At BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, supporting women’s mental health is essential to the health of families and communities.
Programs like Families in Recovery (FIR) provide compassionate, specialized care for pregnant and parenting women navigating substance use and mental health challenges—helping families stay together while accessing the support they need.
As we look ahead to the Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women, we’re proud to feature Dr. Charissa Patricelli, who will be speaking at this year’s event. Dr. Patricelli is a family physician, perinatal addictions specialist, and Research Director for Perinatal Substance Use at BC Women’s Hospital.
We spoke with her about the importance of women’s mental health, the impact of donor-supported research, and what gives her hope for the future of care.
Can you share why women’s mental health is so important, not just for individuals but for families and communities as a whole?
Women’s mental health is vital to all of us. All of our day-to-day activities—from sleep to work to caring for others—are impacted by our mental health.
Women in all societies carry a strong responsibility for the wellness of others, taking on multiple roles, whether they are caring for children or family members, teaching, working professionally, or otherwise.
We are all connected through the economy, schools, healthcare, and communities, and we know there is a huge impact on others when women struggle to access services. Mental health issues can be complex and are influenced by many factors, including stigma, hormonal changes, interpersonal relationships, and access to resources.
When women, girls, and gender-diverse people have strong physical and mental health, it strengthens families, communities, and organizations, and builds resilience, creativity, and leadership.
You’ve seen firsthand the impact of fundraising from Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women. What has that support made possible in your work, both in research and in the care provided to patients?
The Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women has allowed us to build a Research Program for Perinatal Substance Use. Funding for this program has enabled us to develop research in areas that are underserved and under-researched.
Substance use, mental health, and trauma are deeply interwoven, and in the pregnant population, there are substantial gaps in social and scientific knowledge.
The FIR program (Families in Recovery) has been a leader at BC Women’s Hospital for over 20 years, providing innovative and compassionate care. Some of our recent research studies include the Living Lab at Home, which uses cell phones to enable in-the-moment, ecological research with patients impacted by substance use. This helps us better understand their experiences, the effectiveness of interventions, and the barriers and facilitators to care and recovery.
Another current research study we are very excited about is the Hold Me Close project, which is nursing clinician-led. It is based on evidence that infants at risk for neonatal abstinence syndrome experience fewer withdrawal symptoms with skin-to-skin contact and human closeness.
The Run for Women has also supported an extensive research project reviewing the safety of treating babies with morphine outside the NICU while rooming in with their mother or caregiver.
Qualitative interviews with women and families about their experiences of pregnancy, mental health, and substance use allow us to develop evidence-based guidelines for care during the peripartum period.
What makes FIR different from other mental health supports, and why is that so important for the women and families you serve?
What makes FIR really special is that it is a place of hope. The entire interprofessional team strives to suspend judgment and create safety for healing, recovery, and connection.
The drug crisis has taken thousands of lives in BC and across our nation, and this health crisis continues to evolve. Science and healthcare need to keep innovating and evolving to make a difference.
Are there any moments, programs, or spaces that really stand out to you as examples of how donor support is making a difference
We have been blessed with an incredible patio at FIR for healing, ceremony, and wellness, which hundreds of families have been able to enjoy.
I am very honoured to learn from our Elders, who gently guide us in our work. We were honoured to bring our Elders Advisory Circle together from many communities last summer to share cultural teachings and relational approaches to research.
Their wisdom and insights inform the research protocols we are developing for maternal care, the mother-baby dyad, and the integration of families and communities into research.
A lot of your work connects research directly to real-world care. How is philanthropy helping to shape new knowledge to support women’s mental health.
One of the things we know from research and clinical work is that breastfeeding is a profound experience in bonding and empowerment, and contributes to recovery and mental health stability.
Currently, we are developing a research study to support breast and chest feeding, with a focus on understanding its impact on health and bonding, and creating guidelines for breastfeeding safety.
We could not do this work without the generosity of philanthropists.
Looking ahead, what gives you hope? And where do you see the biggest opportunities to continue breaking stigma and improving mental health care for women?
What gives me hope is working together with people who care, people who see complex problems and build creative innovative solutions.
Our society is experiencing great change and identifying gaps and evolving is critical. We can do so much more together than alone and that builds strong healthy communities.
Programs like Families in Recovery—and the research that strengthens them—are only possible because of donor support.
By investing in women’s mental health, we can break down stigma, expand access to care, and drive advancements in women’s health.
When we invest in research, we drive real change.