Subscribe to Catalyst
Subscribe to get our magazine delivered right to your inbox
Share This Catalyst
Related Articles
How one group is making strides toward better access to psychotherapy
“Parity,” “shorter wait times,” “fewer barriers,” “what we need, when we need it.”
Those were some of the key words and phrases members of the psychotherapy policy implementation network (PPIN) shared when asked to describe what better access to psychotherapies means to them. At their first meeting last February, of course, they couldn’t have imagined that a brewing pandemic would heighten the urgency of their work.
The PPIN consists of thought leaders, people with lived experience, Canadian health‑care provider associations, clinicians, researchers, and other experts. Its goal is to develop recommendations for the federal government that will increase access to psychotherapies in the Canadian health-care system. In its role as secretariat, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) acts as an impartial facilitator of the group’s activities. Dr. Karen Cohen, CEO of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), co-chairs the network alongside the MHCC.
“While some publicly funded psychotherapies exist in hospitals and mental health centres, they have long waiting lists and many people cannot afford the services offered in private practice,” noted Louise Bradley, the MHCC’s president and CEO. “Yet these treatments are essential to our population’s health.”
The network is a place to share information, explained Kam Tello, the program manager for the MHCC’s Access to Quality Mental Health Services. “We have to look at what’s available in each jurisdiction, what’s working, and where the gaps are from different perspectives. It’s a collaborative effort.”
The PPIN is currently drafting a declaration on the need to enhance access to psychotherapy. In charting the process and recommendations about how to do so, it will consider funding models, quality assurance, implementation, and outcome-based measurements of care.
This work has taken on even more significance in light of the fears, uncertainties, job losses, and economic instability wrought by COVID-19. For Cohen, the need to close the gaps in access to psychological services has increased in urgency as individuals, families, and communities cope with the physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic.
Canada’s public and private health sectors have thankfully stepped up to offer mental health services and supports. Examples include CPA’s crisis response initiative for front-line health-care workers and social workers, the addition of counsellors/psychotherapists as employee benefits for government workers, and the federal government’s Wellness Together Canada portal with free resources and counselling.
While these enhancements are a step in the right direction, unfortunately, many are program based and may only be temporary. To improve wellness and treat illness over the long term, we need sustainable investments in mental health services and supports.
“That’s why the PPIN is focused on long-term solutions,” said Tello. “When COVID-19 is behind us, perhaps along with many of the programs and services it has inspired, people in Canada will still need access to meaningful, evidence-based mental health treatments, maybe more than ever.”
To develop recommendations that fit the Canadian context, the PPIN is also looking abroad. The United Kingdom and Australia have their own expanded access programs, built on grant- and insurance-based models, which serve as important case studies in crafting a built-for-Canada solution. (Visit the MHCC’s Expanding Access page for a more in-depth look at these examples.)
While the PPIN has much work ahead, its members are encouraged by the shift in the mental health conversation.
“There seems to be growing recognition that mental health is part of health and should be treated equally,” said Tello. “There’s more interest from employers, more coverage from the media, and more discussion about access and why it matters.”
Bradley concurs. “Access to better mental health care could be a deciding factor for curbing an echo pandemic in mental illness as we (eventually) emerge from COVID-19. If there is a silver lining to the challenges we’re hurdling now, it may be the recognition that physical health is only half the battle. There is no health without mental health.”
As the conversation about physical and mental health parity gains steam, the PPIN is striving toward meaningful action to achieve it. By developing sound recommendations, the group hopes to help position Canada as a global leader in expanded access to psychotherapies.
For Maureen Abbott, manager of the MHCC’s Access to Quality Mental Health Services, the composition of the network itself only makes such an outcome more likely. “The members offer relevant personal and professional experience regarding access to psychotherapies. But a great strength of the group is respecting and valuing members’ diversity of opinions and perspectives as they reach consensus during the decision-making process.”
