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Reporter reflection: pulling back the curtain on toxic workplace culture at Canada’s leading mental health facility

IJB Reporter Wendy-Ann Clarke
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We rely on health care workers in some of our most vulnerable moments.

It’s no secret that the system they work in is under strain, and those on the front lines providing acute care are overworked and often under-supported. But what about the unique challenges faced by mental health workers?

Mental health care has evolved dramatically over the decades. We’ve moved far beyond the frightening images of straitjackets and institutionalization depicted in old films. Today, our society not only recognizes the importance of mental health but increasingly prioritizes it, with growing efforts to make care more empathetic and accessible.

Yet, while patient rights and protections have advanced, the treatment of the practitioners providing that care has not kept pace. Research shows that mental health workers are among the health-care professionals who experience the highest levels of workplace trauma. Their experiences are often not closely examined, and studies into the unique challenges they face remain limited.

That’s why this story matters. Through Freedom of Information requests, we obtained internal documents from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s leading mental health teaching hospital. In them, staff recount widespread complaints about a work culture they say left them with mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression and even suicidality.

When they attempted to address their grievances, many say they were met with retaliation and a lack of accountability.

We interviewed current and former staff who broke down in tears as they recounted their experiences. Men and women, many of whose voices didn’t make it into the final piece, said it was cathartic to finally share. Their stories and resilience stay with me.

This internal research now emerging from CAMH reflects a growing global effort to address workplace racism, discrimination, toxicity and burnout in healthcare. Mental health experts we spoke to confirm this research is vital. It gives us a rare window into how well we are protecting the people tasked with protecting us.

My mother spent the better part of two decades working as a nurse at CAMH. For her, reading this story has stirred up old wounds while also validating many of her experiences. She’s not the type of nurse who would ever speak to reporters, yet the voices in this story speak for her, and for so many others like her.

With the feedback, the hospital has taken steps to move the needle. But many CAMH staff say there’s much more work to be done.

Since our story was published on Tuesday, we’ve already begun receiving messages from health-care workers across the country who say they relate to these experiences and are grateful this issue is being brought to light.

For us at the IJB, this is both the beginning and the continuation of a critical conversation. It’s one we hope will help chart a path toward a healthier, more supportive future for the people who care for us all.

Wendy-Ann Clarke

Investigative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Bureau

Wendy-Ann Clarke
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