Interactive Workshops

Please note: due to Covid-19, our workshops will be held online via your computer, smartphone, or tablet. 

If your workshop is being held via Google Meet, you will receive a direct link by email. Having trouble accessing a Google Meet workshop? Click HERE for tips.

If your workshop is being held on Facebook Live, visit facebook.com/amiquebec at your workshop’s scheduled start time. You do not need a Facebook account to watch the presentation.

Please note that workshops start right on time–you will not be able to access them until a few minutes before the designated start time.

All our workshops are FREE.

If a workshop is marked FULL, don’t despair. It will likely be offered again. Click HERE to sign up for our emails and be notified of new programs and dates.

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For family and friends of someone living with mental illness only

These are interactive workshops and space is limited, even online–this gives our facilitators the chance to personally address your questions and concerns. They are not recorded and you must register in advance. If you register and do not attend, you may be taking a spot away from someone in need.

De-escalating Conflict

This workshop explores de-escalation techniques and how to engage mindfully in conflictual situations. It will encourage self-awareness and you will develop insight into effective communication techniques in conflict situations. Attendees will be invited to share specific situations they have experienced and unravel the new dynamics that influence the outcomes of their situations.

December 9, 2021  FULL
March 31, 2022
6-8pm
With Melanie Hughes

Caregiver Group

This group offers an opportunity to explore how caring for a loved one with mental health challenges affects the caregiver’s experience and own wellbeing. Held over several sessions, it can alleviate some of the isolation and other difficulties that are often associated with caregiving.

Monday group starts January 17, 2022
7-8:30pm
Wednesday group starts January 19, 2022
3-4:30pm
Must attend all 6 sessions
With Ella Amir and Miriam Byers

Anger and Caregiving Relationships

Anger is an important emotion to explore and understand within the caregiving relationship. This workshop will help you build a greater understanding of anger and your relationship to the emotion. Participants will be encouraged to articulate their feelings around anger and discuss how they express anger within their caregiving relationships. 

January 20, 2022
6-8pm
With Melanie Hughes

Meditation

How do we gain the strength to work with life situations that are difficult and stressful? Meditation is widely used today for stress reduction or to help cope with pain, anxiety, or depression. This workshop will use meditation to help participants get in touch with their unknown strengths and develop their resilience.

Starts January 26 and runs for 10 weeks
11am-12pm
Must attend all sessions
With Bill Byers

Coping Skills

We cope all the time. Awareness of how we cope can increase our ability to notice when we engage in defensive patterns and move towards practicing new skills that will provide us with more safety, peace, and general wellbeing.

February 3, 2022
6-8pm
With Melanie Hughes

Caregivers 55+

Getting older while still having to take care of a loved one with mental health challenges can be difficult. In this three part workshop, practical information and coping strategies will be shared and explored; themes include making difficult choices, creating a circle of support, dealing with legal concerns, ageing and self-care, grief, establishing boundaries, etc. Caregivers aged 55 years and over are welcome.

February 7, 14, 21, 2022
11am-1pm
Must attend all sessions
With Melanie Hughes

Boundaries & Setting Limits

Caregiving relationships challenge everyone involved in discovering what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable within the unique dynamic. The aim of this workshop is to identify these limits and learn to communicate the boundaries necessary to protect both the relationship and the caregiver.

February 24, 2022
6-8pm
With Melanie Hughes

Introduction to Borderline Personality Disorder

This introductory session will provide basic knowledge on Borderline Personality Disorder: what it is, what are some of the challenges, and what can be done to reduce conflicts. You will gain a better understanding of the condition and how to cope.

March 1, 2022
6-8pm
With Sylvie Bouchard

Creative Expression

It can be difficult to care for a loved one who is living with mental illness. With SoulCollage, you will use your intuition to create small collage cards and then learn how to “read” your cards to discover what personal and hidden meanings your card reveals to you.

March 10, 2022
6-7:30pm
With Joyce Cohen

Acceptance & Letting Go

Loss is an inevitable and painful part of life. In the relationship between a family and their loved one with mental illness, experiencing loss can be complicated. In this workshop, we will identify and name losses, situate participants within their own grieving processes in relation to loss, and learn about acceptance which leads to healing opportunities.