Update, February 2022: The work of the PPIN is now complete! Read The Time is Now: Considerations for a National Psychotherapy Program.
Amber St. Louis
Storytelling is a tool used in many different contexts, like when a teacher shares a story during a lesson at school or a grandfather shares a story about family traditions.
Chances are that at some point in your life, you have told a story. Storytelling is a tool used in many different contexts, like when a teacher shares a story during a lesson at school or a grandfather shares a story about family traditions. Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of teaching and sharing, and it’s no surprise that it is a popular method of Knowledge Translation.
So, what exactly is storytelling? Storytelling is an effective way of sharing a message, experience or lesson. It can be used in various formats, such as in person, through video, in an audiobook or podcast, or via text. The examples above highlight how storytelling may be used in everyday life. In the mental health and addictions field, we commonly see storytelling used when a person with lived experience shares their story.
Storytelling is popular for a reason; stories are impactful because they are personal and bring the information to life, which helps the listener find meaning in the information and apply it. Stories can also break down barriers and encourage attitude and behaviour change by increasing empathy and understanding in the listener. A story moves people beyond research findings and allows the listener to connect with and immerse themselves into it, triggering an empathic response. Stories also help with retaining information more easily, and they are easily accessible to a wide range of people. Finally, stories are likely to be retold and shared with others.
If you are planning to use storytelling as a method for your Knowledge Translation, keep in mind the following tips for safely and effectively telling your story:
- Make sure you are ready to share your story
Your story may lead to praise, criticism, questions, or further opportunities. Make sure that you are in a space to accept these various reactions and work with them.
- Know your audience
You do not need to share all the details of your story if it doesn’t feel right for who you are presenting to. For example, the details that you share with a group of adults may differ from what you would share with a group of young adults.
- Focus on educating others
Determine what your purpose and intention is by sharing your story. What is it that you want them to learn? What is the message you want to give?
- Look at eliciting hope, or focusing on the positive
This doesn’t mean that your story should not include hard times or negative experiences, but keep in mind that some details of your story may be triggering for others and may not need to be included. The focus of your story should be what has come from those negative experiences and what got you to here.
- Respect the confidentiality of others in your story
There is no doubt that your story will include other characters, but avoid using their real names or identifying factors, regardless if they had a positive or negative impact in your life. If you do think it would be beneficial to include information (i.e. the name of a doctor that really helped you), be sure to get their permission.
- Consider stating that your story is yours
Everyone’s journey is unique. Your audience should know that it’s okay if their experience is different from yours.
- Be creative (if you want)
There are no strict rules for how to tell your story. You may find it easiest to stick with a chronological story, or maybe you would rather focus on one theme at a time. Think about the message that you are trying to convey and how best to do that.
- Be genuine – be yourself!
Tell your story as you, using your voice and your personality (but remember to know your audience). This will help you connect with your audience. If you’re sharing your story via text, it’s okay to be informal. Easy language will draw people in and set you apart from academic or formal texts.
For a helpful tool, check out the MHCC resource below called “Telling Your Story”, which was created for individuals involved in caregiving who are promoting caregiver guidelines and recommendations. While the chart used is specific to that project’s purpose, it can easily be modified to your own story’s purpose.
Link: https://dev-mhcc.pantheonsite.io/resource/appendix-8-telling-your-story/
References
Hajric, Emil. “Storytelling.” Knowledge Management Tools, 2018, www.knowledge-management-tools.net/storytelling.php.
Wende, Erik, et al. “Exploring Storytelling as a Knowledge Transfer Technique in Offshore Outsourcing.” Thirty Fifth International Conference on Information Systems, 2014, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/149b/97578731d35563254a6d879ee4623219b140.pdf.
“Headstrong.” HEADSTRONG, 2020, headstrongyouth.ca/.
