Education and Awareness

Find education & awareness services & information

The following information and services are related to education and awareness about mental health and substance use. All organizations involved in providing services and resources for mental health and substance use play an integral role in helping us better understand these issues and their treatments. Most service providers have an education or awareness component to their programs; please visit any service provider’s website for additional information.  

Aboriginal

  • Cultural Humility, Creating a Climate for Change (First Nations Health Authority): Provides information on cultural humility, offers definitions of key concepts, offers testimony from clients about racism in the health system, and provides a high level overview of the Declaration of Commitment to Cultural Safety and Humility.

Abuse

Alcohol

  • Alcohol Reality Check (Centre for Addictions Research of BC): An online screening test to help people understand if their drinking is putting them at risk of harm.
  • Alcohol Sense (HealthyFamilies BC, Ministry of Health): Offers resources to understand blood alcohol, low–risk alcohol drinking guidelines, quizzes, and ideas for how parents and adult influencers can talk to kids about alcohol.
  • Dry Grad Guidebook (Healthy Schools BC): Outlines dry grad planning from start to finish, incorporating ideas and suggestions for success from previous dry grad organizers, and information on specific B.C. legislation relevant to dry grad planning.
  • Mothers Against Drunk Driving School Programs: Offers programs that communicate directly with young people on their level and in their language, and encourages them to take a closer look at their values and perceptions.

Anxiety (includes Stress and Resilience)

  • AnxietyBC: Offers educational videos on YouTube, information exchange on Facebook, and the AnxietyBC Blog.
  • BounceBack® for Adults (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): Teaches adults effective skills to overcome  early symptoms of mild to moderate depression, low mood, or stress, with or without anxiety.
  • Coping with Anxiety During Pregnancy and Following Birth (BC Mental Health & Addiction Services): A cognitive behaviour therapy-based resource and self-management guide for women and health care providers.
  • Fun FRIENDS - Kindergarten and Grade 1 (Ministry of Children and Family Development): A 12-week play-based curriculum that introduces young children to ideas about feelings, how to face fears, relax, solve problems, and set goals.
  • FRIENDS for Life- Grade 4 and 5 (Ministry of Children and Family Development): Provides children with hands-on experience exploring feelings, communication, relaxation, self-talk, problem solving, goal setting and being a good friend.
  • FRIENDS for Youth - Grade 6 and 7 (Ministry of Children and Family Development): Focuses on self-awareness, communication skills, conflict resolution and character development through individual, small and large group activities.
  • FRIENDS for Life Parent Program (Ministry of Children and Family Development): Provides information and support to parents who have children in the FRIENDS program in school, and resources on how to encourage children to practice FRIENDS skills at home.
  • Living Life to the Full (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): A fun, interactive course that will leave you with the inspiration and tools to get the most out of life! An 8-week community-based course provides simple, practical skills for coping with stress, problem solving, boosting your mood, and busting bad thoughts.
  • Self-care Program for Women with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety (Provincial Reproductive Mental Health Program, BC Children and Women’s Health Centre and St. Paul’s Hospital): A patient guide (manual) targeted for women who are having emotional difficulties in the postpartum period.

Body Image and Eating Disorders

  • Healthy Attitudes, Healthy Weights, Healthy Schools (BC Dairy Association): Provides a free, interactive workshop with a Registered Dietitian for teachers and support staff. Workshop covers attitudes related to weight, determinants of body shape and size, and strategies to help promote positive body image at school.
  • Eating Disorder Prevention Toolkit (Jessie’s Legacy): Provides online eating disorder prevention education, resources and support for youth, families, educators and professionals across British Columbia.

Borderline Personality Disorder

  • Stigma Free Zone (formerly the Bipolar Disorder Society of BC): Offers classroom and community presentations on awareness, understanding and acceptance of mental health conditions;  and a Stigma Free Speakers Training Workshop.

