{"id":159910,"date":"2025-11-29T16:39:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/159910\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T16:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:39:16","slug":"canadian-teen-accessed-mental-health-records-then-killed-herself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/159910\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian teen accessed mental health records, then killed herself"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling or texting Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8. A list of local crisis centres is also available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

VANCOUVER \u2014 Maya Cassady was just two months away from graduating high school with honours when she obtained her mental health records through a freedom of information request.<\/p>\n

Just hours after reading the contents, which included doctors\u2019 ponderings about a diagnosis, the 17-year-old took her own life. <\/p>\n

It was March 30, 2023. Since Maya\u2019s death, her mother, Hilary Cassady, has become an advocate for youth mental health, raising flags about young people using FOIs to access their charts \u2014 and risking misinterpreting the contents.<\/p>\n

Cassady said she believes Maya concluded her mental health condition was untreatable, after reading terminology about her case that was never discussed with either of them.<\/p>\n

And while the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C. said the head of a health authority could block the release of documents deemed potentially harmful to a recipient, it said it would \u201cnot be possible\u201d to screen all requests.<\/p>\n

Cassady said the emergency room psychiatrist who saw Maya on the visit that was the subject of her request did not even know she had sought the records.<\/p>\n

\u201cBottom line: Maya may still be here today if she had not received that report,\u201d Cassady said, adding that she believed \u201cit was the ultimate trigger that led to her death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya\u2019s case was raised in the B.C. Legislature last week by Green Party legislator Jeremy Valeriote, who echoed Cassady\u2019s calls to ensure that teens who request their medical records are provided professional support to interpret the records. <\/p>\n

In most of B.C.\u2019s health authorities, including Vancouver Coastal Health where Maya was treated, people can request their medical records without the consent of a legal guardian starting at age 12.<\/p>\n

Cassady said she first learned of Maya\u2019s mental health struggles in September 2020 when she was 15 and called a suicide crisis line. She said her daughter was immediately given a bed at an in-patient facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this is where she learned from her fellow patients how to make a request to FOI her records,\u201d Cassady said.<\/p>\n

Cassady said she was unsure when her daughter made the FOI request, but believes she collected it from the family mailbox the same day she died. <\/p>\n

The request, Cassady said, focused on a four-day stay at Lions Gate Hospital in February 2023 after an acetaminophen overdose that a doctor believed was an \u201cimpulsive\u201d suicide attempt by Maya.<\/p>\n

Cassady said her daughter\u2019s friends reported seeing her reading the FOI documents and Googling terms on her ferry commute to school from Bowen Island, off West Vancouver, and again during her spare period later that morning. She died later that day. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe had given up hope when she felt that her diagnosis was untreatable \u2014 that was the response when she Google searched some of the terminology in the report,\u201d Hilary said of her daughter. <\/p>\n

She said she drew that conclusion after looking at her daughter\u2019s phone in the days after her death, trying to piece together her state of mind. She said one of the last search results that showed up in the teen\u2019s phone browser was that her symptoms were \u201cuntreatable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is etched in my brain,\u201d she said of the word, sure of what she saw but noting that she has not been able to duplicate the search results since.<\/p>\n

Cassady said her daughter searched, \u201cIs persistent depressive disorder lifelong?\u201d She also looked up terms, including \u201caxis II traits\u201d and \u201cbd-ii,\u201d which most commonly refers to bipolar II, her mother said. <\/p>\n

The chart also classified the girl\u2019s \u201cadmitting diagnoses\u201d as \u201cchronic dysthymia vs unspecified depressive disorder,\u201d and said the teen was \u201cnot acutely suicidal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassady said Maya had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder but neither of them had been informed of most of the other terms included in her chart, including the working theory she may have undiagnosed borderline personality disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went every time my daughter was hospitalized. I went and sat with the psychiatrist. I even took recordings so I wouldn\u2019t miss anything, and I can tell you that terminology was never discussed with me either,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Not possible \u2018to have them all screened\u2019<\/p>\n

Jonny Morris, CEO of the B.C. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said there may be valid questions about consent or maturity levels of minors accessing records. <\/p>\n

But he said that access to one\u2019s own health records is a right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe information in those records are ours. It\u2019s our information, and that\u2019s a really protected and important thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said there could be a broader issue around how clinicians communicate ponderings or diagnoses to patients. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be anything in a medical record, particularly of a diagnostic element or a working diagnosis that would not have been shared with the patient,\u201d Morris said, and hypotheses about potential diagnoses should also be clearly stated if written in a medical chart.<\/p>\n

B.C.\u2019s Health Ministry said in a statement that it had received 310 requests for personal records under provincial legislation in the last five years, covering health records, employment records, 8-1-1 health-advice calls and others.<\/p>\n

But it said an age breakdown was not available, and health authorities in B.C. were responsible for their own FOI practices regarding health records.<\/p>\n

