Arthur Galarneau, the 19-year-old young man who was arrested on Friday morning for allegedly stabbing three members of his family, we understand has already been prosecuted for mental health problems. A social worker visited him regularly.
for dr France Proulx, forensic psychiatrist at the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel, however, several questions remain unanswered.
“We can ask ourselves if there was a situation of psychosis with delusional ideas or hallucinations,” she explains. “We can also ask ourselves if there was a conflict situation with great anger, thoughts of revenge, because at this stage all hypotheses are possible.”
Given the accumulation of tragic events in a short period of time, Dr. Proulx that the impact on the population can be significant.
“A more vulnerable person can see what’s happening in terms of the level of violence and can reinterpret the events in their mind and find meaning in them that relates to them,” warns Dr. Proulx. “These events perpetuate a climate of fear and people who are more fragile will be very sensitive and will need to defend themselves or be more suspicious of those around them.”
Access to care, “a big issue”
This accumulation of violent events can also trigger anxiety in some people. According to the psychiatrist, we need to be aware of possible behavioral changes in our loved ones.
“It maintains a climate of great tension,” she said. “Our community has taken a number of hits over the last few weeks and that can cause some distress.”
dr Proulx reminds that one in four people will need mental health care at some point in their life and she believes it is imperative that this becomes a government priority.
In addition, a few hours after the macabre discovery of the three people killed, Quebec Premier François Legault recalled that he would continue to invest in mental health services.
“Mental health has been chronically underfunded for many years”, “Everyone is at the end of their budgets and it is time we put more time, energy and money into mental health.”