The Working Mind

The Working Mind (TWM) is an evidence-based program developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and is 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

Several TWM courses are available:

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

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The Working Mind Employee

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:

  • Mental health and mental illness in the workplace
  • Stigma and discrimination in the workplace
  • The Mental Health Continuum Model
  • Self-care
  • Creating a supportive workplace
  • Practical application

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The Working Mind Manager

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:

  • Mental health and mental illness in the workplace
  • Stigma and discrimination in the workplace
  • The Mental Health Continuum Model
  • Self-care
  • What can you do?
  • Special considerations
  • Workplace accommodations
  • Practical application

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The Working Mind First Responders

The Working Mind First Responders (TWMFR), is an education-based program designed to address and promote mental health and reduce the stigma of mental illness in a first-responder setting. This training program is aimed to: 

  • Improve short-term performance and long-term mental health outcomes
  • Reduce barriers to care and encourage early access to care
  • Provide the tools and resources required to manage and support employees who may be experiencing a mental illness
  • Assist supervisors in maintaining their own mental health as well as promoting positive mental health in their employees

Participants are provided with valuable information, skills, tools and resources specific to: 

  • Stigma and barriers to care
  • Health coping strategies
  • Mental toughness
  • The Mental Health Continuum Model, a self-assessment tool with indicators of positive, poor, and declining mental health 
  • To enable continuous learning, booster sessions are also available (1-2hrs in length, focusing on one of the topics from the full course, and facilitated by a certified instructor. Booster sessions are intended only for participants who have taken the initial full course

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Click to learn about our Rural First Responder Program

Page updated: July 6, 2022