CANADA
A new initiative by CMHA Ontario and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) offers a number of free resources for direct service providers working with children and youth with complex mental health needs.
Working with Children and Youth with Complex Mental Health Needs: An Integrated Training Project is part of the MCYS Moving on Mental Health plan to strengthen the mental health system. The project aims to help direct service providers enhance skills in key areas including: Targeted Prevention, Brief Services, Family/Caregiver Skills Building and Support, and supporting the capacity to practice within a health equity lens.
“The child and youth sector is well known for its commitment to improving the lives of Ontario’s children, youth and families, and its dedication to evidence-informed practice and efforts to build the resilience of children, youth and their families,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario. “CMHA Ontario looks forward to helping advance these efforts within the sector and in your participation in the upcoming trainings.”
The project website, now available at www.complexneeds.ca offers a number of free training resources for frontline workers, including:
Training Inventory: A live directory of existing training opportunities across Canada available to child and youth mental health professionals seeking to gain more knowledge or capacity in their work.
9-Part Webinar Series: Offered between October 2014 and February 2015, webinars will focus on systemic and social interactions that impact the mental health of children and youth. The webinars will cover topics such as the social determinants of health, child protection laws and the intersections between child and youth mental health and the criminal justice system.
Online Course: This self-paced e-learning course is targeted to direct service workers who provide counseling and social support in community-based settings to children and youth with complex mental health needs.
4 Trauma-Informed Care Workshops: These two-day, in-person training sessions focus on trauma-informed frameworks and strategies for working with children and youth with complex mental health issues. These workshops will take place in Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Toronto and London.
Renée Ferguson, project manager for Working with Children and Youth with Complex Mental Health Needs, was recently interviewed by Ed Hand on the morning show Talk to the Hand at 1310 News in Ottawa. They discussed some of the systemic challenges facing children, youth and their families in the current mental health system and about this project, its purpose and the resources it offers to service providers who work with children who have complex mental health needs. The complete interview is available on the project website.
For more information, including details of the trainings and dates, and how to participate, please visit the project website http://www.complexneeds.ca/
