Mental Health and Wellness

This project is now complete.

Mental health and self-care are essential to teaching and learning, and we all have a role to play in supporting our own and each other’s mental health. To ensure student mental health and wellness are supported in the learning environment, we have developed accessible resources to help build foundational knowledge, start conversations, find necessary support, and promote mental health literacy.

Funded by the B.C. Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and collaboratively developed by B.C. post-secondary faculty, staff, and students, the open educational resources (OER) we offer adhere to accessible, adaptable, culturally located, evidence-informed, inclusive, and trauma-informed principles. 

Warning: This section may contain language, images, or content you may find disturbing; the subject matter is highly sensitive and can be triggering to those who have experienced trauma.

Indigenous Elders Supporting Mental Health and Wellness

Nanihtsulyaz ‘int’en (Do things gently) ʔes zuminstwáx kt (We take care of one another)

This illustrated booklet shows the holistic ways that Indigenous Elders support student mental health and wellness in the B.C. post-secondary system. It includes quotes from Elders and reflection questions to help readers think about the many ways that Elders’ presence, knowledge, and wisdom enrich the learning environment.

Synchronous Training Resources for Post-Secondary Students

Starting a Conversation about Mental Health: Foundational Training for Students – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Students

This adaptable resource covers foundational mental health and wellness information for post-secondary students and ways to respond to peers who are experiencing distress. It can be used for a two-to-three-hour synchronous training session or for self-study. It includes a facilitator’s guide, slides, and handouts.

Starting a Conversation About Suicide: Foundational Training for Students – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Students

This adaptable resource offers sensitive, respectful, and detailed training on suicide awareness and response. It can be used for a two- to three-hour synchronous session, and it can be offered by counsellors and other trained staff to post-secondary students interested in creating safe and supportive environments on their campuses. It includes a facilitator’s guide, slides, and handouts.

Synchronous Training Resources for Post-Secondary Faculty and Staff

Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Wellness – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Faculty and Staff

This adaptable training resource covers foundational mental health and wellness knowledge for post-secondary faculty and staff and ways to support students in distress. It can be used for two-hour online or in-person training or for self-study. It includes a facilitator’s guide, slides, and handouts.

Let’s Talk About Suicide: Raising Awareness and Supporting Students – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Faculty and Staff

This adaptable resource offers sensitive, respectful, and detailed training on suicide awareness and response. It can be used for two-hour synchronous training, and it can be offered by counsellors and other trained staff to post-secondary students interested in creating safe and supportive environments on their campuses. It includes a facilitator’s guide, slides, and handouts.

Asynchronous Training Resource for Post-Secondary Students

Starting a Conversation About Mental Health: Foundational Training (for Students) Course and Implementation Guide

Starting a Conversation About Mental Health is a 60-minute online, self-paced course that provides foundational mental health and wellness information for post-secondary students and covers ways students can support their peers who are in distress.

Asynchronous Training Resource for Post-Secondary Faculty and Staff

Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Wellness (for Faculty and Staff) Course and Implementation Guide

Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health is a 60-minute online, self-paced course that provides foundational mental health and wellness information and ways faculty and staff can support students who are in distress.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material includes supplementary and ancillary open education resources.

Supplementary Training Videos

The short videos listed here are embedded in the asynchronous foundational mental health and wellness training resources and can be used by facilitators to supplement the synchronous training resources “Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Wellness – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Faculty and Staff” and “Starting a Conversation About Mental Health: Foundational Training for Students – Facilitator’s Guide for Use with Students.”

Video: Capacity to Connect Welcome

Video: Capacity to Connect Closing

Video: Starting a Conversation Welcome

Video: Starting a Conversation Closing

Video: The Wellness Wheel

Video: Traditional Healing Practices

Video: Self-Care

Video: Taking Charge of Your Health

Video: Personal Use of Mental Health Terms

Project Ancillary Open Education Resources

Framework for Evaluating Mental Health and Wellness Education and Training Resources

The purpose of this toolkit is to assist B.C. post-secondary institutions with evaluating and selecting resources to support their ongoing planning and delivery of education and training on mental health and wellness.

Click here to get the resource

Mental Health Collaborative Project Environmental Scan: Student Resilience and Coping Training Workshops

An environmental scan was commissioned by the Collaborative Projects team at BCcampus to inform a larger project that aims to develop an open access educational resource, which will help post-secondary students across British Columbia build resilience and coping skills.

Click here to get the resource

Mental Health Collaborative Project Environmental Scan: Staff and Faculty Training

Click here to get the resource

Final Report: Evaluation of Resources for Mental Health and Wellness Training in the Post-Secondary Context

This report highlights the research approach undertaken to gather and evaluate mental health and wellness resources at public post-secondary institutions in B.C., select universities outside of B.C., and community organizations that provide mental health and wellness programming. It presents the evaluation team’s findings, including identified gaps in training and education, and considerations for future work and development.

Click here to get the resource

Asynchronous Training Storyboards

Capacity to Connect: Supporting Student’s Mental Health and Wellness

(Faculty and Staff)

This is the storyboard used to develop the asynchronous foundational mental health and wellness course, Capacity to Connect: Supporting Student’s Mental Health and Wellness, for faculty and staff.

Starting a Conversation about Mental Health

(Students)

This is the storyboard used to develop the asynchronous foundational mental health and wellness course, Starting a Conversation about Mental Health, for students.