The Working Mind

The Working Mind (TWM) is an evidence-based program designed to promote mental health and reduce the stigma around mental illness in the workplace.

By reducing stigma and discrimination, TWM helps organizations create a culture that fosters greater awareness and support for mental health among employees, managers, and employers.

TWM objectives

• Reduce the stigma around mental illness
• Promote your organization’s mental health
• Transform the way participants think and talk about mental health and mental illness
• Help participants identify poor mental health in themselves and others
• Give participants the coping skills to manage stress and poor mental health
• Review mental health rights and responsibilities
• Create a more supportive work environment

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Three TWM courses are available:

1. Employee (4 hours)
2. Manager (8 hours)
3. Train the Trainer (5 days)

Each TWM course offers easily applied scenario-based lessons, videos that feature people with lived experience of mental illness, reference guides, and practical handouts.

1. Employee (4 hours): 

TWM for employees offers practical knowledge to increase participants’ overall comfort level with mental illness. On completing the course, employees will be able to:

• understand mental health and mental illness
• recognize its signs and indicators, in themselves and others
• reduce stigma and negative attitudes toward people with mental health problems
• support colleagues with mental health problems
• maintain their own mental health and improve their resilience.

Modules:

1. Mental health and mental illness in the workplace
2. Stigma and discrimination in the workplace
3. The Mental Health Continuum Model
4. Self-care
5. Creating a supportive workplace
6. Practical application

2. Manager (8 hours)

Managers, supervisors, and team leads have a special role in any organization. Building on TWM for employees, the TWM managers course gives participants the practical knowledge they need to:

• support their employees’ mental health and well-being
• enable all employees to be more fully productive
• ensure the workplace climate respects and involves all employees, including those with mental health problems
• encourage employees to seek help for mental health problems.

Modules:

1. Mental health and mental illness in the workplace
2. Stigma and discrimination in the workplace
3. The Mental Health Continuum Model
4. Self-care
5. What can you do?
6. Special considerations
7. Workplace accommodations
8. Practical application

3. Trainer the Trainer (5 days)
TWM Train the Trainer gives participants the knowledge, skills, and certification to facilitate TWM employee and manager courses. It is designed for organizations looking to deliver meaningful and cost-effective in-house mental health training to their staff.
Why have a trainer in your organization?

• It’s cost-effective.
• It helps demonstrate a meaningful commitment to supporting mental health in the workplace.
• It’s efficient: with in-house trainers, courses can be rolled out when it suits your organization.
• Trainers are informed about the local resources available to your employees.

Modules:

• Day 1 — TWM Employee and Manager run-throughs
• Day 2 — Background information around key concepts
• Day 3 — Adult education in mental health training
• Day 4 — Review and quiz
• Day 5 — Facilitator assessment

Upcoming Courses

To view upcoming courses, please click here. If you do not see a course that fits your needs, please contact us at theworkingmind@mentalhealthcommission.ca to discuss other options.

Contact

To learn more about The Working Mind and to ask about course options for your organization, please email: theworkingmind@mentalhealthcommission.ca

Research

Implementation, Uptake, and Culture Change: Results of a Key Informant Study of a Workplace Mental Health Training Program in Police Organizations in Canada

Mental Health Literacy A Review Of The Applications And Effectiveness In The Higher Education Workplace

Opening Minds in the Workplace: Interim Results of a Mental Health Promotion and Anti-stigma Intervention - The Working Mind

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Special Edition

The Road to Mental Readiness for First Responders: A Meta-Analysis of Program Outcomes

The Working Mind: A Meta-Analysis of a Workplace Mental Health and Stigma Reduction Program

Workplace Antistigma Programs at the Mental Health Commission of Canada: Part 1. Processes and Projects

Workplace Antistigma Programs at the Mental Health Commission of Canada: Part 2. Lessons Learned