Author: Caroline Ostrom
Translating Knowledge for Change During COVID #4: Jackie Ralph
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Grey Bruce
It is certainly safe to say that COVID-19 has definitely added things to my life and taken some other things away. When Ontario was first placed under the emergency declaration, my first thought was, “Great, now I can have time to focus on many things on my “back burner” that I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to invest time into like my KT project.” However, things turned into the exact opposite.
My days have been fuller and busier than ever. I think of the things that have been added to my life like trying to figure out Microsoft teams and Zoom! LOL! But it hasn’t all been bad. I have benefitted by saving money on things like my mileage expenses! It was normal for me to clock up to 2,000 km a month with a schedule that saw me do 600 presentations and displays and trainings in a year. Some good has come out of this COVID-19 situation.
Now, more people than ever want to talk about mental health. There has also been more funding for mental health. And while I’m not out providing our puppet presentations in elementary schools or doing information displays at health fairs or running an ASIST training, there has been more requests than ever before for information, for articles, for “virtual” speaking gigs, and for resources. For that I am so very grateful. It certainly is the positive out of this negative situation.
But my “back burner” has now become the back basement! Ha! But on the flip side, my project, which was about providing mental health awareness using a community approach, has now become more needed and current and sought after then ever! There have been more opportunities to talk about my project with those that can bring it to fruition. So, while I may not have put as many words to paper as I had hoped, the connections I wanted to make have already been started. I hope all my KT project team members are doing well during this time. It is a new and interesting time for sure. One we will talk about for generations. One that will have an impact on us for generations. And ideally, one that will have positive repercussions for generations.
#ktfromhome
Have you ever wondered how Knowledge Translation (KT) as we know it came to be?
The term can be daunting for those who have never really had the chance to learn what KT really is, as opposed to the myths surrounding it. If you haven’t already read our blog on “KT: Myth vs. Reality”[Link] check it out. If you have already read this blog piece and are still curious for more, you are in the right place.
The question at hand for us to consider is, what factors led to the creation of KT as a tool for knowledge implementation, and why is it important for us to understand this today?
A Brief History of Knowledge Translation
There have been several debates concerning the origins of Knowledge Translation. For decades, researchers were conducting valuable studies on varying topics within the Health field without any tangible results. This trend was largely critiqued in academia; research tended to be housed in one place, but the people who needed these resources the most were left without any link to receive valuable knowledge which could help to improve their services. Knowledge translation became a bridge to link research conducted by researchers to the health service providers who were in need of innovations to improve their services.
You see, for a long time, researchers continued to research, and practitioners continued their practices, but the two groups were not in conversation with one another—there was a disconnect. In short, this was viewed as a “knowledge transfer problem.”[1] This trend in research being far-removed from its end-users led to the creation of a new method which would work to marry the research with its intended practical change.
According to the University of Waterloo, “the concept of KT emerged in the 1990s, where producers of research “pushed the research message onto end-users, but its meaning has since evolved.”[2] In 2000, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) coined the term “Knowledge Translation” (KT) and defined it as, “a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products, and strengthen the health care system” (CIHR).[3] From this point forward, more research was conducted to analyse the “Knowledge gaps” between research to implementation. Despite this research, the knowledge transfer problem continued.
Putting KT Into Practice
This narrative changed with the creation of the “I2I”. The Mental Health Commission of Canada’s I2I (Implementation to Innovation) Guide, is a great resource which offers further insight concerning how one can use “KT activities” to implement much needed knowledge in the services which need it the most. [4]
Created in 2012, the I2I, “guide illustrates how to move from innovation to implementation in a thoughtful manner to achieve the desired outcomes on a project or initiative. The I2I guide was developed on the basis of research findings and practical experience, through which it became apparent that a wider range of practices, participants, and types of knowledge need to be incorporated into KT activities.”[5]
This, “practical, action-oriented guide”, is a key model that is used within our SPARK training program to help participants apply their knowledge about KT in an effective, efficient, and noteworthy way. If you are somewhat familiar with KT, you may have come across the statement that it takes 17 years on average to implement knowledge into action. While there isn’t a definitive “number” of years that it takes to turn knowledge into action, advocates of KT have worked tirelessly to decrease this large knowledge gap through their activism.
