Prairie Region Health Promotion Research Centre
Summer School 2005 - Draft Program
Taking a population health approach to mental health and wellbeing: Identity, culture and power
The Prairie Region Health Promotion Research Centre is proud to introduce its 2005 Summer School program in partnership with:
*Public Health Agency of Canada
*First Nations and Inuit Health Branch
*Mamawetan Churchill River Health Authority
*The Prevention Institute
*Keewatin Yatthe Regional Health Authority
*Saskatchewan Health
*Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre
*Saskatoon Health Region
*Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region
*Human Services Integrated Forum
Who for: Practitioners, Applied researchers, Managers, Politicians, Policy and programming people
This program has applicability for a broad range of people – from practitioners, managers and policy makers working to re-orientate
the health system to academics, social activists and those working in grass roots organizations seeking to effect change. We aim to
reach those engaged in a variety of mental health promotion related activities, whether through the practice of health promoting
practices within therapeutic contexts, primary health, or those working in broader community action and public policy advocacy
activities aimed at acting on the structural determinants of mental well-being.
Key Outcomes:
 Knowledge Building and Skills Development
 Network Building
 Population health approaches to mental wellbeing are on the policy agenda
 Strengthened research agenda
Learning Objectives:
 Participants will have a clear understanding of the conceptual terrain of mental health promotion (MHP), including underlying
knowledge systems, key concepts and approaches.
 Participants will understand the relationships between identity, culture, power and mental well-being from a variety of cultural
perspectives.
 Participants will gain understanding of how colonization and current health- policies shape health contexts and programming
approaches.
 Participants will gain understanding of Aboriginal and Indigenous well-being concepts
 Participants will be able to identify where their work sits on the continuum of approaches to mental well-being (Treatment,
Prevention, Promotion and Development) and the potential resulting level of change.
 Participants will be able to critically evaluate MHP interventions according to key criteria such as underpinning concepts,
principles of community engagement, use of power, practitioner role, and evaluation.
 Participants will gain mutual understanding of the key policy, organizational and practitioner factors influencing the
implementation (i.e., barriers, enablers) of MHP programs.
Program Structure
The program seeks to provide a range of learning forums for participants with the intent of combining ‘exposure to ideas’ with
opportunities for their ‘application in practice’. Keynote speeches at the beginning of each day are designed to expose all participants
to broad principles and mental health promotion concepts. Sub plenary and workshop streams provide opportunity to explore selected
areas of interest and begin to apply key concepts within particular practice settings of relevance to participants. Learning groups at the
end of each day extend this process, providing participants with the opportunity to further explore and digest key concepts from the
day within the comfort of a home base learning group. These facilitated learning groups will also provide the Summer School
organizers with an important feedback mechanism re participants’ experiences of the program, knowledge distilled and any unmet
learning needs. The program aims to be participatory, drawing on principles of adult education and participants’ knowledge.
Key ideas linking program streams
The program streams are purposively developed and sequenced to complement each other with respect to content and range of
learning opportunities. They are underpinned by four main concepts or themes: self-determination, ethical space, power-culture and
equity. These form the corner stones of the program, appearing in different ways throughout the sessions and linking these together.
Self-determination refers to the ability of individuals and communities to determine their own future or live lives they have reason to
value, and is equated with mental health and well-being. The concept of Ethical Space distinguishes between Aboriginal and Western
knowledge systems and the relative influence each of these has on current mental health promotion approaches. Power-culture refers
to the various combinations of power-culture dynamics that influence self-determination or mental well-being, the interplay between
knowledge systems within service delivery and the ways in which MHP practitioners approach their work. Culture is interpreted
broadly here to include factors such as ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, ability and age for examples. Equity refers to the need for
MHP interventions to address underlying determinants of health aimed at economic, social, cultural and political equity.
Theory
Tuesday, August 16
Monday, August 15
8:30
10.00
11:00
Registration available
until 1 pm
1:00
Welcome
11:00
12:00
1:00
Keynote #3: Willie
Ermine “Ethical Space
and Aboriginal / Western
Knowledge Systems”
Practice
Wednesday, August 17
8:30
9.30
Keynote#4:
Globalization, power,
culture and equity
Key note #5: Thinking
critically about how
constructs shape practice
approaches: Caroline Tait
Praxis
Thursday, August 18
8:30
Key note #6: Unpacking
Mental Health Promotion
Panel Discussion 2: Expanding
Our Understanding of Culture:
Sexuality and Mental Health:
GLBT Centre,
Panel Discussion 3: Putting It
All Together: Policy,
Programming and Practice
11:00am: Workshops (8)
“Putting It All Together”
Open Discussion
With Ovide, Willie and
KN # 4
Lunch
Panel Discussion 1
“Equity”
10.45
Workshop Streams
Levels of change
11:00
12:00
1:00
Lunch
Best Practices:
#1. Addictions: A
Northern Perspective:
Elaine Malbeuf
# 2. Mental Health
Promotion in the
Workplace: Judith
Martin
12:00
12:15
Nutrition Break
Closing Plenary: Weaving
the Threads
Celebration Lunch and
Farewells
Opening keynote Lewis
Williams
Mapping the conceptual
terrain, asking the
difficult questions,
introducing the program
Drama / dance troupe
3:00
Break
2:15
Break
3:00
Break
1:00
3:30
Workshops:
Introduction
“Broadening our
understanding of HP”;
Concepts of HP; How
is HP practiced in your
workplace
Formal Banquet
Keynote #2: Ovide
Mercedi
3:00
Workshop Streams
(#12)
Health promotion
contexts
(see **)
3:15
Workshop Streams
Developing Critical
Skills in planning
Mental Health
Promotion Initiatives
(see **)
****Workshop Streams Wed am
Home time!
