Feb 26, 2015

Making Mental Health Magical

Faculty & Staff
P10208491 by Chris Rogers via Flickr
By

Erin Howe

P10208491 by Chris Rogers via Flickr

When it comes to teaching people about mental health, Bruce Ballon has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

Ballon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s Division of Clinical Public Health. Not only does he help train the next generation of health professionals, he is also passionate about educating the public about mental health issues and breaking down the stigmas associated with mental illness.

“When people don’t understand something, they might speculate to fill in the gaps. This kind of speculation is called a cognitive frame. This is how magic works,” says Ballon, who uses magic, illusion and simulation to challenge perceptions and explore the human condition. “By misdirecting your attention, I can make you believe something based on a premise I give you, which is totally false. Magic and mentalism — which gives the impression that I can read minds, implant thoughts or erase memories — can mimic mental illness and ultimately help people develop a better understanding.”

Ballon, whose clinical practice involves helping young people and people with addictions, says many people engage in magical thinking without realizing it. He gives the example of someone sitting at a red light and willing the light to change. Superstitions like knocking on wood, throwing a pinch of salt over our shoulders or having a lucky number are also part of our collective conscience. The practices are rooted in old, magical rituals but have endured to become part of our belief systems and culture.

“You know on a rational level, these actions have no effect, but trying to control something with our minds makes us feel good, which we know is not possible. That’s why people like magic. They like to say, ‘could this be true? Is this real?’ And so it’s a fascinating segue to into these discussions.”

Ballon knows how damaging the stigmas surrounding mental health issues are. Two of his friends — who also worked in the mental health field — committed suicide.

“Each of these friends worried that if anyone found out about it, people wouldn’t want to be around them any more. And so they never sought help,” he says.

“If people had time to stop and talk about their feelings and stresses, we would be much better for it,” he says. “We’re often running too fast and trying to get so many things done we don’t have a chance to stop and crucially reflect to think about why I am I feeling good today? Why I am I feeling bad today?”

To encourage healthy self-reflection among his students, Ballon leads group discussion sessions for residents completing an addiction rotation. The structured time to talk offers psychiatry residents a safe and confidential opportunity to talk about their experiences and what it means to become a psychiatrist.

Another way Ballon helps students and health professionals reflect is through professional attitudinal value simulations, which help teach empathy. One of his projects is at Baycrest, using simulation to teach people about aging at home and how the community can do a better job embracing seniors. By helping people imagine what it is like to suddenly develop mobility, vision and memory issues — or to be the caregiver who believes in stereotypes and stigma — he challenges their perceptions.

“Trying to look at things from other people’s points of view, step in their shoes and realize why people behave the way they do can help us have healthy reflective discussions,” Ballon says.

Click here to read about Ballon’s latest book, SWIMMING IN CYBER: Learning to live HEALTHILY in the intersections of the virtual and real worlds.