Nov 12, 2018

Faces of U of T Medicine: Judith Friedland

Professor Judith Friedland
By

Sandra Sokoloff

Professor Judith Friedland
Occupational therapists have a long and diverse history of promoting recovery from mental illnesses and building resilience. Emerita Professor Judith Friedland is one of them. Friedland is an alumna, faculty member and former director and chair of the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy. She spoke to writer Sandra Sokoloff about how her work as a clinical therapist integrated mental health care and why accessing the right help is crucial.

How has your work investigated mental health?

As a clinical therapist, way, way back in the 60s, I worked at Fulbourn Psychiatric Hospital in Cambridge, England and at Toronto Psychiatric Hospital. In the 70s and 80s I worked at Community Occupational Therapy Associates (COTA) and had a number of clients with mental illness as well as clients with physical illness and disability who had psychosocial difficulties. Whether I was working in a hospital setting or in the community, the power of the therapeutic relationship became clear to me. It was the relationship I established with my clients that enabled me to help them become engaged in occupations and live more fulfilling lives. If I could establish a good rapport and make my clients feel that I was working with them, that I was their ally, then we could move ahead. After becoming a faculty member in 1982, I hoped my enthusiasm for working in the field of mental health would encourage my students to work in that area. I thought our students’ knowledge and skills were much needed in mental health settings and I knew they would find satisfaction in their work.

What has your research shown about environments that promote mental health?

I relied on the experiences I had working with people with physical illness and disability to focus my research on the effects of social support, particularly with the stroke population. We saw stroke as a “stressful life event” and carried out a series of studies that examined the power of social support to mitigate negative health outcomes, such as depression, that would have otherwise been anticipated with such an event. We developed and tested an intervention that could help maintain or expand support for individuals. In my work at COTA I ran a social-therapeutic group and found it to be a good vehicle for providing support to stroke survivors. Everyone needs support. Supportive environments promote mental health.

Given what you know about environments that promote mental health, what steps can be taken to create them?

In my work as a faculty member and then as chair of my department, I found it was important to provide a welcoming and accepting environment so that students who experienced difficulty would feel comfortable reaching out, to each other or to faculty. Once that connection is made, problem-solving happens. Environments that promote mental health give a message that it’s ok to ask for help. Independence is an overvalued trait! It’s also important to encourage people in the environment to look out for one another.

What does your work show about strategies that individuals can use to support or maintain their mental health?

Our current research with university students with mental health issues has shown the importance of being able to deal with stress, and the necessity of differentiating between the effects of stress and serious mental illness. Accessing the right help is crucial. In both cases, however, support from others and a concomitant feeling of belonging within the environment is extremely important for getting help. More generally, we know that engaging in activities that can help divert one from stress is important and that cognitive behavioural techniques including mindfulness are very helpful. Anticipating where problems might occur (e.g., with transitions in life such as starting university) and having strategies in place to facilitate coping is essential.

 

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