| Summary: | Background. Indigenous mothers in Canada experience disproportionate adversity related to mental health with increased risk of anxiety and depression (Black et al., 2019; Owais et al., 2020). The mental health disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers reveals the need to provide mental health support services that are culturally aligned and meet the specific needs of this community. A subset of Indigenous identifying individuals who participated in a family mental health program for mothers of young children were contacted and invited to participate in an individual interview to share their experiences and provide their perspectives on mental health support service seeking. Research Objective and Questions. The aim of this study was to build knowledge surrounding the experiences of Indigenous mothers with mental health support service seeking and participation to inform improvements in mental health programming. This objective was framed around two central research questions. 1. What are the experiences and motivations of Indigenous mothers seeking and participating in mental health programs starting in the perinatal period? 2. How can improvements be made to existing programs? Methods. The research team conducted seven virtual interviews with individual participants. Data was analyzed using a narrative and interpretive meaning making approach, situating results within social, cultural, kinship, and individual contexts. Results. Findings illustrated key storylines across sub-samples of Anishinaabe (n=3) and Métis (n=4) participants. Within the stories shared by participants across sub-samples, key recommendations for program improvement were made including offering weekly hybrid program sessions, integrating traditional teachings from Elders into program content, providing childcare for children of participants, implementing mandatory cultural sensitivity training for facilitators, offering free programming, and increasing opportunities for relationship building among participants. Discussion. ...
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