Familio: Redefining the approach to mental health care through interdisciplinarity

Five years ago, Familio came into being. It was the birth of a network of clinics specialized in mental health care and social services, bringing together professionals and placing interdisciplinarity at the heart of its services. But do you know the story behind the creation of this one-of-a-kind organization?

Jean-François Michaud, VP Development and co-founder of Familio, and Julie Lebeau, Director of Operations and Manager of Familio Rosemont, share with you the fascinating story of this organization, as well as their vision for the future. Through their journey and commitment, they also discuss the many challenges they had to overcome, the essential role of interdisciplinarity in their work, and the ambitious projects they envision for the future in the field of mental health.

The idea behind Familio

For several years in Quebec, society has become increasingly aware of the importance of mental health. At the same time, the mental health ecosystem has faced significant challenges in recent years: limited accessibility to services, heavy workloads for various specialists, and difficulty for Quebecers in knowing which professional to turn to. How can services be made more accessible in a modern and caring work environment?

Thus the creation of Familio became clearer with the dream of building a network of interdisciplinary clinics that would facilitate access to mental health care and social services. Familio's objective: to offer a better match between the client's needs and the services provided while offering a stimulating work environment for professionals.

Overcoming obstacles: a matter of trust

From the earliest days, Familio's reputation among both clients and professionals was at the heart of efforts to build a clinic that integrates harmoniously into the community.

"At the beginning, it's the chicken or the egg: you need professionals to have clients, but you also need clients to have professionals. When you build a project like this, you make yourself vulnerable in front of our professionals and clients. Establishing a relationship of trust with professionals isn't easy when your model relies on the individual, the relationship and the personalization of services," explains Jean-François. "Four years later, we have clients, doctors, schools and other mental health professionals referring to us. The professionals on the team are true ambassadors. It's a great source of pride to have more than fifty professionals. Four years is long, but it goes by fast too. Today, people trust that we will support them in their process. Building trust is central."

From idea to impact: between implementation and continuous improvement

One year after opening, things were going well and the team continued to grow. A great deal of work was done with the team to support the organization in their work, encourage knowledge sharing and provide opportunities for continuous learning. This led to the first version of the clinical activities calendar intended for the team's professionals.

Once the first activities were completed, surveys were conducted to gather the opinions and real needs of the professionals. The results were analyzed and the themes and activities that were most suitable and requested were selected to reach as many professionals as possible. "One of the things that is super important at Familio is to adopt a posture of continuous improvement. When we have an idea, we explore it; if we believe it makes sense, we test it to learn and enhance it," explains Julie.

"This allowed us to evolve all activities and internal processes to improve both the support for professionals and our client services. A maturity has developed throughout the organization. In 2023, it is a year in which we are consolidating many of our learnings—from integrating professionals into the team to the clinical calendar and daily interaction with clients. We are truly in a consolidation phase," concludes Jean-François.

Ambitious future projects in the field of mental health

"In 2023, we have two focuses: the first is the continued enhancement of the clinical activities calendar. We must continue to support professionals through new approaches to be at the heart of professionals' reality and the needs of the clientele," explains Jean-François. "The second focus is to strengthen all aspects of Familio to continue to expand across the territory of Quebec. With successes, failures, experience, the engagement and collaboration of professionals and, above all, the trust of clients, anything is possible!"

"We want to be a network of interdisciplinary clinics that continues to respect each professional who makes it up while promoting interdisciplinarity through the clinical calendar in order to be the best at meeting the needs of the entire population," summarizes Julie.

A breath of fresh air

As mental health issues continue to affect a growing number of individuals, Familio offers a breath of fresh air in the field of mental health care and social services by choosing an approach that places the client at the center of all concerns. This interdisciplinary approach, focused on respect and cooperation, has already transformed the lives of many Quebecers and continues to evolve the way we envision mental health care. Familio embodies a bold vision of mental health, a vision in which each individual can have access to care adapted to their unique needs, at the moment they need it most.

Today, Familio is three clinics (Saguenay, Montreal and Boucherville), more than fifty professionals from nine different specializations and a diverse range of expertise to meet the needs of the population.

Do you feel more mentally fragile or have difficulty functioning effectively on a day-to-day basis? Don't hesitate to go seek help from a mental health professional.

By

Kym Lefebvre Gamache