Fostering a culture of understanding and acceptance of people with mental illness is the foundation to building psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. This workshop is designed to help build comfort in talking about mental health and mental illness, and learn how to respond in a supportive way to co-workers who may be experiencing a mental illness. This 1 to 2-hour workshop is suitable for employees and general audiences. This workshop begins by building an understanding of the continuum of mental health, and the risk and protective factors that influence our current state of mental health. It uses personal stories to help build awareness of what it is like to experience mental illnesses like anxiety disorders or depression at work. This workshop often includes an interview with a guest speaker to share their experience of living and working with a mental illness. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and leave with a list of resources available to help support your mental health. The workshop fee is $500 to $750. This workshop is available for delivery across BC by the following certified trainers: Julia Kaisla, Laura Allen, Gord Menelaws, Margaret Tebbutt, Lucette Wesley. To learn how to bring this workshop to your workplace, please contact Julia.kaisla@cmha.bc.ca or 604-678-8952 Our certified trainers are also available for speaking events, custom workshops and to help you plan and implement your workplace mental health strategy. Contact us to learn more!
Workplace
For My Health! Workplace Screening
Health screening and education events
For My Health is a fun and interactive health promotion event that integrates physical and mental health screening and education. Especially well-suited for workplaces, the program empowers participants to learn more about their physical and mental health, set plans and goals for improvement, and track their progress. At a For My Health event, participants cycle through several health screening stations covering issues from blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, to anxiety, stress and resilience. After the screening stations, participants meet one-on-one with a coach to review the results and set a health improvement goal. With regular events, participants can track their progress over time. In a recent survey, 100% of participants said they would recommend For My Health to a friend or co-worker. To learn more about bringing For My Health to your workplace, please contact Julia Kaisla at Julia.kaisla@cmha.bc.ca or 604-678-8952 For My Health was developed by CMHA BC and Impact BC in partnership with the Provincial Health Services Authority
Mental Health Works
Solutions for Responding to Mental Health at Work
Talking about mental health at work can be challenging. But becoming more aware of signs of mental illnesses, and learning how to have those difficult discussions are part of being an effective leader. This workshop is suitable for leaders and supervisors, and builds skills to respond immediately and appropriately to employees who are showing signs of being unwell. It helps leaders navigate between performance or productivity issues and underlying mental health issues, and gives them the tools to fulfill their duty to inquire. This workshop is highly interactive, with activities and discussion throughout. It includes experiences of people who work and live with mental illness, either live or through video. Leaders leave the workshop with the awareness to recognize signs of mental illness and the skills to supportively address them. The workshop fee is $1500 for a half day and $2750 for a full day. This workshop is available for delivery across BC by the following certified trainers: Julia Kaisla, Gord Menelaws, Margaret Tebbutt, Lucette Wesley and Mary Lu Spagrud. To learn how to bring this workshop to your workplace, please contact Julia.kaisla@cmha.bc.ca or 604-678-8952. Our certified trainers are also available for speaking events, custom workshops and to help you plan and implement your workplace mental health strategy. Contact us to learn more! Learn more:
Safe and Sound
Creating a Psychologically Healthy and Safe Workplace
Creating a safe workplace goes beyond hard hats and ergonomics. It also means protecting the psychological health and safety of your employees. This workshop provides insight into the components of a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. It includes a review of local policies or regulations to help position psychological safety as a safety issue, and provides an overview of Canada’s National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety. This 3-hour workshop is suitable for supervisors, leaders, union representatives and Occupational Health and Safety committee members. It has been successfully delivered in many male-dominated work environments. Participants learn skills to more effectively have conversations around mental health issues, and leave with a greater understanding of the tools available to support positive mental health. The workshop fee is $1500. This workshop is available for delivery across BC by the following certified trainers: Julia Kaisla, Gord Menelaws, Margaret Tebbutt. To learn how to bring this workshop to your workplace, please contact Julia.kaisla@cmha.bc.ca or 604 678-8952. Our certified trainers are also available for speaking events, custom workshops and to help you plan and implement your workplace mental health strategy. Contact us to learn more! Learn more:
Suicide Prevention Training
Helping people at risk of suicide
Community Gatekeeper training is designed to help make BC communities safer – and help save lives – by preparing key members of every community with skills to help people who are at risk of suicide. Community Gatekeepers are people who have been trained to recognize when someone could be at risk of suicide, talk with them, help keep them safe, and connect them to community supports and resources. They are trusted community members who often hold a position of responsibility in the community such as first responders, HR professionals, community service providers, Elders and spiritual leaders, coaches, teachers and others, and have regular contact with many adults or older adults. Community Gatekeeper training follows curriculum shown to be effective at increasing knowledge, skill and willingness to intervene, as well as helping reduce the risk of suicide. Two levels of training are available:
- safeTALK – a basic half-day workshop for anyone to help recognize a person who might be at risk and help connect them to life-saving community supports and resources
- ASIST – a two-day practice-focused workshop in suicide intervention and personal safety planning
Community Gatekeeper training is being offered across BC on a fee-for-service basis. To learn more about bringing Community Gatekeeper training to your community or workplace, please contact Maria Weaver maria.weaver@cmha.bc.ca (778) 533-6472.
