Irish in BC: Mental Health Skill-building Program 2021

Due to the success of our previous wellness series that we held at the start of December, we are delighted again to host and invite you to join us at the end of January for another series with Dr. Mark Lau from the Vancouver CBT Centre.

Two sessions will be taking place (attendance of both sessions is advised):

• Thursday January 28th 7-9pm
• Thursday February 4th 7-8pm

Most of us are feeling exhausted from a difficult and stressful year and it is important to spend some time taking care of ourselves. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of self-therapy that teaches us skills and strategies to manage our thoughts and feelings. These sessions will focus on ways to protect your mental health and increase awareness for yourself and those around you.

Self awareness is a powerful tool in protecting our mental health and CBT will assist in developing strategies for times our mental health may be lower. Dr. Mark Lau is an acknowledged expert of CBT in Vancouver and will be taking us through some of the key elements.

In the first session:

• We will briefly discuss goals (what participants are hoping to get out of the session)
• Introduce the 5-component CBT model and go through some examples.
• Introduce activity monitoring and activity scheduling as a behavioural approach to manage mood with an opportunity to practice it in session.
• We will introduce the concept of an automatic thought record and demonstrate how to complete it.

Homework will be assigned for the second session to put these tools into practice and Dr. Lau will elicit feedback to reinforce learning.

The agenda for the second session will be focused on:

• Checking in on any progress/improvements implementing these practices.
• Review homework to reinforce any new learning and troubleshoot any difficulties.
• Group engagement in these sessions will assist with learning, but it is not a requirement.

As a form of self-therapy, the homework exercises provided between sessions are central elements to the learning. Therefore, please try to commit to both sessions provided to receive the true value of this approach.

You will receive an email with the session link 48 hours before the series begins.

The Consulate General of Ireland in Vancouver has kindly sponsored this initiative in order to support members of the Irish community here in British Columbia.