Mental Health
Established in 2014, the Research and Knowledge Exchange on Mental Health provides a forum where academic researchers, health systema and government policy makers, students, clinicians and community members gather to discuss mental health research and practice in Newfoundland and Labrador, with a view to elevating the voices of lived and living experience in all activities.
Group Convener
Dr. Tyler R. Pritchard received his Ph.D. in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology at the University of Guelph. He is a visiting professor at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, where he teaches courses related to developmental and clinical psychology, and research methods. He has completed clinical work at various settings across Canada and currently has a private practice in Corner Brook, NL. His research has several focal points: broadly, suicide theory; the unique suicide-related needs and risks of individuals living in rural Canada; and the motives, risks, and benefits of online activity for those who self-injure. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, going to the gym, and black coffee. You can visit his website at: https://tylerpritchard.netlify.app
Goals & Objectives
The Research and Knowledge Exchange on Mental Health met recently to review and update the goals and objectives for the exchange. Participants agreed that the Exchange will aim to:
- Promote interdisciplinary, participatory, and community-involved research on mental health.
- Build networks and collaborate on mental health research, policy, and programs.
- Strengthen mental health research capacity across Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Elevate and share the voices of individuals with lived mental health experiences (e.g., families, caregivers, and survivors).
- Advocate for policy changes to address gaps in mental health legislation and improve outcomes in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Promote alternative approaches to mental health care beyond the traditional medical model.
- Recognize and address the unique mental health challenges faced by diverse and minority populations.
- Foster an open, inclusive environment for learning about mental health, welcoming all perspectives and voices.
Group Activities & Presentations
November 8, 2024 12:30PM NT | Bring Out Your Ideas! Reconvening the Research and Knowledge Exchange on Mental Health| It’s been a while since we checked in with our membership. In November, we rolled out the 2024-2025 academic year for the Research & Knowledge Exchange on Mental Health with an open discussion among members and the convener to plan the group's activities, to find out what you’re interested in and to determine whether you might have research, programs or group discussion ideas that you would like to share. We also welcomed suggestions for any guest speakers to invite. This kick-off meeting was an excellent opportunity for participants to meet our group's new convener, Dr. Tyler Pritchard. We continue to seek your input as we set new goals and objectives for the future of the Exchange and collectively organize a new roster of presentations and discussions for 2024-2025.
October 10, 2023 12:30PM NT | The World Health Organization EQUIP Platform:Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support with Rozane El Masri |EQUIP is a joint WHO/UNICEF project to improve the competence of helpers and the consistency and quality of training and service delivery to provide more effective psychological support to adults and children. The EQUIP platform makes competency assessment tools and e-learning courses freely available to support governments, training institutions, and non-governmental organizations, both in humanitarian and development settings.| Rozane El Masri, MPH, is a Research Manager at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Faculty of Medicine interested in health systems, clinical research, project management, global mental health, and humanitarian health. Ms. El Masri was involved in the EQUIP project in Lebanon and will speak about her experiences working there.
October 11, 2023 at 2:00pm to 3:30pm | My Journey as an Advocate: The Global Mental Health Peer Network and Other Mental Health Advocacy Initiatives | Glenn Roil is a global award winning mental health advocate and a national basic income and poverty elimination advocate. He is the recipient of the 2022 Lionel Aldridge Champions Award from the United States of America. He is the first and only Canadian to be so honored with this international mental health award. He is a recipient of the 2021 NL's Human Rights Awards Champion for Mental Health from the Government of NL's Human Rights Commission. He is Co-chair of the Americas Region with the Global Mental Health Peer Network. He is Referral Partner and National Ambassador with the Stigma Zero Company which is an international workplace mental health company.
November 3, 2023 at 12:30PM | Perinatal Mental Health with Dr. Archana Vidyasankar | The group will continue to discuss building capacity for perinatal mental health research in NL
March 28, 2023 |12:30pm to 2:00pm | COMMUNITY SHOWCASE! Who is doing what and where to promote mental health and wellness in Newfoundland and Labrador? |The Research Exchange Group on Mental Health rolls out a new season of events by checking in to find out who is doing what and where in our community in support of mental health and wellness, including updates from our partners at LifeWise, Bell Island Housing and Sobriety, Quadrangle, and others.
