In the 1990s, many health care professionals sought to demystify alternative medicine practices in order to better serve their patients. In 1992, Dr. Badri Rickhi, acting director, department of psychiatry, at Calgary General Hospital, became a founding member of Research Centre for Alternative Medicine (RCAM) which conducted research and clinical work using alternative/integrative medicine. This group of pioneers at the hospital was exploring how to apply these practices to mainstream medicine when they hit an unexpected roadblock.
“We were developing the programs when the government closed the Calgary General Hospital,” says Dr. Badri Rickhi, research chair and founding member of Cinim. “We had this seed that was starting to grow and we had to either shut it down or make an attempt to keep it alive and see where it would take us.”
He chose option two and in its first 10 years, RCAM helped more than 16,000 clients improve their mental and physical health through integrative medicine. By 2002, RCAM had expanded exponentially and Dr. Rickhi decided to split the centre into two independent institutes, with the clinic continuing separately while Dr. Rickhi developed the research side of the business that became the Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine (Cinim).
The charitable organization was built on the pillars of compassion, connection and community, and these tenets guided the team and its research. With funding from family foundations, grants and private donors, they researched various conditions, and studies of depression and stress launched the newest chapter of Cinim’s programming.
“As Cinim’s research evolved, attention shifted towards examining how spirituality could enhance integrative and holistic healthcare approaches, particularly in youth populations. This work culminated in the publication of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of an educational, universally applicable program in supporting young people to manage stress, anxiety and depression,” says Heather Thomas, executive director at Cinim.
In 2012, Cinim piloted the resulting program, BreathingRoom: an evidence-based, self-directed mobile and web application that guides participants through a series of educational activities, visualizations and engaging video content. The program was created with extensive input from youth, who describe the program as transformational. By exploring the program’s eight central concepts of self-acceptance, creativity, joy, gratitude, acceptance, forgiveness, compassion and celebration, participants learn resilience and positivity as they build stronger connections.
Having a digital format meant Cinim could reach participants in remote communities, which became even more critical in 2020. BreathingRoom was one of a select few programs available on the Wellness Together Canada platform, the federal government’s mental health response to COVID, allowing Canadians to access quality resources and services with the click of a button.
Cinim is the only Canadian organization featured in BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions global wellness series 2, released in early 2024 titled In Pursuit of Wellness. The mini-documentary “Coming Back to Yourself” shows how Cinim’s creative approach to mental health delivers life-changing results for the two real-life protagonists, a teen girl and a man in his 40s.
Cinim discovered that many older participants were also benefitting from the youth program content, so the team set out to tailor BreathingRoom’s concepts to the needs of a working-age population. InnerAccess, which launches early next year, will use similar techniques to target root causes of negative stress to help participants make healthier connections and choices, improving productivity and interactions at work and in life.
Cinim’s innovative, holistic approach to mental health has been lauded by both program participants and the industry, with Dr. Rickhi being named a CAMH Difference Maker and becoming the first Canadian to sit on the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health executive committee. The organization has also received a number of prestigious awards including the Dr. Rogers Prize for excellence in complementary and integrative medicine, Professional Care Award from the Canadian Mental Health Association and True Imagination Award from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
“There’s longevity in the institute. The awards and the great community collaborations and partnerships that we have to date have really cemented our place as a trusted integrative health resource. We are a force to be reckoned with and are proud of the work that we’ve done. And we’re going to keep doing it,” says Thomas.
And there is much work still to do. To help communities get the most out of the programming, Cinim introduced in-person youth workshops to support the BreathingRoom material and is eager to integrate this in more communities moving forward. The organization is also looking to develop new programming for seniors, veterans, Indigenous groups and incarcerated youth to bring crucial mental health support to more vulnerable populations.
With a focus on prevention and early intervention, Cinim is determined to help participants achieve sustainable well-being by empowering people to improve their mental health in their own time so they can continue to thrive.
