Behaviour program

Dr. Lisa Lemieux, Dr. Erik Wikman, Dr. Paul Soper, Dr. Lola Baydala, Ama Gyamfua, Dr. Christine Orosz, Wendy Chayba, Kathy MacLeod, Dr. Cam Morhaliek, Dr. Julia Ackland-Snow, Joby Scaria

The inter-disciplinary team in the behaviour program at the Misericordia Community Hospital is comprised of pediatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and admin support working collaboratively to provide services and programming to support children and families struggling with unmet health needs. Through the behaviour program, patients and families who would otherwise experience stigma and isolation are given a safe space where they can be accepted and understood.

The children that access services in the behaviour program often struggle with social interactions and experience loneliness, social awkwardness, and bullying. Within the program, these patients find peers that have similar challenges and often learn how to connect with others through the behaviour team’s skilled facilitation of various groups, individual therapy, and family supports. One of the most frequent pieces of feedback from patients and families is the overwhelming relief in knowing that “we are not alone in what we are facing” and that “others share our experiences.”

The behaviour team provides quality care to those who would otherwise be left out because of their unique needs. The range of services and supports offered by the behaviour team are typically services that are not available unless consumers are able to obtain them at a cost. Such patients and families know the significance of having someone in their corner who seeks to understand not just their challenges but their strengths and resilient qualities as well.