References
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2010. Knowledge to Action: What it is and what it isn’t.” https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41928.html
Mental Health Commission of Canada. 2012. Innovation to Implementation: A Practical Guide to Knowledge Translation in Healthcare.
University of Waterloo. n.d. “Get Facts Knowledge Translation: What is Knowledge Translation?”. https://uwaterloo.ca/get-facts-knowledge-translation/knowledge-translation.
Elizabeth Peprah is a current PhD Student in Human and Social Services with a concentration in Community Intervention and Leadership at Walden University. She is a graduate of a master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies at Carleton University where she researched the connection between mental health and sexual assault trauma. Elizabeth further discovered the importance of adequate mental health services for victimized women while working with women in a bail residency program with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa. She blogs on gender-based violence at serwaaspeaks.com and has been a Knowledge Broker with the MHCC since January 2020.
[1] University of Waterloo. n.d. “Get Facts Knowledge Translation: What is Knowledge Translation?”. https://uwaterloo.ca/get-facts-knowledge-translation/knowledge-translation
[2] Ibid
[3] Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2010. Knowledge to Action: What it is and what it isn’t.” https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41928.html
[4] Mental Health Commission of Canada. 2012. Innovation to Implementation: A Practical Guide to Knowledge Translation in Healthcare, p.1
[5] Ibid
Many times, we are connected to, or know of many different individuals and organizations we would like to involve in our Knowledge Translation plan.
We may also be aware of other organizations and individuals that we are not already connected to but might like to engage. But how do we go about figuring out who we should be engaging and how to go about doing it?
Before beginning on this journey, it is important to first be clear about your purpose as well as your innovation (the tool or piece of research you are hoping to implement). Determining your purpose may include some stakeholder engagement even at that phase of your project.
A great way to start identifying your stakeholders (or actors and agents of change) is to do a bit of a “brain dump”, looking at which people/organizations you think should be involved to help you to be effective in your Knowledge Translation plan and writing down everyone who comes into your mind. Some potential stakeholders might include:
- Colleagues and leaders in your own organization
- Thought leaders or researchers in the field
- Family caregivers
- People with lived experience
- Existing networks or groups whose work is relevant to the scope of your project
- Organizations (other than your own if applicable) that are working in areas that are related
- Changemakers and policy makers
You can then divide them into categories that you think make sense (for example: frontline workers, health care professionals, community members, people with lived experience, etc.).
Once you have done this, you will want to start asking some questions as you review your list to determine who your key players and champions (agents of change) might be. Some key questions to ask:
- Who will use the innovation?
- Who else is working on something similar or in the same area?
- Who has the power/influence to make things happen? And where do they have this influence?
- Who can help access the resources we need to implement this plan (people, money, space, network, reach, etc)
- Who has the potential to be a detractor and take away from the process?
- Who has expressed interest already?
- Who would be most committed to and supportive of the plan?
- Who has the capacity to support?
There are many other potential questions, but these can get you started! You want to be sure you engage a variety of stakeholders to ensure your plan stays on track, reaches those you want it to, and creates the change you had hoped. This means it is crucial for you to engage people with lived experience and potential end users as well as organizations, leaders, staff etc. The earlier stakeholder engagement happens the better.
Asking questions can help you start to pull out who an agent of change within your process might be or in other words an influencer or a champion. Once you have your list and have sorted it into categories as well as identified some of your agents of change it is time to move on to strategizing your engagement approach and how best to engage each of the individuals and organizations on your list.