April 19, 2023 at 2:30pm- 4:00pm NT | Building Momentum for Perinatal Mental Health Research in NL with Dr. Archana Vidyasankar. This meeting will provide an opportunity to develop research potential on perinatal mental health to inform both a provincial perinatal mental health task force and to align with strategic priorities of the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance. At the meeting, we will uncover who is working in the area and discuss research in progress, work to develop collaborative potential/ teams; discuss data holdings and data required to inform perinatal mental health research; look at specific research themes, including, but not limited to: substance use, stepped care, newcomer/new Canadian mental health/access to care.
2020
November 3, 2020 | Evaluating Mental Health and Addictions Services and Access in NL from the Perspectives of People with Lived Experience | John Abbott, CEO, CMHA-NL | This discussion provided an overview of a current reporting project being undertaken by Canadian Mental Health Association of NL to produce regular public reports that will benchmark and provide comment on the state of mental health and addictions and related services in NL. While there is a growing body of research data on the NL mental health and healthcare system, most provincial reports are written from the health system’s perspective. The CMHA-NL hopes to address what is missing— reporting by a third party independent of government and written from the perspectives of the community sector and people with lived experience. | Link to Presentation |
December 1, 2020 | On the Move: Mental Health, Work-Related Mobility, and the Construction Industry | Dr. Barb Neis, On the Move Partnership and Jackie Manuel, NL Construction Safety Association | Up to 16% of the Canadian labour force engages in extended/complex mobility to and sometimes within work. Construction is a huge sector in Canada employing millions of workers and extended/complex mobility pervades the sector. The On the Move Partnership is a multi-year, national scale research program with international links, investigating extended/complex mobility for work, and its consequences for workers, families, employers, communities, and Canadian municipal, provincial and federal governments. This talk focused on the findings of the partnership as they relate to the mental health impacts of mobile work with a focus on the construction sector. |
March 9, 2020 | Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC): Programs and Funding Opportunities for Research on Mental Health | Akela Peoples, CEO | Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) is a national, charitable organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of the 1 in 5 Canadians living with mental illness, as well as their families, caregivers and communities. They do this by advancing evidence-based mental health research that is problem-solving, cost-effective and usable in the real world. | Link to Presentation |
January 28, 2020 | Thinking Well: Post-Secondary Student Mental Wellness in Newfoundland and Labrador | Joshua Smee, Choices for Youth | Link to Presentation | Link to the Thinking Well Report |
2019
October 22, 2019 | Home to Stay: Barriers in Mental Health and Addictions, Homelessness, and Poverty | Dr. Colleen Hanrahan; Lisa Browne, and Karen Noel, Stella’s Circle | At this special presentation, the presenters discussed the recent project, Home to Stay, that addressed interventions required to prevent homelessness among seniors with complex mental health needs, supporting their ability to age in place. The presentation included information about a home modification pilot project, a Home Modification and Community Supports Toolkit and a new social enterprise, all with the goal to have seniors with complex mental health and addictions issues age within their communities. | Link to Presentation |
April 30, 2019 | Reducing the Incidence of Suicide among Indigenous Peoples Worldwide: Local Evidence for a Global Goal | Nathaniel Pollock, Graduate Student in the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University | Suicide is a complex phenomenon that arises from a combination of biological, psychological, socio-economic, environmental, and historical factors. In Labrador, as in many regions across the circumpolar North, Indigenous communities have experienced elevated suicide rates for more than 30 years. In response, suicide prevention has become a leading public health priority for communities, healthy systems, and governments. This presentation discussed recent studies on suicide from a collaborative research project in Labrador that examined the incidence of suicide among Indigenous populations locally and globally. | Link to Presentation |
May 10, 2019 | Motherhood Experiences in Newfoundland & Labrador: A Survey to Inform Public Policy | Shannon Bedford and Emily Saunders | Presenters shared results of a large survey of motherhood that was undertaken as their part of their PsyD research project at Memorial University, which focused primarily on the experience of mothers here in the province. The survey looked at demographic differences between urban and rural mothers, mothers who have a partner who works away (mobile relationships), satisfaction with healthcare services, and other factors. |
