What's New
Lilly - MDAO Moving Lives Forward Scholarship 2010 application is now available. Click here for more information. Please call Iris Samson for more information at 416.486.8046 ext 245.
The Mood Disorders Association is presenting the Spring 2010 Program of Stand Up for Mental Health! Over a 15-week program participants will learn a brief comedy routine which will be presented in the late spring at a Comedy Showcase. The program will run on Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:45 p.m., starting March 10th.
Click here for the flyer and registration form.
Applications must be received by March 1st.
Read about our Headstrong speaker program.
Navigating Towards Wellness Survey
Mental Health Works and Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, with support from Great West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace, are working on creating a video resource. This resource will provide help and hope for people who are experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety both at work and away from work. These videos will be of people who have the lived experience of dealing with their symptoms of depression and anxiety in the workplace.
If you are currently experiencing or if you have experienced the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in the past please click on the link below to share with us the question that you would have most wanted to have an answer for or your "burning question".
Click here for the survey.
We are expanding our exciting partnership with the Toronto Catholic District School Board
Together with the TCDSB, we are encouraging early intervention by bringing awareness and education about mental illness into schools.
On November 27th, 2009, over 200 students attended the first ever Mental Health Symposium for students in Toronto. The day was an enormous success, and the response from the students was overwhelmingly positive.
The success of the symposium led to new schools being interested in participating in Stop the Stigma Week this year. In 2009, two schools participated and this coming May we expect a total of nine schools to participate. The students who took part in Stop the Stigma Week last year are taking a leadership role in training their peers from the new schools.
At the nine participating schools, we will offer workshops with speakers sharing their personal experiences; provide education and information for teachers, students and parents; raise awareness of mood disorders; and provide strategies for the school community to respond to teens and young adults as they face the challenges of living with a first mood disorder and a first episode psychosis.
Social Anxiety Support Group:
The group meets on Saturday Afternoons, 4 PM at Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, 36 Eglinton Avenue West in MDAO Group Activity Room 1.
In addition to our weekly meeting, we hold regular social events, at pubs and restaurants, where members can build friendships and practice socializing with others facing similar challenges. Click here for the flyer.
Mindfulness In Every Day Life
This is a 5 week program that will benefit those new to mindfulness and those familiar to mindfulness and wishing to practice their skills in a supportive group.
*This supportive program is not suited to individuals experiencing an episode of clinical depression.
Sign up for our Mindfulness In Everyday Life Workshop by sending in a program application and a completed Beck Depression Inventory
Inspiration Awards Celebrate Leaders
Submissions are now closed for the Heart Inspiration Award. On February 7th, 2009 an individual will be presented with this award.
It Starts Here
A New National Edition of It Starts Here is now available. Click here to order.
Family Matters Conference: Building Your Tool Kit
Family Matters 2007 was a conference focused on families in the mental health system. The conference was for family members, consumers and mental health professionals. It was an opportunity to explore important questions about how to support families, how to facilitate recovery, how to better integrate family members into treatment planning, and how to balance the needs of families and consumers.
The following PowerPoint presentations were presented at the conference:
Opening Plenary Address
Weight Gain ... An Issue For Us All
Dr. Suzanne Archie MD FRCPC
Navigation Routes to Treatment
a) Consent To Treatment, Standing On One Leg
Michael Bay, JD, Barrister & Solicitor,
Associate Professor(PT), Department of Psychiatry and
Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton
b) Psychiatry @ Western
Richard O'Reilly, Director of Research, Regional Mental Health Care,
London.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London
I am not sick, I don't need help
David Schaich, PsyD, Clinical Director, Amador & Associates
Crisis: It's Your Call
Gerstein Crisis Centre,
Susan Davis
Community Announcements: Free Employment Services to Persons with Disabilities
Ontario March of Dimes Employment Services offers free, comprehensive employment services to persons with disabilities. Our program is funded by
the Ministry of Community and Social Services (ODSP Employment Supports) and
Employment Ontario. We offer case management and job placement services, as
well as employment preparation workshops which include a six-week,
twelve-session Job Search Group. Self-referrals are welcome. For further
information and/or to book a seat for our weekly orientation session, please
contact Lou-Ann Whiteway at (416) 425-3463, Ext. 7227 or by e-mail at lwhiteway@dimes.on.ca
Click here for the brochure.
Special Offer, Hope and Heroes - A book of Inspiration
Barry Shainbaum had suffered from bipolar disorder for 20 years. "The people who supported me through my darkest hours included a community of friends, families and doctors. Their support inspired me to create Hope and Heroes. My book has a community of 47 inspiring figures in photographs and words from school children to world leaders who have strived to make the world a better place to live.
"MDAO is a superb organization with a good heart, and I am pleased to donate the majority of the proceeds of the sale Hope & Heroes to them."
Copies of the book are available for the low price of $20.00 (including GST) when you pick it up at the office. For more information, call 416-486-8046 ext. 224.
New website - www.mentalhealthminute.com
The site has multimedia resources, including audio segments, consumer-friendly treatment guidelines, podcasts and vodcasts, to help educate consumers about mental health, mental illness, and treatment options. Visit it to register for an upcoming FREE teleseminar, where you will learn more about these exciting resources, and how they can help you in your search for mental health!
For more information, please visit the website, or contact Enette Pauzé, (Project Manager), (416) 809-4270, epauze@nnmh.ca.
Community Announcements: Barry Shainbaum's Talk Show
Barry Shainbaum hosts a new radio talk show on Inspiration, Spirituality, Mental Health, Ethics & Art each Sunday morning from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm.
"Faith FM 94.3, Sundays 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm, CJTW Kitchener
OR
HOPE FM 94.3, Sundays 11:00am to 12:00 noon, CJFH Woodstock (Programs are
repeated one week later)
For more information about the show and upcoming guests, go to Barry's website.
Community Announcements: Social Phobia Support Group of Toronto
We are a group of people living with Social Phobia who meet weekly to provide support and encouragement to each other. There are no professional therapists involved. Our meetings are very informal and there is no pressure on members attending to participate.
For more information, go to their website at www.socialphobia.ca