Depression

  • Antidepressant Skills Workbook (ASW) (Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction): Gives an overview of depression, explains how it can be effectively managed according to the best available research, and gives a step-by-step guide to changing patterns that trigger depression.
  • Antidepressant Skills at Work – Dealing with Mood Problems in the Workplace (BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, Provincial Health Services Agency): Focuses on way to deal with workplace problems so they are less likely to cause depressed mood or lead to depression, and to reduce the effects of depression and depressed mood on work satisfaction and performance.
  • BounceBack® for Adults (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): Teaches adults effective skills to overcome early symptoms of mild to moderate depression, low mood, or stress, with or without anxiety.
  • Confident Parents: Thriving Kids (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): A family-focused phone-based coaching service effective in reducing mild to moderate behavioural problems and promoting healthy child development in children ages 3-12 years old.
  • Dealing with Depression: Antidepressant Skills for Teens (Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction, Simon Fraser University): A workbook for teens that explains depression and teaches three main antidepressant skills to help overcome or prevent it. The skills are presented in a step-by-step way so that individuals may learn them easily and apply them to their life.
  • Managing Depression (HeretoHelp): A series of three toolkits that take individuals through the process of diagnosis, working with a health professional and preventing relapse. Toolkits include tips and self-management strategies as well as tools and activities to better understand and manage depression.
  • Postpartum Training & Talks (Pacific Post Partum Support Society): Provides opportunities for partner and couple information sessions, community based mom and baby talks, and various interactive workshops.
  • Self-care Program for Women with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety (Provincial Reproductive Mental Health Program, BC Children and Women’s Health Centre and St. Paul’s Hospital): A manual targeted for women who are having emotional difficulties in the postpartum period.

Gaming and Gambling

  • BC Responsible & Problem Gambling Program: Offers free education and prevention services to raise awareness about problem gambling. Programs include education for students in grades 5 to 12, information sessions for adults and post- secondary students, and training for community professionals.
  • Gam_iQ Online Gambling Education Activity (BC Responsible & Problem Gambling Program): An online quiz and discussion questions to raise awareness of gambling facts and myths. 
  • Helping Schools (Centre for Addictions Research of BC): Provides a number of iMind instructions, videos, tools and support materials for teachers to use at all grade levels to help students develop drug and gambling literacy.

 LGBT2Q+

  • Call Out! (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority): A capacity building and wellness initiative that seeks to create more welcoming and inclusive communities for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Two-Spirit & Queer youth across B.C. by strengthening their existing support networks.
  • Pride Education Network Resources (Pride Education Network): Offers a number of resources for educators to make the B.C. school system more welcoming and equitable for LGBTQ students and staff, and queer families.
  • Pridespeaks (QMUNITY): Interactive workshops for and by youth to provide accurate, non-judgmental information about sexual orientation, gender identity, and stopping bullying.
  • PRISM Services (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority): Provides a number of workshops and training opportunities for service providers, community members, students and service users on inclusion, diversity and promoting health and wellness for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gendered, queer and Two Spirit communities.
  • Queersmart Competency Training (QMUNITY): Experiential workshops to help service providers understand diversity and make their services and agency more inclusive for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit clients and staff.

Mindfulness

  • Crisis Centre (The Crisis Intervention and Prevention Centre of BC): Provides a half-day, practice-based introductory session for service providers and community members to explore what mindfulness is and how it can help us manage our lives.

Mental Health (General)

  • Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) (Canadian Electroconvulsive Therapy Survey): Provides a 20-minute video guide for patients and families about  ECT, how it's done, the benefits and risks associated with the treatment, and what a patient can expect if they choose to undergo this type of treatment.  Available in Cantonese, English, French and Punjabi.
  • Family Toolkit (HeretoHelp): Designed to assist families in caring for a family member with a mental illness by providing information and practical resources.
  • Guarding Minds @ Work (Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction): Offers a set of comprehensive resources designed to protect and promote psychological health and safety in the workplace.
  • HeretoHelp: A website which features thousands of Personal Stories and Self-Help Resources for a number of audiences including people concerned for themselves or for a loved one. Many resources are in a toolkit, workbook or info sheet format making them easy to incorporate into education and awareness activities.
  • ’in the know’ (FamilySmart™): A monthly webinar that explores topics related to child and youth mental health and substance use challenges.
  • Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia – Education Videos:  A series of original videos on YouTube featuring experienced professionals and people with lived experience from B.C. communities who provide invaluable insight into variety of issues surrounding mental health.
  • Pinwheel Education Series (Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre): A group of free, all-inclusive education events open to anyone in British Columbia. The aim is to provide learning opportunities for the public on key mental health and substance use topics, and host a forum where people can engage in dialogue with experts and persons with lived experience.
  • Psychoeducational Courses (Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia): Structured courses where participants are encouraged and supported to acquire the most effective tools and techniques to cope with the mental health challenges they are facing. Fees may apply.
  • Speakers Bureau (Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia): A public awareness program connecting speakers living with mental health issues with audiences. Our speakers offer dynamic, authentic, and sometimes humourous presentations that dispel stigma, promote empathy, and confront discrimination.

