Our Workshop Facilitators
Ella Amir
Groups allow participants to reflect on their experiences as caregivers in the presence of others in similar situations. The power of groups cannot be under-estimated, and it is the trust and connections that make the experience significant and meaningful.
Sylvie Bouchard
At AMI, I offer counseling, guidance and information to family members, partners, and friends who have a loved one suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder or who are struggling to regulate their emotions. This is done through workshops, groups, and one on one counselling.
I love walking, trees, bird watching, and dancing to joyful disco music!
Bill Byers
Bill has been running AMI’s Meditation workshop for five years now. Meditation is a powerful way of acknowledging the difficulties that arise in our lives and learning to work with them in a constructive way. Over the years we have built up a group of people who are committed to the practice of meditation and can be witnesses to the benefits that it has given them.
Bill is a retired professor at Concordia University and the author of a number of books on science and philosophy. He has been meditating daily for over forty years. This class is his way of passing on to others some of the benefits that meditation has brought to his life.
Joyce Cohen
Hi. I’m Joyce, a certified life coach, artist, writer, and long-time AMI-Quebec facilitator and board member. I offer a variety of art and writing workshops throughout the year. Write From Your Heart is an 8-week workshop that uses expressive writing as a tool for healing, support, and connection. Creative Expressions are workshops where we paint, draw, or create collages for self-discovery and personal empowerment.
Have fun, make friends, explore your creativity, and express yourself in a supportive group of like-minded people.
No experience is needed – it’s all about self-expression. I hope you’ll join us!
Oliver Fitzpatrick
At AMI, I promote action to help young carers and I do tech in support groups. I really believe in peer support and building community for youth. In my spare time I like cooking new things, playing guitar, and visiting galleries.
Jill Grumbache
Jill Grumbache is an artist and award-winning writer. She was a caregiver to her husband who suffered brain injury, affecting his personality and mental health, and to her sister with mental illness who eventually took her own life. She has over 35 years of experience in communications, founded Holistic Beneficial Journaling in 2012, holds a certificate as an Art Therapy Practitioner, and as a Journaling Facilitator.
Melanie Hughes
Melanie has facilitated a variety of workshops for caregivers at AMI since 2016, and has also trained support group facilitators since 2018. On occasion, she has been asked to collaborate on internal and external projects on the topics of group work, facilitation and mental health caregiving.
Mel’s career focus has been to explore the art of helping and to find adapted ways of supporting ourselves while caring for others. The workshops she designs integrate experiential learning, transformative learning and group dialogue.
Her heart is filled surrounded with family, her soul replenished in nature, and her mind quieted or expanded by creating art, cooking and reading.
Victoria Jonas
I am a workshop facilitator for AMI-Quebec. Most of us with lived experience in caregiving relationships could write a novel. I first and foremost come from a place of non-judgment. There is no place in society for the stigma that is attached to mental health. We are here to listen and ask questions so we can take better care of ourselves. I owe a debt of gratitude to AMI-Quebec for helping me and I am here to help others.
I am a mother, wife, sister, and friend (my priority in life). I love anything old. I am the Vintage Queen. I love reading. I love Folk Art. A sense of humour is necessary to get through life. On the side I am a PhD student researching Military Culture and Sexual Violence against Women.
Favourite Quote: At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it --Thich Nyat Hanh
Blanche Moskovici
As a dedicated AMI family mental health counsellor since 2009, I have walked alongside many caregivers facing overwhelming stressors while supporting their loved ones. Finding downtime for self-care is often challenging.
The practice of Qigong has become my lifeline to reconnect with my energy, ground and return to center, even amid daily pressures. To support our community, AMI is offering this online Qigong workshop where caregivers can find calm and reconnect with their bodies in a nurturing, uplifting space - a much needed moment of renewal and self-care to reinforce those energy boundaries and continue the journey.
Marc Griffin
Howdy, I am the Program Coordinator at AMI-Quebec. I oversee our support groups and workshops. Some programs are in person and some are online, so I do a lot of juggling.
I love basketball, yoga, obscure movies, and writing.
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