Other Helpful Resources:
Research to Action’s list of resources to help support stakeholder engagement:
https://www.researchtoaction.org/2015/09/stakeholder-mapping-resource-list/
Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement’s library of tools and articles to support stakeholder engagement in the community:
https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/communityengagement
BSR’s stakeholder engagement tools:
https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/report-view/stakeholder-engagement-five-step-approach-toolkit
International Association for Public Participation’s IAP2 Spectrum of Engagement:
https://iap2canada.ca/Resources/Documents/0702-Foundations-Spectrum-MW-rev2%20(1).pdf
Alexa Bol has a Graduate degree in Community Studies and Global change and more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Before coming to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), Alexa worked in Community and International Development where she used participatory approaches to create positive change at both grassroots and system levels. As Manager of Knowledge Mobilization, Opening Minds at the MHCC, Alexa is dedicated to seeing knowledge translated into action throughout the Mental Health and Addictions sectors in a manner that includes and values all voices.
Martin Boucher (Summer 2019 cohort)
Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) (http://nisa.on.ca/)
Our project at the Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) involves the training and supervision of older adult Mental Health Peer Support workers and volunteers. Because older adults are particularly susceptible to the worst outcomes of COVID-19, and the locations where support groups and one-to-one peer support were being offered have closed to visitors in order to respect social distancing guidelines, the training of new peers and the delivery of services in these settings has halted. However, we have moved our paid peer-support workers to doing phone support so that they can continue to offer services to older adults facing exacerbated levels of isolation.
The rapid mobilization of alternative modes of delivery (phone and online) at the organization generally, and in this project specifically, has opened up possibilities for the future. In a time where we focus on what we are not able to do and who we are failing to serve, it is equally important to look at who we are reaching that we were not reaching before, as well as how these alternative delivery methods might suit them better. In the spirit of the SPARK program and its focus on evaluation, this truly unfortunate situation does introduce promising opportunities for evaluating and improving service delivery overall. It may teach us things about how to serve our community better, including the most isolated and vulnerable among us.
Sometimes all it takes to convince someone to register for a training program is an email invitation.
While the SPARK journey of Elizabeth Anderson may have started with a colourless vague sketch of what she wanted, her story continues to be the work of an artistic masterpiece. As the founder of BeingMentallyHealthy.com, Elizabeth is now a seasoned professional speaker. She started her career over 30 years ago for the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, Calgary branch. She is currently a professional speaker at the Speaker’s Bureau of Canada and a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. She has received recognition for her body of work; including the True Grit Award, Lt. Governor’s Circle on Mental Health and Addictions, the Inspiring Albertan award from CTV. Elizabeth’s dream is to deliver the hope of recovery for those living with mental illness through her own lived experience. The SPARK Knowledge Translation program was an important step along this journey.
SPARKie Profile
Name: Elizabeth Anderson
Organization: Being Mentally Healthy
SPARK Year: 2017
The ABCs of Being Mentally Healthy
Before applying to SPARK, Elizabeth sought to transform her adult colouring book, The ABCs of Being Mentally Healthy (© 2017), into a course to offer a more complete recovery experience. According to Elizabeth, “There is lack of information in primary care and other health settings on real-life recovery from the lived experience perspective.” She named her course “Catching the Wind: Chart Your Own Recovery”, with an overall vision for recovery principles to be taught in acute care and other therapeutic settings for people who have begun their care. SPARK offered her a blank canvas to create and realize her dream.
SPARKing Innovation
For Elizabeth, SPARK couldn’t have come at a better time. She needed training in Knowledge Translation (KT) to support the transformation of her colouring book into a course so that it could be used effectively in recovery-based care. The journey to her success, however, wasn’t as smooth as she would have hoped. After receiving the email link to register for SPARK in 2016, things didn’t go exactly as planned for Elizabeth. “I didn’t get in the first time. I applied again the next year and finally got in.”
Although she had developed the colouring book during that year, Elizabeth had difficulty implementing it within the therapeutic settings that she aspired to reach. A past attempt to present her course idea to medical professionals was unsuccessful. “They couldn’t see the vision.” She needed training in KT to help her transfer her knowledge into a practical course that medical professionals would adopt.
