Digital Interventions for Men’s Mental Health

For this event, our panelists will be showcasing a few innovative digital intervention programs in supporting men’s mental health. Snacks and a light dinner will be provided! Featured programs include:

Men in Mind – An online training program for therapists to engage with and respond more effectively to male clients (https://meninmind.movember.com/)

Headsupguys – A digital resource for men to manage and prevent depression (https://headsupguys.org/)

Buddy Up – Men’s suicide prevention communications campaign (https://www.buddyup.ca/)

Featured Panelists:

Dr. Zac Seidler is a Clinical Psychologist, the Director of Mental Health Training at Movember and a Senior Research Fellow with Orygen at The University of Melbourne. Zac leads the Young Men’s Mental Health Research Program at Orygen. Zac has devoted several years to the goal of reducing the staggering male suicide rate, treating and researching men’s mental health with over 75 peer-reviewed articles published.

Dr. Paul Sharp is a Research Fellow with the Men’s Health Research Program, School of Nursing, and Department of Psychiatry at UBC. He holds postdoctoral awards with Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). His research focuses on men’s health promotion and the influence of masculinities on men’s health behaviours. With a strong interest in applied research and putting research into practice, Paul has been influential in the design, delivery, and evaluation of men’s health promotion programs internationally. His current research is targeted at men’s peer support and mutual help for mental health challenges to inform the development of a novel e- intervention for men. Findings drawn from his research offer guidance to clinicians and researchers to advance men’s mental health promotion and suicide prevention.

Akash Asif holds Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Public Policy degrees from the University of Calgary. In 2019, Akash joined the Centre for Suicide Prevention. As Strategy and Operations Director, Akash helps identify and engage new and current audiences in the organization’s mission to reduce stigma and increase awareness of suicide prevention training and education. In addition, Akash leads the Centre’s Buddy Up campaign, which is focused on men and suicide prevention.

Dr. John Ogrodniczuk is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the UBC Psychotherapy Program, one of North America’s largest medically based psychotherapy training programs. His research program focuses on a variety of psychotherapies and patient populations, with a particular focus on personality disorders and men’s mental health. Dr. Ogrodniczuk has held several grants to support his research, which has led to over 300 scientific publications. In addition to his research, Dr. Ogrodniczuk is involved with teaching medical students and psychiatry residents, serves as a mental health consultant for various organizations, and maintains a psychotherapy practice. He is Past-President of the North American chapter of the International Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR), and a recipient of the Distinguished Research Career Award from SPR. Dr. Ogrodniczuk is the Founder of HeadsUpGuys, a leading global resource for supporting men with depression.

Meet our Host:

Trevor Goodyear is a registered nurse, PhD candidate with the University of British Columbia, and trainee with the Reducing Male Suicide Cluster. Trevor’s research is in youth mental health and substance use, with a focus on work with youth experiencing intersecting structural inequities.

Event Schedule:

5:30pm – Land Acknowledgement, Welcome and Dinner

6:00pm – Discussion with Panelists

7:00pm – Q&A with Panelists and Closing

Link to Register:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/digital-interventions-for-mens-mental-health-tickets-634278713707

Can’t make it in-person?

Join us on Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/C-CqAASawB8?feature=share