On February 3, 2023, EENet hosted a webinar to celebrate the winners of the 2022 Paula Goering Collaborative Research and Knowledge Translation Award.

This bi-annual award is sponsored by University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation, and the CAMH Provincial Systems Support Program.

This year the award recognizes the excellence of two projects, both of which demonstrated innovation and effectiveness in how they integrated the expertise of diverse stakeholders into their research.

The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH) is looking for collaborators to help build a toolkit on accessibility on campus! If you work in accessibility services or at a community organization that focuses on accessibility and you are interested in supporting this project, please submit your information in the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TPTGJP7

The Mental Health Commission of Canada defines peer support workers as those who provide “emotional and social support provided to others who share a common experience (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2022).” Evidence shows that the integration of peer support workers into mental health services has many benefits, but developing these programs has several challenges. Some challenges include being able to maintain professional boundaries, difficulties with power dynamics among staff, job-related stress, and role clarity.

People who live in rural areas have a higher risk of dying by suicide than those who live in urban areas. However, Canadian research on this topic has found conflicting evidence. There is also a lack of research on the relationship between rural living and suicide attempts.

The sexuality of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a topic of growing interest. The research, however, shows a lack of sex education tailored to the needs of these individuals.

There has historically been a gap in our understanding of how women experience substance use disorder and recovery. In particular, researchers have not included women in most studies. Recently, studies have started to focus on factors related to sex and gender that influence the effects of substance use and treatment outcomes.

The OAMHP now offers a self-directed online record keeping course specifically designed for mental health professionals.