SPARKing Implementation
During the SPARK Summer 2017 session, Elizabeth was equipped with the tools she needed to implement her innovation. By learning the process of KT planning, Elizabeth was able to manage her project and support its uptake. She also found a sense of community during her SPARK program as she was able to network with other participants. This community was very important to her overall process. “It was a great group of people doing something creative with mental health.” She was encouraged because it showed her that, “a lot of people care about mental health.”
Elizabeth also used the SBARA (Situation – Background – Assessment – Recommendations – Ask) model from the program to help her speak about her course and its benefits in a way that medical professionals understand.
SPARK equipped Elizabeth with the ability to sketch out a plan that made sense, and a vision to continue to colour in and make the final touches on her innovation. When asked what advice she would offer those interested in applying for SPARK, Elizabeth enthusiastically responded by saying, “I would tell people to apply!”
Where is Elizabeth today?
Stay tuned for the next part of her story! Elizabeth used SPARK as a blank canvas to create and implement her vision. To Elizabeth, “You never know what you can create” unless you pick up the pencil and sketch out a plan.
Subscribe to Catalyst
Subscribe to get our magazine delivered right to your inbox
Share This Catalyst
Related Articles
New toolkit promotes psychologically safe workplaces during COVID-19
COVID-19 has challenged employers everywhere to rethink the way they operate. In Canada, the easing of restrictions has allowed many businesses to resume operations and welcome staff back to the workplace. But working during a pandemic is not business as usual, and the changes employers make can have a drastic impact on the mental and physical health of their staff.
“Creating a safe workplace isn’t just about protecting physical health,” said Liz Horvath, manager of Workplace Mental Health at the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), “it must also include psychological safety. The effects of the pandemic will be with us for some time, but employers can play an important role in taking proactive measures to get ahead of the anticipated mental illness curve.”
To help them navigate this new role, the MHCC’s Opening Minds team created the Building Mental Health into Operations During COVID-19 Toolkit. The toolkit is a collection of guidelines, tip sheets, videos, conversation guides, and other resources to help employers and workers weave mental health into the fabric of their workplace.
One upcoming resource in the toolkit will be a series of guidelines to help employers address the key workplace factors that can affect staff members’ mental health during a pandemic. These factors are based on the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, a framework developed by the MHCC and CSA Group to help promote mental health and prevent psychological harm at work.
“These guidelines are about more than reacting to the pandemic in an ad-hoc way,” Horvath explained. “We want to encourage employers to build mental health into their operations proactively so they can get through the current pandemic and be better equipped for future crises. While Canada has fared relatively well during the pandemic, we have to be prepared to ride the waves that may come.”
The guidelines encourage those in leadership positions to remember that workers may be facing a range of challenges outside of work during a pandemic. “When we talk about performance, we have to talk about mental health,” said Horvath.
“Stress is cumulative, she added. “The hardships we experience away from work affect us while we’re working and vice versa. By integrating workers’ mental health into their operations, leaders can reduce their overall stress. Its about managing energy well, so people can work well and live well.”
To support workers through the pandemic, the guidelines encourage managers to
- practise empathetic listening
- understand and address the psychological impact of changes to the physical workplace
- give workers a safe space to openly share their needs and concerns
- prepare to make accommodations for workers requiring additional support.
The guide also addresses the issue of stigma, since very often, workers won’t speak up about mental health concerns, either out of a fear of being judged by peers or because of self-stigma. Workplaces that provide staff with mental health education and encourage open dialogue about mental health concerns can reduce stigma in the workplace and prompt those who need help to seek it sooner. Employers also need to manage the rise of blaming and shaming others that can occur during a pandemic by ensuring that workers receive psychological protection against the discrimination and harassment associated with social stigma and xenophobia.
