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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.

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

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 online group, we will guide you through ten sessions of learning and practice in mindfulness and self-compassion. This group will run again in September. Check back for information about how to register.

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.

 

Recovery College courses

  • Co-design Course

    This course is currently full. We will be offering it again in January 2023. 

    You are an expert in your own experience. If you are interested in informing mental health programming at your school, this is the course for you! You and your peers will come together to brainstorm ideas for courses to be offered in the Recovery College. You will collectively design and develop the course offerings for the next semester in the Recovery College. You will decide what the course topics are, how to engage with these topics, and the names of the courses. As students, you and your peers know your needs better than anyone else. We can’t wait to learn and create alongside you!

    We will discuss:

    • As a member of a team, designing relevant and impactful mental health and wellness courses.
    • Fostering creativity in creating new and innovative courses that meet the needs of post secondary students.
    • Leveraging your experiences navigating wellness as a post-secondary student as a source of strength and value.
    • The personal recovery movement, co-design and the Recovery College philosophy.

    An honorarium is provided to participants of this course. Eight spots are available and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. 

  • Book Club: Wellness through Words

    Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. between May 26 and July 14. 

    Many students have difficulty reading for pleasure because we are expected to do so much reading for school. In this course, through activities and discussion, we will revitalize our interest in reading for pleasure. We will have discussions on how reading impacts our life and what it means to us. We will engage with two books: The Yin and Yang of Self-Compassion: Cultivating Kindness and Strength in the Face of Difficulty by Kristen Neff and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.  We will connect with peers by engaging together with the books’ themes, our relationship with reading and the manner in which reading can help us to achieve our wellness goals.

    We will discuss:

    • How to engage in mindful reading.
    • How to engage in reading without judgement.
    • How we relate to media and how it can affect our mental health.
    • When discussing the book The Midnight Library, we will explore themes surrounding the choices that go into a life well lived and finding personal fulfilment.
    • When discussing the book The Yin and Yang of Self-Compassion: Cultivating Kindness and Strength in the Face of Difficulty, we will explore how the active and receptive sides to self compassion, compassionate resiliency and how to support ourselves and others when it matters the most.

    Register for a Recovery College Course

  • Let’s Talk About It: Managing Wellness

    Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. between June 29 and July 27.

    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 course, we will dive into some curriculum on practical tips and tricks that will equip us to identify and respond to life’s stressors. This course will involve guided discussions and activities where you and your peers can connect in a safe space to work through stressful situations and uncomfortable feelings. We will validate each other, learn from one another and foster meaningful connections.

    This course has been updated based on feedback from your peers to be increasingly relevant to the current experiences of students. We welcome both those who have taken this course before and newcomers alike!

    We will discuss:

    • How to apply practical strategies for self-care.
    • How to find balance and harmony amongst all aspects of our lives.
    • How to identify and manage personal stressors.
    • How to manage, cope with and address feelings of stress.
    • The different aspects of mindfulness and how to apply them to your life.

    Register for a Recovery College Course

  • We to Wellness 2.0: Tackling Worry

    Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. between June 28 and August 2.

    Are you feeling worried, nervous or uneasy? Are these emotions leaving you overwhelmed, tired or drained? Life as a university student can be challenging as it is a time of many changes and uncertainty. From class presentations and midterms to juggling expectations from work, peers and family, there can be a lot of pressure. In six weekly sessions involving a structured curriculum and guided discussions, we will learn to confront the discomfort together.

    This course has been updated based on feedback from your peers to be increasingly relevant to the current experiences of students. We welcome both those who have taken this course before and newcomers alike!

    We will discuss:

    • How to access and navigate mental health services on- and off-campus.
    • How to connect with others during the pandemic.
    • How to develop your own wellness plan.
    • Maintaining boundaries and expectations.
    • Practical tips and strategies to help manage anxiety.
    • Strategies to help cope with uncertainty of the pandemic.
    • Talking about anxiety and how to overcome the stigma surrounding it.
    • What anxiety is and how it affects the body and daily life.

    Register for a Recovery College Course