Interactive Workshops
Please note: Some workshops are online and some are in person. Our ultimate goal is a balance between in-person and online events so that we can best accommodate as many people as possible. All our programs are free!
Click here for general information about in-person workshops.
If your workshop is being held online via Google Meet, you will receive a direct link by email. Having trouble accessing a Google Meet workshop? Click here for tips.
Workshops start right on time–you will not be able to access them until a few minutes before the designated start time, and please don’t be late.
Questions?
Call 514-486-1448
or email registration@amiquebec.org
To register for a workshop, scroll down.
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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.
Caregivers 55+
Getting older while still having to take care of a loved one with mental health challenges can be difficult. This 3 part online workshop can help.
September 26, October 3 and 10
(Must attend all 3 sessions)
10am-12pm
With Melanie Hughes
Online via Google Meet
Meditation
How do we gain the strength to work with life situations that are difficult and stressful? This workshop will use meditation to help family caregivers get in touch with their unknown strengths and develop their resilience.
Starts September 27 and runs for 10 weeks on Wednesdays
(Must attend all sessions)
10:30-11:30am
With Bill Byers
Online via Google Meet
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 and to your loved one.
October 4
6-8pm
With Victoria Jonas
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
Write From Your Heart
Write From Your Heart is a six-week writing workshop in which we use writing to express feelings and then share what we wrote with the group. The workshop provides a safe and welcoming space that promotes healing, support and empowerment through writing, reading our words and deep listening. It’s about self-expression, not being a good writer.
Starts October 11 and runs for 6 weeks on Wednesdays
(Must attend all sessions)
1:30-2:30pm
With Joyce Cohen
Online via Google Meet
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.
October 18
6-8pm
With Victoria Jonas
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
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.
October 25
6-8pm
With Sylvie Bouchard
Online via Google Meet
Use Your Strengths!
Research has shown that identifying your character strengths (like perseverance, kindness, and leadership) can help you manage stress, boost relationships, find purpose, and increase well-being. We will explore how our strengths can help us during tough times.
November 15
6-8pm
With Victoria Jonas
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
Kids Impacting Kids: Helping Parents Cope
When one child is unwell, it impacts the whole family. How does having a child with mental health challenges, disability, or chronic illness affect their siblings? This discussion group explores the challenges parents are faced with and is open to parents and guardians. No family is perfect!
November 23
6-8pm
With Oliver Fitzpatrick and Ella Amir
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
Caring Kids: Expressing Big Feelings about Home
This workshop is for kids aged 5 to 12 who have a loved one who has a disability, mental health challenges, or chronic illness. We will use creative expression to explore what care means in different families, to talk about healthy coping skills and self-care, and to build confidence.
December 7
6-7:30pm
With Oliver Fitzpatrick
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
Stress Management
Caring about someone who lives with mental illness can take a toll on your physical and mental well-being. Join us for some tips and resources and an interactive discussion that will help ease your stress level.
December 13
6-8pm
With Victoria Jonas
Online Via Google Meet
Hands On Practice for Challenging Situations
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.
December 19
6-8pm
With Sylvie Bouchard
At the AMI office
5800 Decarie, Montreal
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 wellbeing. Held over several sessions, it can alleviate some of the isolation and other difficulties that are often associated with family caregiving.
Must attend all 6 sessions
With Ella Amir
Online via Google Meet
For people living with mental illness only
Living with mental illness? You can find help at our support groups. Click here for details.
Aging Well With Mental Illness
Aging while living with mental health struggles or illness can present certain difficulties. We will explore ways to cope with challenges and how to manage difficult emotions. People living with mental illness aged 55 years and over are welcome.
November 21, 28, and December 5
(Must attend all 3 sessions)
10am-12pm
With Melanie Hughes
Online via Google Meet
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mindful Art: Watercolour
It can be stressful caring for a loved one who is living with mental illness. In this Mindful Art workshop you will learn a fun and easy way to create colourful watercolour artwork that promotes relaxation, mindfulness and self-care. All levels and abilities welcome; no art experience required.
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.
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