houses with porches in the front, narrower streets, more paths for bikes and pedestrians and those paths need to be enjoyable to walk on.

Our kids needs to play independently. Outside. With other children. If there is something we can do to set up that space in a way that is safe enough for parents to buy in then we need to look at that.

As a mental health practitioner I am calling on governments, specifically municipalities to invest in our communal well-being by promoting interconnected, prosocial communities.