Congratulations to the Ravens for Mental Health Team on your tremendous run/walk achievement from this past weekend’s Run for Women in-person and virtual event. We hope everyone is feeling energized, inspired, and not too sore!

Together, our Ravens for Mental Health team has raised over $5560 for The Royal Ottawa ($40 from every registration + our teams current $3760 in funds raised). How AMAZING is that! It is a feat to take great pride in! We continue to show leadership as one of the largest Run for Women teams in the Ottawa region showcasing that what we value we do – as a ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ community we are whole-heartedly committed to Striving for Wellness at our very core and to the mental health and well-being of our community.

Thank you all for joining, for speaking up for mental health, donating your time and money, recruiting, and most of all for participating as a community and doing something equally good for yourself as it is for others.

We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

The post Ravens for Mental Health Team Raised Over $5560 for The Royal Ottawa! appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

This talk will be presented by Associate Professor Cheryl Harasymchuk, from the Department of Psychology.

Relationships are fundamental for our health and well-being. Indeed, people with higher quality relationships tend to have greater life satisfaction and lower mortality rates. Although romantic relationships usually take the spotlight, scholars have argued that friendships are an important source of social connection and well-being. In this talk, Dr. Harasymchuk will first define friendship and include a discussion about differences as a function of gender, culture, and online context. In the second part of the talk, Dr. Harasymchuk will answer the question, ‘What makes for a satisfying friendship?’ and describe evidence linking friendship with physical and psychological well-being.

Mental Health Speaker Series

This session is part of the Healthy Workplace Mental Health Speaker Series 2021/2022. Find out more.

The post Recording: The Importance of Relationships for Mental Health appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

This session will be presented by Associate Professor Michael Hildebrand, from the Department of Neuroscience.

Chronic pain represents a highly prevalent and debilitating healthcare crisis, with direct connections to mental health challenges. The ongoing opioid epidemic illustrates the urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches for pain that are both safe and effective. In this session, Dr. Mike Hildebrand will define what pain is, with a discussion on what factors shape our experiences of pain and how changes in neurobiological mechanisms of pain processing can lead to chronic pain. This includes highlighting the discrepancies in sex and species between pain patients and typical preclinical pain models, and Dr. Hildebrand’s work aimed at addressing some of these translational divides.

Mental Health Speaker Series

This session is part of the Healthy Workplace Mental Health Speaker Series 2021/2022. Find out more.

The post Recording: Chronic Pain and Mental Health appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

The 2022 Let’s Talk guest speaker was Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, pyschology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, and personal wellness. Dr. Hanley-Dafoe’s talk on January 25th was entitled: “Hope-Forward: Steadying Our Steps After a Challenging Season”, and discussed practical strategies, grounded in global research and case studies, that help foster resiliency within ourselves and others.

Attendees learned how to:

• Identify and recognize practices that foster everyday resiliency;
• Work with the barriers and facilitators of resiliency;
• Decrease stress during uncertainty; and
• Revisit and reaffirm values and priorities for life with work integration.

In case you missed it, you can watch the recording . It will be available for viewing until February 25, 2022.

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ the Speaker

Described as one of the most sought-after, engaging, thought-provoking, and truly transformative international speakers and scholars in her field, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, and personal wellness. Hanley-Dafoe’s work is inspired by personal experience. She learned resiliency from the ground up as someone who has experienced significant obstacles throughout her life. This, combined with more than 16 years of university teaching and research experience, makes Hanley-Dafoe’s work both accessible and relatable while providing realistic and sustainable strategies for understanding and practicing resiliency and wellness. Hanley-Dafoe is also the author of Calm Within the Storm, which outlines a kinder approach to taking on the challenges of life and developing authentic self-alignment and balance.

This talk is part of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University’s annual Let’s Talk Day speaker series and is co-sponsored by Healthy Workplace, ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Leader, the Office of Student Affairs (ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Wellness), the , and the Department of Psychology.

If you are looking for mental health supports and resources, you can find some for faculty & staff hereand for students here.

