Cambrian College and CMHA Team Up for Mental Health Training for Trades Students

Trades students at Cambrian College in Sudbury take part in a workshop on positive mental health and wellness, presented by the Canadian Mental Health Association-Sudbury-Manitoulin.

Each year, 1 in 5 people in Canada experiences a mental illness or mental health issue, but 5 in 5 of us — that’s all people — have mental health, and tradespeople are no exception.

New series of workshops on mental health for trades programs

To prepare future tradespeople, Cambrian College, in collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association — Sudbury/Manitoulin, has introduced a new series of workshops on mental health and mental illness to students in Cambrian College’s trades programs.

The first session took place Thursday, January 18, in the Koski Centre of Cambrian’s main campus in Sudbury.

“Just as your life and circumstances continually change, so do your moods and thoughts, and your sense of well-being” says Christophe Coulombe, Canadian Mental Health Association — Sudbury/Manitoulin Health Promoter. “It's important to find balance in your life over time and in a range of situations. It's natural to feel off balance at times: for example, sad, worried, scared, or suspicious. But these kinds of feelings may become a problem if they get in the way of your daily life over a long period. More than 1 in 2 people (52%) struggling with their mental health aren’t getting the help they need. The workshop session will provide students tools, resources, and supports to stay well.”

Mental health in the trades

The focus of this workshop series is for trades students to understand mental health and wellbeing with emphasis on stigma, depression, anxiety, and substance use.

“Careers in trades and technology are very rewarding but can also be quite stressful given the environments people may be working in, the potential hazards and tight deadlines, so it’s only natural tradespeople will carry a certain amount of stress,” says Gilles Brideau, a counsellor in Cambrian’s Glenn Crombie Centre for Accessibility, Counselling and Wellness. “There is this stereotype that tradespeople have a gruff exterior, bury their feelings, and just get on with the job, but stress can wear on them too. This training is letting our students know it is okay to feel stressed, but the key is to deal with it effectively before it overwhelms you.”

This session on mental health for trades students is made possible through the support of the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health.