Training and Workshops
Mindful Mondays
The first session is an introduction to mindfulness and what it is. We will start by providing definitions, dispelling myths about mindfulness, and discussing the basic mechanisms by which mindfulness may operate. We will also begin with a simple breathing focused meditation.
Session #2 - Open Awareness Meditation
The second session will be discussing attachments and what control means in the context of mindfulness and meditation while shifting the attention beyond the breath to openness to experience.
Session #3: Mind-Body Connection
The third session will be discussing the mind-body connection and practice a couple of different exercises to get a better understanding of what information our body is trying to send to us, both internally and externally.
Session #4: Movement Meditation
The fourth session explores the Mind-Body connection even further and adds in movement to the body with a walking meditation.
Session #5: Notions of "The Self"
The fifth session discusses notions of the “self” or ego and how beliefs, identities, and physical sensation have shaped this concept. We explore this more deeply through contemplation and meditation.
Session #6: Metta Meditation
The sixth and last session moves beyond the self to the other and discuss relationships with family, friend and foe, how we can better manage them and extend equanimity to all.
Inquiring Mind
The Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary (TIM PS) is an evidence-based program designed to address and promote mental health and reduce the stigma of mental illness in an educational / student setting.
TIM PS was adapted from the existing evidence-based program The Working Mind from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Goals
The goals of the 3-hour training are to:
- reduce stigma and negative attitudes towards those struggling with poor mental health
- help participants maintain mental health and improve resilience and coping strategies
- teach participants about the Mental Health Continuum Model
- foster a supportive campus community
- support others
Objectives
The course's objective is to give university students the practical knowledge of mental health and mental illness so they can:
- Use the mental health continuum to recognize changes in their mental health and that of others
- Be prepared to use skills to improve their coping and resiliency
- Reduce both public and self-stigma
- Be willing to be a part of a supportive campus environment
Central Components
The Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary was created with the input of students as well as faculty and staff, from the University of Calgary, with mental health-related expertise. It is delivered in a 3-hour workshop format and covers three main components: stigma reduction, resiliency skills, and the Mental Health Continuum Model.
The Mental Health Continuum Model reconceptualizes how one thinks and talks about mental health by categorizing signs and indicators of good to poor mental health under a four-colour continuum: green (healthy), yellow (reacting), orange (injured), and red (ill).
Beyond these main components, the program also teaches about creating a supportive campus and how to support others who may be experiencing poor mental health. The program is designed to be interactive with activities and group discussions, as well as a set of scenarios for participants to work through. TIM PS takes these very good basic skills and contextualizes them in a way that is relevant to students. The curriculum includes custom videos featuring students, providing examples to which they can relate (e.g. mid-term stress, relationship challenges, being away from home/family supports).
The Inquiring Mind is delivered in three 2-hour sessions to a group of no more than 15 students.
From Surviving to Thriving: Developing Personal and Academic Resilience
This skills-based program promotes building resilience in support of planning for and coping with stressful times and experiences. The knowledge and skills covered in this program target improving your post-secondary experience by helping you strengthen your adaptive coping skills and finding effective solutions and strategies to support your success and well-being. The program was developed by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health and researched by McMaster and Queens Universities.
From Surviving to Thriving is delivered in a 2-hour session to a group of no more than 15 students.
ASIST
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is an evidence-based suicide intervention training program. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. This program is designed to provide educational and first-hand training that will empower people to provide skilled, life-saving interventions. Throughout the training, you will learn how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, providing a skilled intervention, and developing a safety plan to keep someone alive. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshop—anyone 18 or older can learn and use the ASIST model.
ASIST is a two-day face-to-face workshop featuring powerful audiovisuals, discussions, and simulations.
SafeTALK
SafeTALK teaches participants to recognize and engage persons who might be having thoughts of suicide and to connect them with community resources trained in suicide intervention. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide. The ‘safe’ of safeTALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ letters stand for the practice actions that one does to help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe.
Goals and Objectives
SafeTalk participants will learn to:
- Notice and respond to situations where suicide thoughts might be present,
- Recognize that invitations for help are often overlooked,
- Move beyond the common tendency to miss, dismiss, and avoid suicide,
- Apply the TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe; and,
- Know community resources and how to connect someone with thoughts of suicide to them for further help.
H.O.P.E. Learning Centre
The H.O.P.E Learning Centre provides free wellness development seminars to aid in your mental health journey. A Recovery College is a place of self-discovery where people come together to gain knowledge, learn new skills, and explore new roles for themselves in a supportive environment. Here a “student” is not a passive recipient of information or advice; they are actively engaged, valued and empowered within a culture of mutual respect. A Recovery College is a learning environment where people with lived experience are equal partners in developing and delivering learning opportunities that open the door to new aspirations and personal growth.
Recovery Colleges offer a new way to support recovery and can be transforming for both the individual and organizations. Within the Recovery College model, there is a focus on bringing together the expertise of both professionals and people with lived experience in a process of co-production, co-delivery and co-learning.
The virtual course catalogue (including lunch bites and free course offerings can be found here.