Changing Minds at Work
We offer presentations and workshops designed to change minds and improve mental health.- Building mental illness awareness
- Educating managers, employees and employers
- Communicating practical approaches to early intervention, education and comprehensive mental health strategies.
Some sample sessions:
Fighting the Dragon and Beyond
This session inspires audiences to move mental illness out of the closet, into the open, where we can start to make a difference by talking about mental ill-health.
Karen Liberman, Executive Director of the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, recounts her journey into and out of severe clinical depression.
Sharing her story with candor, warmth and insight, Karen moves audiences from laughter to tears and back again. It is a highly engaging session that enlightens, and arouses genuine compassion.
Shifting Perceptions
This half day session engages and enlightens through a blend of stories, facts and interactive problem-solving, designed to:
- Build understanding about mental illness and how it plays out in the workplace; its signs, symptoms, prevalence and relevance.
- Reduce the fear and misconceptions tied to mental illness and the reluctance people have to talk about it.
- Open people's minds and hearts; open doors for more learning and more effective conversations to take place.
Participants engage in interactive group work using case scenarios tailored to their specific work environment. They develop recommendations for how managers, non-managers, co-workers and those who may be struggling, can reach out.
Initially developed in 2008 to meet the needs of various groups within the Ontario Public Service, Shifting Perceptions can be tailored to workplaces of any size within both the public and private sectors.
Mind Matters: Achieving a Mentally Healthy Workplace
This session is targeted at business leaders and HR professionals. It blends personal insights, factual
information, and collaborative group discussion to
examine how organizations can take steps to create
healthy workplace
environments and implement practices,
fundamental to managing mental ill-health. It explores
the challenges of dealing with
individuals' mental health issues - at work, off work
and returning to work - and
recommends approaches to dealing with these.
A panel of experts provide insights, live and through multi-media. Participants will leave with suggestions they can act on, and:
- Gain insights into how to recognize mental illness and addiction issues in employees more readily; approach and deal with related issues in the workplace.
- Develop understanding as to the interplay among workplace mental health, morale and productivity; the value of early intervention, education and a holistic approach.
- Be alert to studies, resources and tools that can be used to guide managers and others engaged in dealing with mental health issues in the workplace.
Seeing the Unseen
This one hour presentation explores the 'invisible disability' of mental illness, blending factual information, open discussion and video footage of medical experts and individuals having lived with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder. It will be of value to employees who may be struggling, their colleagues and managers. We cover the signs and symptoms of common mood disorders, underlying physiology, relevance in the workplace and treatment options. We share tips for how employees, who may be struggling, can reach out for help, and point to resources they can turn to. Additionally, we provide suggestions for how co-workers and managers can reach out to those who may be struggling. And we point to tools and resources that can be accessed, post-workshop. Participants will leave with strengthened understanding of mental illness, how it may present itself in the workplace and where to turn for help.
Educating and Empowering to Improve Mental Health
This 45 minute presentation shares good news about early
intervention, illness mitigation and enhanced productivity
and points to practical tools that can equip employees to effectively
and privately self-assess, become better educated
and source help.
We point to workplace strategies that can be introduced to provide leadership in the battle for mental well-being, improve productivity and ensure a healthy, engaged workforce - a compelling call to action to get focused on educating and empowering to improve mental health outcomes.
Mental Illness in the Workplace - A Go-To Guide for Managers
This 30 minute presentation profiles the resources that are available to managers to learn more about: mental illness, its signs and symptoms; sorting out who's who in the mental health mosaic; their roles and responsibilities in managing an employee who is or may be experiencing a mental illness; how to reach out to those struggling and support the process of recovery. Attendees will leave this session aware of the relevant tools and training available to them.
Contact us for a customized session
We value collaborating with our clients and partners to ensure an exceptional
client experience.
We tailor our presentations, workshops and symposiums to each organization we work with, consult in advance and post-session and we are pleased to develop new, customized content to meet the unique needs of those we serve.
For more information contact:
Donna MacCandlish
Director, Strategic Partnerships
Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
416.486.8046 x 225
donnam@mooddisorders.on.ca