Mental health promotion is an important part of our work. Below are CMHA Kelowna’s key educational workshops and presentations.
Please note that custom options are available and we are happy to work with service providers and workplaces to tailor training to your needs. For more information, you can always send us an email.
In addition to the courses below, CMHA Kelowna often offers courses through Okanagan College’s Continuing Studies department.
Mental Health First Aid
Upcoming MHFA Dates and Online Registration:
- Check our Event Calendar for dates and registration.
- Subscribe to our community e-newsletters if you’d like to be notified when we add a new date.
- Send us an email to book your own course for groups of 10+
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) shares the same overall purposes as traditional first aid – to save lives. This course is appropriate for individuals, workplaces, service providers, and more.
Created by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and delivered by experienced, professional, and engaging facilitators from CMHA Kelowna, MHFA includes:
- Explanations of mental health, mental illness and mental health problems
- Signs and symptoms of common mental health problems and crisis situations
- Information about effective interventions and treatments
- Ways to access professional help
Course fees (includes course materials):
- Individual $200+GST
- Student, volunteer, and group rates may be available. Please contact us for details.
ASIST and safeTALK
Upcoming ASIST and safeTALK Dates and Online Registration:
- Check our Event Calendar for upcoming course dates and registration.
- Subscribe to our community e-newsletters if you’d like to be notified when we add a new date.
- Send us an email to book your own course for groups of 10+
ASIST and SafeTALK are two different suicide prevention training workshops created by LivingWorks and offered through CMHA Kelowna by certified instructors. Read below to learn more about which one is right for you.
safeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Since its development in 2006, safeTALK has been used in over 20 countries around the world. safeTALK-trained helpers are an important part of suicide-safer communities, working alongside intervention resources to identify and avert suicide risks.
Training features:
- Presentations and guidance from a LivingWorks registered trainer
- Access to support from a local community resource person
- Powerful audiovisual learning aids
- The simple yet effective TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe
- Hands-on skills practice and development
- For a full description of the course, including structure, visit the LivingWorks website.
Course fees (includes course materials):
- Individual $50+GST
- Subsidized student, volunteer, non-profit, senior, and group rates may be available. Please contact us for details.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is for everyone 16 or older—regardless of prior experience — who wants to be able to provide suicide first aid. Shown by major studies to significantly reduce suicidality, the ASIST model teaches effective intervention skills while helping to build suicide prevention networks in the community. Developed in 1983 and regularly updated to reflect improvements in knowledge and practice, ASIST is the world’s leading suicide intervention workshop. During the two-day interactive session, participants learn to intervene and help prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Over 1,000,000 people have taken the workshop, and studies have proven that the ASIST method helps reduce suicidal feelings for those at risk.
Workshop features:
- Presentations and guidance from two LivingWorks registered trainers
- A scientifically proven intervention model
- Powerful audiovisual learning aids
- Group discussions
- Skills practice and development
- A balance of challenge and safety
- For a full description of the course, including structure, visit the LivingWorks website.
Course fees (includes course materials):
- Individual $285+GST
- Subsidized student, volunteer, non-profit, senior, and group rates may be available. Please contact us for details.
For the Workplace
Employee Wellness, attendance, engagement, performance, and workplace relationships contribute to a productive and positive culture. We offer employers and employees information, tools, and support to understand the complex nature of creating and maintaining a psychologically safe workplace.
Click here for a list of Workplace Presentations offered by CMHA Kelowna.
Click here for our Lunch and Learn menu.
For a limited time, schedule 3 Lunch and Learns and save money! Email CMHA Kelowna for more information.
For free resources, articles, and exclusive deals, make sure to subscribe to our monthly Workplace E-Newsletter.
Additional resources for workplaces have been compiled as part of our Mental Health Voices Awards Breakfast event and can be found by clicking here.
For Sports Groups
Mental health awareness in the world of sport is gaining traction. Recent NHL suicides, along with stories from sports celebrities such as Canadian Clara Hughes and American Amanda Beard demonstrate the importance of discussing these issues. In one study, 17% of athletes had either generalized anxiety or an eating disorder. The need is great for coaches, parents and athletes to be familiar with mental wellness in sport. CMHA’s Mental Core program offers:
- Presentations for coaches and parents
- Help navigate the mental health system
- Events and forums for education about mental health
- Literature resource from articles, websites and reading recommendations
CMHA Kelowna is also proud to be part of the province-wide #TalkToday initiative.
Additional resources:
Please contact us for more information.
Living Life to the Full
Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) is based on the 5 Areas of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) model, developed by Dr. Chris Williams, an expert and trainer in CBT and a Professor of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. LLTTF will help you understand your feelings and what to do about them!
This course helps people to make a difference to their lives. Each session is expertly moderated and includes a booklet. Participants are taught how to deal with their feelings when fed up, worried, or hopeless, and learn skills that help them tackle life’s problems.
For more information…
Please visit www.llttf.ca. CMHA Kelowna often offers LLTTF courses through Okanagan College’s Continuing Studies department but you can also contact us if you would like to book a course for a group of people.