7:00
6:30
5.00
Evening Entertainment
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Rural Mental Health
Addictions
Environmental Impacts
Workplace Health Promotion
Recreation and Mental Health
Nutrition: Links to Mental Health
Social Support Systems
Physical Well Being and Illness
Youth
Intra and Extra Familial Violence
Northern Mental Health
Mentally Healthy Lifestyles: Holistic
DAY ONE
Opening Key Note: The opening key note by Lewis Williams, maps the current issues and conceptual terrain of MHP, highlights the
difficult questions we are faced with and provides and overview of the program. It introduces the concept of power-culture, the
various dynamics of power and culture occurring from context to context that influence mental well-being and self-determination.
Learning Groups: Participants will have an opportunity to network and share information and ideas. This first learning group will
allow facilitators to introduce the purpose of the groups. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss individual concepts of
health promotion as well as to explore the ways in which health promotion is practiced within their workplace and community.
Keynote #2: Ovide Mercredi establishes how colonial relations have and continue to shape mental health contexts for aboriginal
peoples. This presentation and dinner will be open to the public.
DAY TW
Keynote #3: Willie Ermine introduces the concept of ethical space, distinguishing between Aboriginal and Western knowledge
systems and the relative influence each of these has on current mental health promotion approaches.
Keynote #4: Equity as a key mental health determinant. This keynote discusses equity as a key mental health determinant using the
example of poverty. Its discussion of wealth and health inequities connects material inequities between people to experiences of power
and powerlessness; therefore making the link between subjectivity and more concrete mental health determinants such as income,
housing quality and food security.
Workshop streams: These workshops are designed to give participants the opportunity to explore more in-depth how the concepts of
de-colonization, ethical space and equity may be applied to their work.
Panel Presentation 1: Globalization, power-culture and identity formation: Indigenous and migrant identities. This panel presentation
makes the connection between historical and contemporary globalizing processes and identity formation specifically as this relates to
Indigenous and migrant peoples in Canada. Dynamics of power and culture are shown to shape identity formation through the
influence of structural factors on community settings and family relations.
Workshop streams: Afternoon workshops streams give participants the opportunity to explore more in-depth how the concepts
identity formation and power-culture may be applied to their work with Indigenous, migrant and other cultural communities.
Learning groups: The focus of day two’s learning groups will be debriefing and integration of materials that have been presented
thus far. At this point, participants are encouraged to provide feedback regarding the proceeding.
DAY THREE
Keynote #5: Thinking critically about how constructs shape practice approaches: Caroline Tait
Keynote #6: Unpacking mental health promotion. This keynote provides discussion on the variety of determinants that shape mental
health contexts, outlines key mental health promotion approaches in relation to a change continuum and introduces evaluation
Workshop streams: Workshop streams will give people the opportunity to apply ‘Unpacking mental health promotion’ to their own
particular area of interest. The streams will be divided into the following topics: rural mental health; addictions; environmental
impacts; workplace health promotion; recreation and mental health; nutrition and its links to mental health; social support systems
physical health and illness; youth; intra and extra familial violence; northern mental health; and mentally healthy lifestyles: a holistic
approach.
Examples of Best Practice: Three examples of best practice at the individual, community and structural levels of change will be
profiled. These will focus on a variety of practice areas including northern perspectives; mental health promotion in the workplace and
environmental health promotion and its impact on mental health.
Workshop streams: The focus of these workshops is for participants to develop the skills to critically evaluate mental health
promotion interventions, policies and programs.
DAY FOUR
Panel presentation #2: Expanding our understanding of culture: sexuality, gender and mental health. This presentation aims to
broaden participants understanding of the application of the ‘culture’ to mental health promotion related activities, using the examples
of ‘queer’ and ‘gender’ cultures. An introduction and synthesis of the panel will help participants to integrate ideas and concepts
presented.
Panel presentation #3: Putting it all together: Policy, programming and practice. This panel presentation and discussion presents
contemporary issues and challenges of doing mental health promotion work in current healthcare systems through mapping the
interfaces and tensions between policy, programming and practice.
Workshops: “Putting it all together”. These workshops provide opportunity for mixed groups of practitioners, applied researches,
managers and policy makers to discuss ways forward through the issues outlined in the previous panel presentation. In particular they
will aim to inform the mental health promotion research agenda.
Final Plenary: “Weaving the threads” The final plenary provides commentary from cultural and organizational perspectives on the
emergent summer school threads and themes.