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“We cannot work in different silos.” The phrase echoed through the room. For its inaugural seminar, the PhD in Health’s Meeting of the Healthy Minded got to the crux of the issues facing health researchers pretty quickly.

The Meeting of the Healthy Minded was organized by PhD in Health students, Bonita Squires and Logan Lawrence, and overseen by Dr. John Kozey, the program coordinator. Their intention was to bring people from different disciplines together to discuss the importance of interdisciplinary research within the field of mental health.

“Mental illness is something that will affect everyone at some point in their life,” says Bonita. “Whether it’s a family member, a friend, or yourself. It’s an important issue to discuss openly.”

Panellists Leslie Anne Campbell, Jean Hughes, and Lynne Robinson discussed their experience working in mental health research. In their presentations, all three panellists agreed that interdisciplinary communication and research within the field of mental health is integral— not just for the researcher’s benefit, but for the benefit of the patient, their families, and their communities.

Leslie Anne Campbell PhD, is a registered nurse and the Sobey Family Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes Chair. Jean Hughes PhD, is also a registered nurse, and a professor at the School of Nursing here at Dalhousie University. Lynne Robinson is a registered psychologist, and the Director of Dalhousie’s Interdisciplinary PhD program.

Everything is connected

Their presentations, though very different in nature, all expressed one common belief: mental health can be impacted by various external factors such as poverty, abuse, or a physical illness like cancer. Because of this, it is essential for mental health research to be spread across multiple disciplines.

Following the presentations, small groups considered questions such as “what does mental health mean to researchers,” and “why do you feel mental health research needs to be interdisciplinary.” In these discussion groups, researchers from different specialties networked and brainstormed ideas. They all agreed communication amongst various disciplines is essential when conducting mental health research.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Participants – primarily graduate and post-graduate students – felt that this defined perfectly what the inaugural Meeting of the Healthy Minded was about: that in health, almost everything is connected.

“The stress of a patient’s mother dying impacts biological problems,” one commenter said, pointing out the importance of collaborating with different disciplines.

"One of the main purposes of the Meeting of the Healthy Minded is to bring together faculty and students to learn and explore different perspectives on health issues,” says Dr. Kozey. “We want to better prepare students to work in collaborative research teams to advance knowledge and implementation of health research."

Reflecting the PhD in Health’s emphasis on collaboration and interprofessionalism, the Meeting of the Healthy Minded is intended to be an ongoing series inviting researchers from across the health spectrum to come together to build connections and discuss issues under broad themes.