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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Mental Health Groups

Student Mental Health Services offers a range of groups and workshops to support your mental health. If you would like to participate in one or more groups, please click the respective button and complete the interest form. Each group will only run if sufficient interest is demonstrated.

 

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills group

The Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) informed skills group can provide support in the areas of emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and mindfulness. This group is a collaboration between Ontario Tech University and the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and will last up to 24 weeks. Sessions will be conducted virtually. If you are interested in joining the DBT skills group please email studentlifeline@ontariotechu.ca.

Depression Support Group

Are you feeling sad? Isolated? Unmotivated? Very tired?  Hopeless? Do you experience extended periods of low moods or feeling blue? You are not alone.  Join the Depression Support Group to connect with other struggling students and learn coping strategies to help improve your mood and quality of life. This group will run in-person on the north campus. 
Registrants are expected to attend all sessions.

Check back for details about our next session.

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

Postponed until winter semester.

Would you like to improve your sense of well-being by learning how to be more present, kinder to yourself and more at peace with the challenges life throws your way?  In this safe and welcoming group, we will guide you through eight sessions of learning and practice in mindfulness and self-compassion. This group will run in-person on the north campus.

Recovery College

Ontario Tech is partnering with the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences to bring their Recovery College model of student-driven mental health support to Ontario Tech students. Recovery College courses provide education about mental illnesses, treatment options, wellness and ultimately discovering or rediscovering passions, hope and meaning. The Recovery College can support you in addition to professional therapeutic support by helping you understand your unique challenges and learn how to manage them better in order to pursue your goals. Groups are led by others with lived experience of being a student with mental health challenges and are blended with the expertise of mental health practitioners to help participants develop meaningful and practical goals for recovery. The focus is on hope, empowerment, possibility and connection.

Check back for details about our next session.

Recovery College courses

  • Wellness through Words: Book Club

    Are you tired of reading scholarly articles, research proposals, and 1000 page reports? Well, you are in the right place! Our Book Club is a fun and creative space that allows students to read intriguing books that were carefully curated by Ontario Tech students. Through activities and discussions, we will revitalize our interest in reading for pleasure. We will talk about how reading impacts our lives and what it means to us. 

    In this group, we will engage with two books: The Trauma of Everyday Life by Mark Epstein and We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.  In eight weekly sessions, we will connect with peers by exploring the books’ themes, our relationships with reading, and the manner in which reading can help us to achieve our wellness goals. There is no pressure to read the books - you can still attend, and you will be able to engage in the discussions without a problem.

    We will discuss: 

    • How to practice mindful reading.
    • How to engage in reading without judgment.
    • How we relate to the media and how it can affect our mental health.
    • When discussing the book, The Trauma of Everyday Life, we will explore topics such as shared humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and finding an authentic way to relate to others.
    • When discussing the book, We Are Okay, we will explore themes of grief, loss, sadness, change, healing, and finding a sense of belonging. 
  • You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Supporting Yourself & Others

    It can feel overwhelming understanding all of the resources and supports offered at university.  It’s hard to know where to go for help, how to offer help, and how to work through distress. This course will discuss all of these topics.  We will help you know what to do to support your peers when they are exhibiting signs of distress. This will be a five-week course that includes conversations about how to support ourselves, how to set healthy boundaries, and how to support others. 

    We will discuss:

    • How to recognize warning signs of distress in yourself and others.
    • Real situations, including steps to help others.
    • How to give, receive, and ask for help.
    • Barriers to accepting help, and how to move through them.
    • How to be empathetic versus sympathetic. 
    • How to promote open and safe discussions.
    • How tone and phrasing is important when offering help and asking for help.
    • Healthy boundaries, and how they can change over time.
  • Let’s Act On It: Managing Stress

    Keeping up with school, managing high expectations, navigating relationships, and facing the future are challenges we all deal with as students. These demands can cause us to feel stressed, but we are not powerless against them.  In this seven-week course, we will dive into some practical tips and tricks to manage life’s stressors. The first half of this course will include learning and discussions and the second half of the course will include activities to put your learning into practice. 

    We will discuss:

    • How to identify stress.
    • Understanding how stress differs from eustress.
    • Positive self-talk rather versus negative self-critiquing.
    • Practical strategies for overcoming negative self-talk.
    • Self-compassion practices. 
    • Grounding techniques, coping strategies and self-soothing strategies. 
    • How self-care can be fun.
    • Wellness through cooking (we will cook together through Google Meet).
    • The power of self-expression through art, vision boards, journalling, and goal setting.
  • Working to Wellness

    Life as a university student can be challenging. From class presentations to midterms to juggling expectations from work, peers and family, there can be a lot of pressure on students. In seven weekly sessions, including a structured curriculum and guided discussions, we will learn to manage the discomfort together. 

    We will discuss:

    • How to identify worry.
    • What living with mental health challenges looks like.
    • How mental health challenges can look different for different people.
    • Stigma related to mental health challenges.
    • Practical tips for managing anxiety.
    • How to unwind from stress and practice self-care.
    • Mindfulness practices.
    • Self-compassion. 
    • How to navigate wellness resources.
    • Creating your own wellness toolkit.
    • How to integrate the learnings into your life.