YMHC Mental Health and Wellness Workshops and Presentations

YMHC provides virtual and in-person workshops and presentations to students (elementary to postsecondary), parents/caregivers, school staff, corporate workplaces, and trade unions in a variety of educational, workplace, and community settings. Workshops and presentations can be tailored to your needs.

Workshop Categories

For Students

Student Workshops and Presentations

One in 5 young people (up to the age of 30) in Canada has a mental health challenge or disability. This means that at any given time, almost 20% of young people in the average classroom, workplace, or community event will be dealing with some type of mental health issue. This makes it difficult for them to learn, grow, and realize their potential. YMHC provides virtual and in-person workshops and presentations to students from elementary to postsecondary levels to support their mental wellness.

View Student Workshop Details

For Parents & Families

Parent & Family Workshops

Invite your school's parent and family community to join you in promoting mental health wellness and success at school by hosting a virtual parent/family workshop. Research shows that parental and family involvement and engagement in a child's school experience greatly increases their chances for academic success, positive mental health and wellness, higher self-esteem, and greater motivation. Parents/families are key sources of information about their children. They are their child's first teachers and have key strengths and insights that can contribute to the educational process.

View Family Workshop Details

For Professionals

Professional Workshops and Training Courses

YMHC provides specialized training for education and mental health professionals. These workshops and courses focus on equipping professionals with the skills and strategies needed to support student mental wellness effectively. Our professional training covers essential aspects of student mental health, including school-wide strategies and understanding and responding to chronic school absenteeism issues.

View Professional Workshop Details

Workshop Booking Process

Booking Process & Fees

Workshop requests are addressed on a first-come, first-serve basis. You must submit this form a minimum of two weeks before your requested workshop date. However, we suggest submitting your request well in advance as dates fill up quickly.

Please visit the workshop page for details:

Plus travel, accommodation, and other speaker fees. Please contact us to discuss the details.

Submit a Request Online

Submit the application and follow the instructions included. For questions, email admin (at) youthmentalhealth.ca

Instructors

  • Sheryl Boswell

    Sheryl is a passionate educator and author known for her engaging style and practical strategies, drawing on her expertise in education, mental health and wellness, human rights and equity, and disability awareness. She began her teaching career as a Special Education teacher in Zimbabwe and has worked with students of all ages in various educational settings. A member of multiple international organizations focused on youth mental health, suicide prevention, and school attendance, Sheryl has written five mental wellness journal workbooks and a guidebook on supporting students. Through YMHC, she has collaborated with schools, community organizations, and professionals across Canada and globally.

  • Tracey Bazso

    Tracey (she/they) is currently starting a Clinical Psych.D and holds a Master's degree in counselling psychology from Yorkville University and a Bachelor in honours Social Work and Biblical and Theological studies.


    Tracey is EMDR trained, a certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP-I), a certified autism spectrum disorder clinical specialist (ASDCS), a certified registered chaplain (badge #427) and critical incident stress debriefer (#82011). They are currently awaiting their full registration as a CCC and a registered provisional psychologist.

Key Themes for Workshops

  • Self-Care

    • Building a Self-Care Toolkit: DIY and individual self-care supports
    • Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation
    • Stress Management: Strategies to Manage Stress
    • Building Sources of Strength and Resilience

  • Self and Emotional Awareness

    • Creating a Self-Portrait: Building Self-Awareness
    • Building Mental Wellness Factors using the Wellness Tree
    • The Feelings Wheel: Building Emotional Awareness

  • Mental Health and Wellness Awareness

    • Creating a Personal Mental Wellness Action Plan
    • Anxiety 101: Understanding and Managing Anxiety
    • My Amazing Brain: Building Brain Awareness and Health
    • Understanding and Managing Mental Health Challenges
    • Understanding Emotional Regulation
    • Mental Health Strategies to Help Youth Thrive
    • Youth Mental Health First Aid
    • Youth Mental Health 101: Understanding Mental Health Challenges
    • Workplace Mental Health and Wellness
    • Supporting Student Mental Health and Wellness
    • Supporting Educator Mental Health and Wellness
    • Building Mental Wellness in the School Community: School Climate
      Audit

  • Community Care

    Key components of mental wellness protective factors are a sense of connection, belonging, and community. The German word “Gemeinschaftsgefühl​” used by Alfred Adler means community feeling or social interest. Community feeling means an understanding that we belong to a human community. Our shared humanity necessitates that we take better care of each other.

    • Building Support Networks and Empathy
    • Creating Compassionate Cards
    • Building Sources of Support and Protective Factors

  • Education System

    • System Navigation: Identifying Sources of School and Community
      Support
    • Navigating the Education System
    • Education, Disability, and Human Rights
    • Dealing with Bullying and Harassment

YMHC Learning Objective Examples

  • Define mental health and illness
  • Overview of statistics on youth mental health reality in Canada.
  • Understand signs and symptoms of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders.
  • Discuss health-promoting strategies.
  • Identify characteristics of an individualized mental wellness action plan.
  • Recognize strengths-based approaches
  • Understand the importance of building support systems
  • Recognize stigma and discrimination and its causes, and identify what stigma looks like societally and systemically
  • Describe the impact of stigma on people with lived experience and why it is important for people with lived experiences to share their stories.
  • Understand the relationship between stigma and mental illness.
  • Identify common misperceptions about mental illness
  • Identify ways to reduce stigma, prejudice and discrimination.
  • Describe how applying recovery-based and trauma-informed awareness in approach to care challenges stigma.
  • Identify strategies to decrease stigmatizing language use
  • Recognize signs of strength and resilience
  • Identify self and community care strategies