Learn more on the LivingWorks website
Understanding Addiction
Building skills to better help the communities you serve
Understanding Addiction is a unique online training program for those who work directly or indirectly with people who face challenges with addiction. This course was developed to improve access to services by helping a wide range of employees and volunteers build the knowledge, self-awareness and skills to better support and provide services to people living with an addiction. By the end of the course, participants will:
- Gain a better understanding of addiction
- Lean effective, practical skills to increase comfort in responding in a positive and respectful way
- Develop confidence in working with challenging clients while protecting workplace safety
- Build greater comfort in having conversations that promote inclusion and healthy communities
The course is delivered through eight interactive online lessons. Each 60 to 90 minute lesson features opportunities for personal reflection, downloadable resources for in-person learning, and an open forum for discussion. Participants have three months to work through the lessons at their convenience and can start the training at any point during the three months. Understanding Addiction is available in three sessions throughout the year opening each January, May and September. Course registration is $100 per person. To register visit www.understandingaddiction.ca. Learn more:
Funding provided by the Community Action Initiative
Workplace Mental Health Webinars
Free Webinars to Move Your Mental Health Strategy Forward
These webinars cover a range of workplace mental health strategies, and include valuable insights and lessons. Each one-hour webinar provides participants with practical advice, skills and tools that can be used to support positive change in their own workplaces. Register for upcoming webinars and access past presentations below. Learn more about our certified trainers. Creating a Physically and Mentally Healthier Workplace This webinar was originally presented July 19, 2016—view the presentation online. Speakers: Julia Kaisla, CMHA BC and Samantha Hartley-Folz, BC Healthy Living Alliance This webinar presents an overview of both the Working on Wellness (WoW) program and the Safe and Sound mental health training program, with an explanation of how participants can access them to improve employee health and create a more supportive workplace. Building a Stronger and More Resilient First Responder Organization August 18, 2016 from noon – 1:00 pm PST Speaker: Steve Fraser, Vancouver Firefighters It’s been recognized that first responders experience distressing and recurring traumatic events in the course of their duties, and psychological injuries and illness can arise from both single or prolonged, repeat exposures. In this webinar, participants will get a preview to a comprehensive, skill building workshop for first responders where they will be provided with the tools used to strengthen psychological health through early identification of injury, peer support, increased mental health literacy and overall awareness. Suicide and the Workplace September 9, 2016 from noon – 1:00 pm PST Speaker: Dr. Kathleen Stephany, Douglas College Suicide is not a topic that we gravitate to because it is sad and even scary. But all of us need to learn how to increase our comfort level in talking about suicide if we want to help prevent it. This dynamic session on suicide and the workplace is designed to provide individuals and organizations with practical information and insights on how to help someone who is suicidal. A Case Study on a Workplace Peer Support Program October 19, 2016 from noon – 1:00 pm PST Speaker: Lyne Wilson, NAV CANADA Participants will learn how NAV CANADA created their organizational peer support program, Light the Way, where employees use their own struggles with mental health to support others in the organization. This award-winning program fosters an accepting workplace culture that openly acknowledges the reality of mental health conditions, resulting in reduced short and long-term disability associated with mental health absences across the organization. Accommodating Addiction: Best Practices November 7, 2016 from noon – 1:00 pm PST Speaker: Julie Menten, Roper Greyell Law and policy in relation to workplace addiction issues is complex and continues to evolve. Participants in this session will learn about recent legal decisions and be provided with practical tips as to what these cases mean for employers, unions and employees. How to Create a Positive and High-Performing Culture December 8, 2016 from noon – 1:00 pm PST Speakers: Lori Charvat, Sandbox Consulting and Ric Matthews, Executive Management Professional Shifting culture can provide challenges and opportunities for any organization, especially given today’s rapidly shifting workplace expectations. During this session, participants can expect to gain some practical insights and learn creative ideas for fostering a positive workplace culture in their own organizations.