2018 Conference | Bold Ideas

November 21 & 22, 2018

CICMH 2018 Conference

The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health’s Annual Conference is the meeting place for stakeholders in post-secondary mental health across Ontario and Canada. This annual event attracts over 200 participants, 20 exhibitors, and leaders in mental health from across the country. It offers over a dozen workshops featuring the best, promising and emerging practices in the sector. Click here for an overview of last year’s conference.

This year’s theme, Bold Ideas, will focus on innovative designs and solutions to the challenges in addressing mental health needs on campus. We have reached a point where a paradigm shift in thinking is needed to match the rising tide.

A Special Thank-You to our Sponsors!

Bold Ideas in Campus Mental Health

Campuses are the sites of a wide range of mental health challenges, from relatively minor symptoms up to anorexia and bipolar disorder. A mentally healthy campus would be characterized by students talking openly about their problems. At such a campus, everyone in the institution takes ownership of student success. Student affairs administrators, faculty, resident directors, and counsellors are often on the front lines with distressed students, and they – along with many other campus constituencies – are searching for ways to best serve students’ individual needs and those of the student body as a whole.

To facilitate this discussion, we look at five streams.

Substance use and addictions

Presentations in this stream will focus on the use of drugs, alcohol and other addictions (gambling, gaming) on campus. Example topics might include the changing cannabis landscape, as well as other critical issues such as binge drinking on campuses and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Mental health strategies

The creation of successful campus mental health strategies can occur only through informed policies, targeted mental health promotions, and integrated care for students struggling with mental health challenges. Presentations in this stream will focus on the development, implementation and evaluation of campus mental health strategies.

Mental health programming

Presentations in this stream will highlight any innovative mental health programs on campus or off-campus for post-secondary students. Examples might include health promotion programs, peer supports and resilience-based programs.

Equity

Institutional leadership and campus models for diversity and equity that simultaneously advance underserved students’ educational access and success and promote the flourishing of institutions have a big impact on mental health. Presentations in this stream will address barriers based in discrimination and propose new opportunities related to demographic change, as well as sharing practices and programs that pursue established ideals about equity.

Evidence-based interventions

Evidence-based interventions are practices or programs that have peer-reviewed, documented empirical evidence of effectiveness. These presentations will focus on therapies and interventions (clinical or otherwise) that are efficacious. Examples might include research findings from campus programs that incorporate dialectical behaviour therapy, mindfulness based cognitive therapy and emotion focused therapy.