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Now it’s your turn to REALLY judge whether Pierce is a true amateur, or he’s secretly a gardening pro! Join Pierce White-Joncas, ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s Access to Info & Privacy Manager and Amateur Gardener, this fall to see how his second growing season went. We’ll cover topics such as;

• what grew and what didn’t
• what products ended up being used, and
• of course, his famous cost-based analysis

This session is a follow-up to the Amateur Gardening: Do’s and Don’ts session held in April but you do not need to have attended that session in order to enjoy this one!

The post Recording: Amateur Gardening Follow-Up: Pierce’s Summer Progress appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

With every September, there comes a transition where we learn to adapt to a new routine. This can come in the form of work or home life. Transitions can impact our wellbeing and during these times it becomes more important to build resilience. In this talk, Dr. Natalie Pond, ND discusses simple and easy tips that you can start right away from nutritional support to lifestyle techniques. Let’s make sure your wellness is maintained for any changes that may come your way.

Dr. Natalie Pond is a Naturopathic Doctor at Manotick Integrative Health.

The post Recording: Maintaining Wellness While Adapting to Change appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

Dealing with our scattered thoughts is challenging on any day, but a year and a half into a pandemic can add an extra layer of clutter. Want to declutter your mind? Feel a little less monkey brain and a little calmer?

One strategy to effectively re-gain some peace of mind is freewriting. It’s a hugely valuable tool and all it requires is a pen, paper and a sliver of your time.  Defined simply, freewriting is continuous pen to paper action for a set period of time without concern for sentence structure, grammar or censorship.  Often guided by prompts, freewriting helps you:

• release stress
• gain clarity
• feel in control
• increase self-awareness
• improve decision making

Join us for a guided workshop on freewriting with Lori Rosove, founder of , a mindful writing and forest bathing program. Although we won’t be in the forest, Lori recommends being outside near a tree, garden, or flowers during this workshop. No worries if you stay inside as Lori will bring the forest to your screen and will show you how to immerse in nature wherever you are and guide you in freewriting to help you declutter your mind and feel calm. Registration is available at the bottom of this page.

To prepare for this workshop, ensure that you are in a comfortable, quiet writing space, whether inside* or outside, and have a writing book or several loose papers and a pen or pencil ready.

*If you are inside, the breeze from an open window can enhance your experience, as long as it’s not distracting.

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ the Facilitator

Lori Rosove, writing instructor and registered social worker, has combined her passion for nature with her knowledge in mindful writing to design a unique wellness experience: .  Lori has a huge belief in the calming force of nature and the power of writing to clarify one’s thoughts, and is excited to share that with others as a mindful writing and forest bathing guide at .

The post Recording: Mindful Writing in Nature for Self-Care appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

In collaboration with one another, the Office of Quality Initiatives, the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities, and the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives hosted a panel discussion focused on the themes of racism and mental health. The specific focus of the session is on how racial discrimination impacts mental health of individuals and communities, as well as the way it can complicate access to mental health supports. We are delighted to have three speakers for this event: Nagad Hersi, Dr. Dennis Kao and Dana Wesley.

Nagad Hersi – Nagad Hersi is an African, Caribbean Black Mental Health Outreach Worker at Somerset West Community Health Centre. She actively focuses on Primary Health & Regional Programs aimed at Silencing the Stigma of Black Mental Health. Driven by her passion and commitment to address systemic barriers around accessing mental health services, Nagad has worn several hats within the community to advocate for equity and diversity. She is an experienced community developer, program facilitator, researcher and more recently, a mental health counsellor. Nagad works closely with clients and community members from a person-centred and trauma-informed framework when advocating for individuals who are navigating the challenges imposed by systemic barriers.

Dr. Dennis Kao – Dr. Dennis Kao is an Associate Professor in ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University’s School of Social Work. Dr. Kao’s research interests include: Health equity, minority aging, Asian immigrant communities, aging- friendly communities and geographic information systems & spatial analysis.