The good news, according to research, is that correctly managing emergencies and disasters can have positive effects on workers’ mental health, including increased morale, resilience, and compassion.
“This pandemic has brought people together in an unprecedented way,” noted Horvath. “We can recreate that same spirit of connection and support in the workplace, as long as we’re willing to put in the work.”
Amber St. Louis
Subscribe to Catalyst
Subscribe to get our magazine delivered right to your inbox
Share This Catalyst
Related Articles
Going virtual to support essential workers and post-secondary students
In mid-March, as the world was grinding to a halt, the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s (MHCC’s) Opening Minds team knew it was time to get busy.
“Our face-to-face training had come to a standstill literally overnight,” explained Mike Pietrus, the director of the program, which is the MHCC’s training arm. “But we also knew we had mental health and resiliency training that needed to get into the hands of essential workers.”
And that’s exactly what the team pulled together to do.
“As they were adjusting to a global pandemic, working remotely and caring for their own families, they completely overhauled the training so it could be delivered virtually and at no cost to the people on the front lines of the crisis,” said Pietrus.
Louise Bradley, the MHCC’s president and CEO, remains in awe of the response. “I would have to describe this undertaking as nothing short of heroic,” she said, noting that over 400 free courses have been delivered to more than 4,000 essential workers.
The MHCC’s learning specialists took the most relevant components of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and The Working Mind (TWM), and compressed each into two-hour, interactive sessions to teach people how to look after their mental health and how to care for others. An additional one-hour course was created specifically to help managers care for their teams.
Pietrus noted that the experience required the team to do its homework and learn about virtual best practices. “But in mounting this incredible response, we are now poised and ready to begin rolling out our most-loved training courses virtually,” he said, referring to the training suite that includes MHFA and TWM and its variations.
“Our first offering,” he explained, “is going to be The Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary,” which provides mental health and resiliency training for college and university students. “We figured they were a natural first choice. Not only do they tend to be more comfortable with virtual interaction, they’ll also soon be coping with a tremendously different academic environment and need support to navigate a range of new challenges.”
Beginning in August, post-secondary institutions will be able to offer the training, which has also been overhauled in a big way.
“We learned a lot from preparing our free crisis training courses,” said Rebecca Richardson, learning specialist with MHFA and Opening Minds. “You can’t just take the face-to-face format and deliver it online. It doesn’t translate. We had to really do our research and bone up on how to make sure we were effectively engaging with participants.”
That engagement included expanding the course to four 45-minute modules or a single three-hour course. Small groups will have the opportunity to brainstorm solutions for challenging situations, seek participants’ opinions through online polls and quizzes, and ensure that any who feel triggered by the material are connected to mental health supports.
“We needed to find a way to manage all these moving pieces,” said Pietrus, and that turned out to be creating a new role in the virtual classroom to support the facilitator. “We engage producers to handle the technical aspects of delivering the course, so the instructor could zero in on the material.”
The result of the pilot testing, at Bishop’s University and Laurentian University, speaks for itself.
“Over 82 per cent of course participants were confident they could apply the knowledge and skills they learned when they were in everyday situations,” said Richardson. “After observing both pilots, I was encouraged and inspired by the students’ energy and passion and their willingness to discuss challenging topics — even in a virtual setting.”
Bishop’s student Chloe Kendall said she found “the course extremely insightful. It helped me understand my own mental health and gain awareness of how other people might be feeling. The knowledge I gained in two days will last me a lifetime.”
Richardson is convinced that this willingness to embrace vulnerability and seek support will be essential for fostering mental wellness as students return to school this fall.
“Many will be looking for strategies to cope with the stresses of remote learning and social isolation, as well as ways to discuss and make sense of their experiences over the last few months. Moving The Inquiring Mind course to a virtual format in time for the autumn semester will help post-secondary institutions support students through these challenges.”
Visit TWM’s Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary Virtual page to find out where courses are being offered.