Judy Illes, a professor of neurology and distinguished scholar in neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, said the central question is why someone would feel the need to make an FOI request instead of speaking to their care team directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is doing their best in trying to keep up with the mental health crisis, keep up with the extent to which resources are limited, against an epidemic of mental health issues among our youth and the young adult population,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have to learn from these lessons and the fact that people are becoming so desperate that they are actually FOIing their medical records.\u201d<\/p>\n

The B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons said doctors must keep records to clearly explain why a patient came to see them and what they learned from both the patient\u2019s medical history and physical examination. It said there must also be a clear record of what was ordered, a provisional or official diagnosis, and any specifics about treatment, recommendations, medication or follow up.<\/p>\n

The college deferred questions about FOI practices to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C., which confirmed in a statement that there is \u201cno set age in the law when a minor can request their medical records.\u201d <\/p>\n

The office noted the test is usually whether the individual is capable of making their own medical decisions, which is typically around age 12 \u201cbut public bodies must evaluate the capacity of the minor making the request.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout commenting on the specifics of this particular case, (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulation) allows the head of the public body to bring in health-care providers to support decision-making about whether to disclose information in records of clinical decisions about the potential harms that could result should disclosure occur,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

The regulation, it said, permits a public body to recommend an applicant not examine the record until a health professional or a family member is present. It also permits a public body to refuse to disclose information \u201cif the disclosure could reasonably be expected to result in immediate and grave harm to the applicant\u2019s safety or mental or physical health.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a follow-up statement, an OIPC spokeswoman said health authorities deal with thousands of requests for health information and the \u201cvast majority\u201d do not pose such harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would not be possible to have them all screened by health professionals,\u201d the statement said. \u201cBut the presence of the safeguard in the act presumes that some degree of risk assessment must be conducted as part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement said \u201chow requests get flagged for consultation with health professionals in individual health authorities is a question for those public bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Coastal Health authority, where the teen requested her records, didn\u2019t reply to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

\u2018Teens want control over their treatment\u2019<\/p>\n

Cassady provided records showing that a psychiatrist who saw Maya said he was never told she had made the request for her records. <\/p>\n

\u201cFOI requests are made and processed through the hospital,\u201d the emergency room psychiatrist said in his response to a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. by Cassady last year. \u201cI am not advised when an FOI is made by one of my patients, nor am I involved in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor said he was not made aware that Maya had requested her records or that they had been released to her. He noted he only encountered Maya once.<\/p>\n

Cassady is urging the province to ensure any teenager requesting their medical records sit down with a professional to interpret it and explain their options or \u201caction plan.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said she is aware of other teenagers, both friends of Maya\u2019s and others, who had since requested their medical documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeens want control over their treatment and want to understand what is happening to them,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a feeling that the professional or psychiatrist treating them is passing judgment and not telling them everything that the professional thinks about their case.\u201d<\/p>\n

UBC Professor Illes called it a \u201cgreat suggestion,\u201d but noted that it may be challenging to implement, \u201cgiven that one is a legal structure and one\u2019s a health structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone is FOIing their medical record, they are operating outside the health-care system, not within it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cassady said she has been working for more than two years to seek clarity and action to ensure no others meet the same fate as Maya, but without much luck. In January, she wrote to Valeriote, her member of the legislature. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to be recognized that any teen that is FOIing their records is because they didn\u2019t understand, or want more clarity on their diagnosis and these teens are extremely vulnerable,\u201d Cassady said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then to send the report in the mail directly to the teen without any interpretation \u2014 that is just complete carelessness and negligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne responded to Valeriote in the legislature by saying the province is working to focus on supports for youth struggling with mental health, including creating a youth suicide prevention network. <\/p>\n

That, Osborne said, is \u201ca way of assisting clinicians in helping to identify issues, providing supports for youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassady has set up a foundation called Maya Veronica Cassady Mental Health Wellness Fund to raise money for teens who can\u2019t afford resources for their mental health challenges, and is now calling for more \u201ctouchpoints\u201d with teens after hospitalization.<\/p>\n

She said her daughter, who was a twin, had a \u201cgreat circle of friends\u201d and enjoyed rock climbing, skiing and writing. She had been accepted into her preferred university in the Netherlands and was planning to study European law when she died. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was so excited about getting into her university of choice, and had made all these plans. We really thought we were coming out of things,\u201d her mother said. <\/p>\n

Her death came as a shock and has had a profound impact on those closest to her, her mother said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my husband, he feels guilty when he feels happy. For me \u2014 I can\u2019t even put it into words. She was my \u2018mini-me\u2019 and I miss her so much,\u201d Hilary Cassady said. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor her twin sister \u2014 well, birthdays will never be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is in crisis, here are some resources that are available:<\/p>\n

Suicide Crisis Helpline (988)Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (1-800-463-2338)Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566, or 45645 by text)Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868)If you need immediate assistance, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2025.<\/p>\n

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[134,263,554,555,3556,111,139,69,135,1072],"class_list":{"0":"post-159910","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-lifestyle","10":"tag-mental-health","11":"tag-mentalhealth","12":"tag-national","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-social"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}