HIMS and mental health in Canadian aviation

[PodPilotProject]

Hi all, I’m hoping you can help me to learn about something within the Canadian aviation infrastructure. Shortly I will be having two hosts from an American aviation podcast, the pilots pandemic, on my show. We are going to be discussing mental health and potentially addiction as it fits within Canadian aviation. Can anyone tell me how potential addiction or mental health issues are treated in the civilian world? I’m familiar with the military, but not the civilian world, and my guests bring an American perspective. I have tried looking up if we have a HIMS program, but I haven’t gotten anything.

Keep the blue side up!

[photofly]

Isn't that something you'd want to research in significant depth further ahead than "shortly"? If the sum total of your research is a couple of Google searches then asking on AvCanada then it sounds like listeners to your podcast could save themselves some time and just read this thread rather than listening to your content.

Or maybe you're just trolling for an audience - it's not like you're hiding all the links to your various social media profiles in your post, so who can say.

[PodPilotProject]

Isn't that something you'd want to research in significant depth further ahead than "shortly"? If the sum total of your research is a couple of Google searches then asking on AvCanada then it sounds like listeners to your podcast could save themselves some time and just read this thread rather than listening to your content.

Or maybe you're just trolling for an audience - it's not like you're hiding all the links to your various social media profiles in your post, so who can say.

Suppose I should have been more clear: in this case, “shortly” means in the next month or two. Thanks for the helpful reply!

[photofly]

There's a limited amount of information on mental health issues available here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/public ... atry-ssris

And here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/aviati ... canada-tsb
(see the section titled "1. TC’s Civil Aviation Medical Substance Abuse Protocol")

[PodPilotProject]

Now this, I appreciate. Thank you.

[JBI]

The US and Transport Canada treat mental health issues in pilots very differently. As mental health issues, especially mild depression and general anxiety are better understood, talked about and treated in most everyday life, Transport Canada seems to be in the 1980s in its treatment of mental health. However, the FAA seems to be in the 1950s!

While I will be the first to admit that severe mental health issues should indeed preclude someone from flying, medical literature is very clear that clear and open communication with a medical professional and getting treatment that may include medications such as SSRIs is extremely helpful for mild depression and anxiety, the HIMS program and TC's handling are decades behind.

Photofly put out some good info. HIMS does not exist in Canada. Very generally speaking, pilots in Canada can still fly with mild mental health issues but it's on a case by case basis. However, things get trickier when medication is involved. The most common medications for mild depression and anxiety, SSRIs are generally approved for use by Transport Canada though my understanding is that the vast majority of the time, pilots are required to have a "multi-crew restriction" on their medical. They are also grounded for a period of 4 to 6 months while they first start the medication as some SSRIs do cause dizziness and it can take a few months for a person to stabilize on the medication.

It's been a while since I looked into the FAA's system, but it's interesting to note that when I was last looking into things, the FAA does not have a provision for a "multi-crew restriction". A long time ago they had tried to implement one (with the requirement that the pilot you are flying with does not have the same restriction). Apparently Continental Airlines sued and won as such restrictions would interfere with their scheduling abilities (talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face).

It does sound like in both Canada and the US things are very slowly improving.

It's important for Pilots to know that, especially once established in their career, they can keep flying if they start having mild mental health concerns. However, if treatment does involve medication, there will be a time where they are grounded until they stabilize on the medication.

[Scuderia]

Hi all, I’m hoping you can help me to learn about something within the Canadian aviation infrastructure. Shortly I will be having two hosts from an American aviation podcast, the pilots pandemic, on my show. We are going to be discussing mental health and potentially addiction as it fits within Canadian aviation. Can anyone tell me how potential addiction or mental health issues are treated in the civilian world? I’m familiar with the military, but not the civilian world, and my guests bring an American perspective. I have tried looking up if we have a HIMS program, but I haven’t gotten anything.

Keep the blue side up!

Sent you a PM with a few leads you may want to follow in your research.

[PodPilotProject]

Hi all, I’m hoping you can help me to learn about something within the Canadian aviation infrastructure. Shortly I will be having two hosts from an American aviation podcast, the pilots pandemic, on my show. We are going to be discussing mental health and potentially addiction as it fits within Canadian aviation. Can anyone tell me how potential addiction or mental health issues are treated in the civilian world? I’m familiar with the military, but not the civilian world, and my guests bring an American perspective. I have tried looking up if we have a HIMS program, but I haven’t gotten anything.

Keep the blue side up!

Sent you a PM with a few leads you may want to follow in your research.

responded! Thanks so much for the info, extremely helpful for research.

[PodPilotProject]

The US and Transport Canada treat mental health issues in pilots very differently. As mental health issues, especially mild depression and general anxiety are better understood, talked about and treated in most everyday life, Transport Canada seems to be in the 1980s in its treatment of mental health. However, the FAA seems to be in the 1950s!

While I will be the first to admit that severe mental health issues should indeed preclude someone from flying, medical literature is very clear that clear and open communication with a medical professional and getting treatment that may include medications such as SSRIs is extremely helpful for mild depression and anxiety, the HIMS program and TC's handling are decades behind.

Photofly put out some good info. HIMS does not exist in Canada. Very generally speaking, pilots in Canada can still fly with mild mental health issues but it's on a case by case basis. However, things get trickier when medication is involved. The most common medications for mild depression and anxiety, SSRIs are generally approved for use by Transport Canada though my understanding is that the vast majority of the time, pilots are required to have a "multi-crew restriction" on their medical. They are also grounded for a period of 4 to 6 months while they first start the medication as some SSRIs do cause dizziness and it can take a few months for a person to stabilize on the medication.

It's been a while since I looked into the FAA's system, but it's interesting to note that when I was last looking into things, the FAA does not have a provision for a "multi-crew restriction". A long time ago they had tried to implement one (with the requirement that the pilot you are flying with does not have the same restriction). Apparently Continental Airlines sued and won as such restrictions would interfere with their scheduling abilities (talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face).

It does sound like in both Canada and the US things are very slowly improving.

It's important for Pilots to know that, especially once established in their career, they can keep flying if they start having mild mental health concerns. However, if treatment does involve medication, there will be a time where they are grounded until they stabilize on the medication.

Thanks for the helpful reply!

[Bede]

Sorry, what's HIMS? Tried to google. Its a brand that sells products for hair loss and erectile dysfunction, but I assume that's not what we're discussing.

[Scuderia]

Sorry, what's HIMS? Tried to google. Its a brand that sells products for hair loss and erectile dysfunction, but I assume that's not what we're discussing.

https://himsprogram.com/about-hims/

[PodPilotProject]

There's a limited amount of information on mental health issues available here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/public ... atry-ssris

And here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/aviati ... canada-tsb
(see the section titled "1. TC’s Civil Aviation Medical Substance Abuse Protocol")

That was great, useful material, thank you. I made some notes I can carry forward into these interviews. Truly appreciate it!