Dana Wesley – Dana is a member of Moose Cree First Nation and grew up in her homelands. She completed her undergraduate and Master’s degree in Gender Studies at Queen’s University. Dana’s graduate thesis highlighted the lived experiences of urban Two-Spirit youth and community building. As a Two-Spirit woman, Dana is also dedicated to Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ resurgence and access to traditional cultural spaces and ceremonies. For over ten years she has worked in the fields of health, education, equity and human rights, diligently working with Indigenous and non- Indigenous communities in many different roles advocating for positive change. Most recently, she holds the position of Senior Human Rights Officer (Indigenous Issues) at the Canadian Union of Public Employees National Office in Ottawa.

This session is part of our ongoing work to foster ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s institutional commitment to Anti-Racism, Indigenous Initiatives, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity, and to promote an engaged, informed and supportive culture on campus. To find out more, we invite you to check out ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and KinĂ mĂ gawin – ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´’s Indigenous Strategy.

You can also find additional resources at the bottom of this page.

Additional Resources

• The CU Human Rights Policy is a first recourse for harassment and discrimination based on creed, race, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.  All of these protected grounds may intersect with Indigenous identity.
• “We Rise Together: Stopping Anti-Asian Racism”
• – Well Living House is an action research centre for Indigenous infants, children, and their families’ health and well-being.
• – The Aboriginal Service provides outpatient groups and individual counselling to Aboriginal people experiencing substance use and other mental health challenges.
• – provides Healthcare Services – from an Indigenous perspective.
•  – Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
• from NCCIH
• – a Summary of Events Leading Up to Brian Sinclair’s Death
• Somerset West Community Health Centre ABC Support Services
• Somerset West Community Health Centre ABC Support Services – Short-Term Counselling
• Somerset West Community Health Centre ABC Support Services – Support Line
• Somerset West Community Health Centre ABC Support Services – Virtual Sessions

The post Recording: The Impacts of Racism on Mental Health Panel appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

This session will be presented by Assistant Professor Robyn McQuaid, from the Department of Neuroscience.

Despite the prevalence and burden of depression, effective treatments lag behind that of many physical conditions owing, in part, to the complexity of this disorder. Depressive symptoms can be very different from one individual to the next and often present together with other disorders such as anxiety and PTSD. In order to develop more effective and personalized treatments for complex disorders such as depression, we need to take a comprehensive approach. This includes looking not just at biological mechanisms but also how social determinants, such as trauma histories and social relationships, impact our biology and in turn, depression. This talk will focus on applying a biopsychosocial approach to understanding the complexity of depression.

ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ the Researcher

Dr. Robyn McQuaid completed her PhD in Neuroscience at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University. Afterwards, she worked outside of academia as a Research & Policy Analyst at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use (CCSA), where she gained experience in research that informs policy and knowledge translation expertise. Then she worked at the Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, receiving this position through an international research competition called the Emerging Research Innovators in Mental Health. The McQuaid Lab aims to understand the impacts of stressors and early-life trauma on mental health, specifically depression and other stress-related disorders. This includes a strong emphasis on considering the role of both peripheral biomarkers (genetic, epigenetics, or inflammation) and psychosocial determinants in the stress-depression link. To conduct their research, they work with different populations, such as university students in distress, clinical populations, and marginalized groups in Canada.

Mental Health Speaker Series

This session is part of the Healthy Workplace Mental Health Speaker Series 2020/2021. Find out more.

The post Recording: Taking a biopsychosocial approach to understanding mental health: A focus on stress and trauma appeared first on Healthy Workplace.

The purpose of this one-hour virtual event is to provide education around substance use and addiction, as well as to create awareness of resources such as the All People All Pathways weekly group for faculty and staff.  This event will provide education as to the neural basis of addiction and how stress and trauma can render individuals more vulnerable to addiction, discuss trends in substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effectiveness of peer support. It will also highlight mental health resources and supports for faculty and staff.

During this session, Professor Kim Hellemans, Chair of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s Department of Neuroscience, will explore the topic of the Neuroscience of Addiction, as well as substance use during COVID-19. Rick Blute, member of the Board of Directors for the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA), will discuss the effectiveness of peer support.

Mental Health Speaker Series

This session is part of the Healthy Workplace Mental Health Speaker Series 2020/2021. Find out more.

The post Recording: Substance Use, Peer Support, and Wellness during COVID-19 appeared first on Healthy Workplace.