Psychosis

  • Dealing with Psychosis Toolkit (DWP) (Early Psychosis Intervention, Fraser Health Authority): Provides information and ideas on how to manage many of the common concerns and decisions individuals with psychosis experience.
  • ReachOut Psychosis (HeretoHelp, and BC Schizophrenia Society): An award-winning show that mixes music and brain science to educate young people and their teachers about psychosis.

Post-Secondary

  • Healthy Minds Healthy Campuses (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): Supports educational campuses in the development of networks, activities and policies to promote mental health and healthier relationships with alcohol and other drugs among post-secondary students.

  • Here2Talk connects students with mental health support when they need it. Through this program, all students currently registered in a B.C. post-secondary institution have access to free, confidential counselling and community referral services, conveniently available 24/7 via app, phone and web.

Schizophrenia

  • BC Schizophrenia Society: Offers family information sessions and support for family members supporting someone with a mental illness.

Social Skills

  • Confident Parents: Thriving Kids (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): A family-focused phone-based coaching service effective in reducing mild to moderate behavioural problems and promoting healthy child development in children ages 3-12 years old.

Substance Use

  • Drugs and Driving (Centre for Addictions Research of BC): Promotes awareness about the impact of alcohol and other drugs on driving and engages young people in creating healthy communities. The program provides a website with interactive learning activities, a learning resource to support classroom activities in Planning 10, and a guide to support complementary activities in the community.
  • The Coping Kit (From Grief to Action): Written by family members for family members, the Coping Kit provides an overview of a wide range of information and resources that are relevant to the different stages of substance use and addiction.
  • Helping Schools (Centre for Addictions Research of BC): Provides a number of iMind instructions, videos, tools and support materials for teachers to use at all grade levels to help students develop drug and gambling literacy.
  • Pinwheel Education Series (Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre): A group of free, all-inclusive education events open to anyone in British Columbia. The aim is to provide learning opportunities for the public on key mental health and substance use topics, and host a forum where people can engage in dialogue with experts and persons with lived experience.
  • Substance Use, Parenting Articles (HealthLink BC, Ministry of Health): Provide advice on how you can begin and continue having conversations about drug use with your child, teenager, or even your adult children.
  • Toward the Heart – Naloxone: Resources including videos, postcards, posters, and brochures providing information on the use of and administration of naloxone in response to opioid overdose. 
  • Xperiment.ca (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse): Provides factual information on drugs and their related physical and social effects to help teens and young adults make informed decisions about substance use.  

Suicide

  • Crisis Centre (The Crisis Intervention and Prevention Centre of BC): Provides a number of suicide prevention training workshops including ASIST, safeTALK, ASIST Tune-Up, suicide to Hope, and suicideTalk.
  • Suicide Prevention Training (Canadian Mental Health Association – British Columbia Division): Prepares key members of every community with skills to help people who are at risk of suicide. The training curriculum increases knowledge, skill and willingness to intervene, as well as helping reduce the risk of suicide. Training may include safeTALK and ASIST.
  • Suicide Education & Awareness (Need2): Designed to present suicide awareness, prevention and education programming to students (Grade 8 – 12) and staff throughout the Greater Victoria school system.

Violence (and Abuse)

  • Anti-Bullying in Action Student and Teacher Workshops (Imperative Education): Offers opportunities for students and teachers to practice compassion, self-reflection, and social awareness to stay positive, focused, and connected to their classmates and the school community.
  • Children Who Witness Abuse/ Children and Youth for Domestic Peace (Options Community Services): Provides psychoeducational groups for children and youth ages 3 to 18 years old who have been exposed to domestic violence.
  • Safeteen: Workshops for students of all ages teaches skills for choosing healthy relationships, bullying and harassment prevention strategies and skills to de-escalate verbal, physical and emotional violence.