March 17, 2022
6-8pm
With Melanie Hughes

Validation Practice Group

If you have a loved one (family, partner, friend, etc.) who lives with mental illness and has difficulty managing their emotions, this group is for you! This is a practice group where we will practice Validation, using examples from real life. We will also introduce the practice of boundaries and limit setting.

March 22, 2022
6-8pm
With Sylvie Bouchard

For family, friends, and people living with mental illness

In Hot Topics, we talk live, online about trends in mental illness and mental health. Discover how we can help you, and get your questions answered about the different topics.

Hot Topics: Women’s Mental Health

On December 15th, our experts will talk live, online about women’s mental health. Did you know that women have higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders? Come and talk to us about your experiences and your concerns.

December 15, 2021
1-1:45 pm

Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can click HERE on December 15 at 1 pm to access the presentation.

Hot Topics: Seasonal Affective Disorder

Winter can feel longer for some of us. The days are shorter, the sun isn’t as high in the sky, it’s dark and cold–all these things can negatively affect our mental health. Join us as we talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder and get some tips to help you get through the colder months of the year. 

January 26, 2022
1-1:45 pm

Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can click HERE on January 26 at 1 pm to access the presentation.

Hot Topics: Losing Relationships Through Mental Illness

Mental illness not only affects the person living with it, but their friends and family as well. Have you had a parting of ways with a friend? Has one of your family members withdrawn from you? Join us to talk about how we can cope with losing relationships through mental illness, and ways to bridge those strained relationships. 

February 23, 2022
1-1:45 pm

Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can click HERE on February 23 at 1 pm to access the presentation.

Hot Topics: Does My Loved One Have Mental Illness?

Has your loved one changed recently? Have they been affected by something that happened in their life and you don’t know how best to support them? Do you suspect they have a mental illness but don’t know how to approach the subject? Want to find out how you can help them? Join us as we talk about mental illness and how it may affect our loved ones. 

March 23, 2022
1-1:45 pm

Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can click HERE on March 23 at 1 pm to access the presentation.

For people living with mental illness only

Aging Well With Mental Illness

Aging while living with mental health struggles or illness can present certain difficulties. Talking to peers with similar experiences can provide validation and compassion. We will explore ways to cope with challenges and how to manage difficult emotions. Subjects include boundaries, communicating feelings, hobbies, and self-care. People living with mental illness age 55 years and over are welcome.

March 8, 15, 22, 2022
11am-1pm
Must attend all sessions
With Melanie Hughes

Hoard No More!

Is your home so full of stuff that it gets in the way of your daily living? Are you struggling to stop yourself from acquiring yet more stuff that you don’t really need? If this sounds all too familiar, you may be interested in our Hoard No More! workshop.

If you would like to be informed about the next workshop (potentially in 2022), click HERE

Coming Soon

The programs below will likely be offered again next season. Don’t miss our program announcements: click HERE to sign up for our emails.

BPD Emotion Regulation

Emotional Regulation refers to the way we deal with feelings like frustration, rage, anxiety or low mood. In this workshop, you will learn a few strategies to help manage strong emotions in challenging situations. We will also explore together the role that emotion regulation plays in our day to day life and with our loved ones.

This workshop is for people who care about someone who has BPD or difficulty regulating emotions, AND for people who have BPD or have difficulty regulating emotions.

Gain some perspective with hypnotherapy

Caring for a loved one with mental health issues can invoke feelings of fear, guilt and anxiety. Hypnotherapy can help you gain perspective and feel calmer when life seems like a storm.

Mood Journals for Young Caregivers

Are you aged 18-30 and have a family member, friend, or partner with mental health issues? Then this new workshop is for you! Reflect upon and analyze your caregiving experience through words and drawings in your own personalized mood journal to better understand and manage your situation and emotions.

Types of Mental Illness

There is a wide spectrum of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and more. Facilitated by doctors in McGill University’s Psychiatry Postgraduate Program, this workshop series went over the various diagnoses and characteristics of each mental illness and we answered your questions.

We are constantly evaluating and updating our programs. If you don’t see a program on this page that suits your needs, you can always find help at our regularly scheduled support groups or our counselling for family and friends. We also offer online learning.

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