Program

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Please note: Speakers may change and will be added as we get closer to the Forum.

Please visit our Speakers page to learn more about our invited guests. 

Forum program may change at any time without notice.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

 OPENING REMARKS   9:00 to 9:15 a.m.

Land Acknowledgement and Welcome

  • Cathy Cousins, OMSSA President and Director of Homelessness and Community Engagement, Community Services, Region of Niagara

 KEYNOTE   9:15 to 10:30 a.m.

Françoise Mathieu
Psychotherapist and Executive Director, TEND Academy

Small and often: Using micro-strategies to help us refuel and recalibrate during disrupted and challenging times

Remember two weeks to flatten the curve? As we now know, two weeks turned into a complex multi-year series of prolonged lockdowns, school closures and intense pressures on families, workplaces, and front line services. Basic human physiology has demonstrated that no one can stay healthy while being on high alert for prolonged periods of time: what may work well for a multi-week crisis is not tenable for a prolonged pandemic. Based on research on neuroplasticity, change management and compassion satisfaction, we will explore and discuss key strategies that everyone can use to support their service users and themselves to recalibrate and restore themselves into the Fall.

We will discuss:

  • The impact of constant change and uncertainty.
  • The Window of Tolerance Framework and how it can be used daily to recalibrate.
  • How to develop a practical toolkit with further strategies to recalibrate. 

 BREAK   10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
 A  Identifying and Providing Support for Anxiety, Acute Stress, and Trauma in Colleagues and Staff

A key component of avoiding staff burnout and ensuring retention is the ability to identify anxiety, acute stress, and trauma being experienced in the workplace. While a self-care routine is an essential component in this process (and will be addressed in Breakout B on Day 2 of the Forum), it’s equally important to have both the right training and programs in place to support colleagues and staff before they feel overwhelmed.

In this session, mental health experts will introduce the steps towards identifying and supporting staff when they are experiencing anxiety, acute stress, or trauma, and will guide you through the latest best practices for the workplace. The panel will also provide insight from organizations who have implemented successful programs to contend with these challenges.  

Speakers:

  • (moderator) Jennifer Lible, Manager, Client Services, District of Thunder Bay
  • Mara Boedo, Steward Coordinator, Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400
  • Cherill Hiebert, Bargaining Support Administrator, Unit C Steward Coordinator, Members' Action Centre Coordinator, Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400
  • Avni Jain, Psychotherapist and Workplace Mental Health Consultant
  • Drew Sousa, Executive Director, Ontario Occupational Health Nurses Association

 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

 B  Enhancing Remote and Hybrid Workplace Communications

Remote and hybrid work has dramatically transformed communication within the workplace. These new work arrangements, while having clear benefits associated with staff quality of life, do not offer the same level of connection both amongst staff and between staff and management. This transformation has led to a loss in opportunities for collaboration, the absence of traditional informal peer support networks, and a general lack of connection to our workplaces.

From maintaining high levels of staff engagement to creating opportunities for informal peer support, this panel will consider what senior leaders to front line staff can do to enhance their workplaces while not giving up the benefits that have come from remote and hybrid work. In this session we will hear from experts who have thought deeply about these challenges and who can offer solutions that can be implemented in workplaces.

Speakers:

  • (moderator) Kelly Black, Director of Human Services, Oxford County
  • Samuel Breau, Program Manager, Mental Health Commission of Canada
  • Dr. Catherine Connelly, Professor, Human Resources & Management, and Canada Research Chair in Organizational Behaviour, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University
  • Shari MacKenzie, Acting Manager, Human Resources, District of Thunder Bay
  • Aisha Saintiche, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of the Commissioner, Community and Health Services, York Region

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

 OPENING REMARKS   9:00 to 9:10 a.m.

Land Acknowledgement and Opening Remarks

  • Doug Ball, OMSSA Executive Director

 KEYNOTE   9:10 to 10:15 a.m.

Marci Gray
Chief Executive Officer and Lead Psychotherapist, Gray Matter Health

The Dual Stigma: Racism and Mental Health

As OMSSA Members you may be familiar with the importance of destigmatizing mental health issues, what about the impact of how mental health stigma intersects with racial stigma? Staff who both identify as racialized and are struggling with their mental health must overcome the dual stigma where these two identities intersect. In addition, they must also overcome multiple barriers to seeking help. In this keynote, Psychotherapist and DEI Consultant, Marci Gray, will outline ways in which leaders and managers can view racism through the lens of workplace psychological health and safety. This framework will be introduced, and emphasis will be placed on how to ensure the overall well-being of racialized staff.

 BREAK   10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
 A  Practical Strategies for Healthier Workplaces

Even before the pandemic, there was a growing effort to reorient workplaces towards employee mental health and wellness. Decision makers understood that staff would thrive in an environment that prioritized their mental health. After three years of heightened stress during the pandemic, healthier workplaces have shifted from a nice-to-have to a must-have.

In this panel, we will hear from experts who will share insights into the practical ways OMSSA member organizations can create healthier workplaces. Whether through improved mental health support for existing staff, better retention strategies, effective onboarding, or the restructuring of the workday, this panel will outline strategies that senior leaders, managers and supervisors, and frontline staff can adopt to contribute to healthier workplaces.

Speakers:

  • (moderator) Heidy Van Dyk, Acting General Manager, Health & Social Services, County of Norfolk
  • Dr. Ellen Choi, Assistant Professor in Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour, Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Katharine Coons, National Senior Manager, Workplace Mental Health, Canadian Mental Health Association
  • P.A. Neena Gupta, Partner, Gowlings WLG
  • Don MacLeod, Chief Administrative Officer, Corporation of the Township of Zorra

 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
 B  Mental and Emotional Preparedness While Working with Service Users in Crisis

Caseworkers and other frontline staff face many challenges working with service users in crisis. Social service users are often multi-barriered and live with a multitude of issues including addictions and mental illness that need to be recognized and understood. Not only that, but staff may also be coping with stresses within their workplaces that they need to set aside in order to do their work effectively. We often forget that there is a need caseworkers and frontline staff to be both mentally and emotionally prepared for the work that they do supporting service users.

In this session, we will hear from a mental health expert and seasoned caseworkers who will share their experiences of working with multi-barriered individuals. This panel will address the ways in which caseworkers and other frontline staff can work with these service users, while ensuring that they are effectively prepared for the mental and emotional strain of this work. Additionally, our experts will provide insights into stress, burnout, and vicarious trauma, as well as how self-care can help staff prepare themselves to cope.

Speakers:

  • (moderator) Kirby Steinhoff, Integrated Case Manager, Employment & Social Services, Social & Community Services, Halton Region
  • Chris Kindy, Case Manager, Haldimand Norfolk Health and Social Services 
  • Julia Lewars, Caseworker, City of Toronto
  • Andrea Personnic, Case Manager, Haldimand Norfolk Health and Social Services 
  • Megan Phillips, Registered Psychotherapist, Phillips Psychotherapy Services