March 28, 2019 | The Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry: Programs and Initiatives to Support Seniors' Mental Health in Canada | Drs. Kerri-Leigh Cassidy and Dallas Seitz of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry | Link to Presentation |
2018
October 31, 2018 | Mental Wellness and Related Services: Nunatsiavut Department of Health and Social Development | Kaila deBoer, Director of Mental Wellness and Healing |
January 18, 2018 | Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) Suicide Prevention Initiatives | Karla Thorpe, MHCC | Link to Presentation |
February 20, 2018 | Research on Resilience from the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance | John R. Sylliboy | The Alliance aims to conduct research that will inform the development of supports for mental health and resilience, suicide prevention, Two Spirit cultural identity and awareness. The document resulting from this will be used to heighten awareness and increase knowledge sharing among Aboriginal communities, tribal organizations, First Nations education institutions and the public at large. | Link to Presentation | Link to Research Report |
May 15, 2018 | Video Gaming Addictions | Dr. Nick Harris | Link to Presentation |
2017
October 4, 2017 | Aging in Community: Perceptions from Stella’s Circle | Dr. Colleen Hanrahan, Keri Chambers, and Lisa Browne of Stella's Circle | Link to Presentation |
November 21, 2017 | Right Here, Right Now: A Women's Centered, Trauma Informed Drop-In Counselling Initiative | Dr. Catherine de Boer, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and member of the Board of Directors of the St. John’s Status of Women Council | Link to Program Evaluation Report | |
April 18, 2017 | Findings from the All Party Committee on Mental Health in NL | Colleen Simms, Department of Health & Community Services | Link to Presentation |
2016
November 10, 2016 | Bridging the Divide: Nutrition and Mental Health Research Priorities in Canada |
October 24, 2016 | Informing Public Policy Development Through Research; Investigating Who Should be in Charge of Mental Health Services in Prisons | Dr. Colleen Hanrahan | Link to Presentation |
March 19, 2016 | CC4MH initiative—the Community Coalition for Mental Health | Mark Gruchy, Canadian Mental Health Association NL President and Independent Mental Health Columnist | Link to Article: The Independent NL |
March 4, 2016 | The Growing Epidemic of Adolescent Mental Illness: Is It Real? Can It Be Prevented? | Dr. Ian Coleman, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) Mental Health Epidemiology, University of Ottawa |
February 24, 2016 | Think Twice: CMHA Program for Challenging Mental Health Stigma in High Schools | Grant Fitzpatrick, Education Facilitator with Canadian Mental Health Association, NL Division |
2015
October 27, 2015 | Mental Health & Addictions Emergency Services at Eastern Health | Link to Presentation |
May 28, 2015 | Innovating Online with Stepped Care: Towards a More Sustainable Model of Mental Healthcare Delivery | Dr. Peter Cornish, Associate Professor and Director, Memorial University Counselling Centre | The presentation provided an overview of a stepped care model based on an innovative mental health model developed in the UK which promises rapid access for face-to-face intake from mental health services within a primary care setting, followed by a systematic triage and monitoring system. |
May 8, 2015 | NLCHI resources for Mental Health Researchers | Michele Butler and Kerry LeFresne | The presenters provided an overview of data sources available to researchers through the NL Centre for Health Information. |
April 7, 2015 | Navigators and Networks (NAVNET) | Lisa Zigler, MSW RSW, Project Coordinator | Navigators and Networks is an initiative to address system barriers affecting individuals with multiple and complex needs in St. John’s. | http://navnetnl.ca/ | Link to Presentation |
2014
December 3, 2014 | Challenges to Recovery in Early Psychosis: Implications of Recovery Rate and Timing | Dr. Joy Maddigan and Dr. Kellie LeDrew, Eastern Health | Link to Presentation |
October 31, 2014 | Community Treatment Orders | Nicole Snow |
May 15, 2014 | Lessons Learned from a Pilot Project at Central Health: Mental Health in the Workplace | Heather Hynes, Central Health | Link to Presentation |
April 15, 2014 | An Introduction to The Social-Clinical Interface and its Relevance to Stigma and Bias in Mental Health | Sally Payne, Memorial University | Link to Presentation |
March 15, 2014 | Housing and Mental Health | Dr. Chava Finkler | Link to Presentation |
Health and Support Services in NL
| Resource | Information | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| 811 HealthLine |
|
8-1-1 |
| Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Services Systems Navigator |
|
1-709-752-3916 1-877-999-7589 (Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm) |
| Lifewise Warmline - mental health peer support |
|
1-855-753-2560 (10am to 12:00am) |
| Bridge the gapp - mental health and addictions support |
|
|
| Breaking Free Online |
|
1- 833-325-1338 Available 24/7 through Bridge the Gapp |
| Opioid Dependence Treatment (ODT) phone line |
|
1-844-752-3588 (Monday - Friday 8:30am-4:30pm) |
| Recovery Centre |
|
1-709-752-4980 1-877-752-4980 |
| Get naloxone |
|
Call 8-1-1 |