What's On Your Mind

Hope and Me's Ann Marie MacDonald Answers, What Now?

For our final episode of the season, Winnie and Camila ask the question: “What now?” The previous five episodes highlighted the struggles youth faced when dealing with the global COVID-19 pandemic.  We also looked into what professionals are doing to help youth deal with their own mental health issues.  Winnie and Camila look to put all this into context and see what it is an organization like Hope and Me - MDAO can do to help youth. In that context, Winnie and Camila invited the Executive Director of Hope and Me - MDAO, Ann Marie MacDonald to the podcast.  Ann Marie is one of the key drivers behind the making of this podcast.  Winnie and Camila talk with her about what is the mission behind Hope and Me - MDAO and what programs and tools they can provide to youth struggling with mental health illnesses. Winnie Diverlus is a Child Development Strategist, Educator, and Program Facilitator Camila Cortes is a registered Social Worker, Community Advocate and Program Facilitator. This podcast is made possible by: Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario [https://mooddisorders.ca/] and their website Changingmindswithyouth.ca [https://changingmindswithyouth.ca/youth-living-well] and The Ontario Trillium Foundation [https://www.otf.ca/] Production services provided by Joel MacLeod Music by Roman Kostiuk - Licensed from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-greatness-main-123577/]

Dr. Karen Wang on Youth's Mental Health Needs

In this penultimate episode for the season, we are getting professional. We have covered a lot of ground with how youth have been affected by the pandemic of COVID-19, and how Hope and Me - MDAO have tried to address youth on their terms.  Expanding on that idea and going deeper, we invited a psychiatrist specializing in youth mental health. Dr. Karen Wang joins Winnie and Camila to discuss from a professional point of view, the importance of properly addressing one’s mental health and what you can do to check in with yourself from time to time.  Dr. Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto as well as an Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatrist in Toronto. This podcast is made possible by: Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario [https://mooddisorders.ca/] and their website Changingmindswithyouth.ca [https://changingmindswithyouth.ca/youth-living-well] and The Ontario Trillium Foundation [https://www.otf.ca/] Production services provided by Joel MacLeod Music by Roman Kostiuk - Licensed from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-greatness-main-123577/]

Bernie Yeung Looks to the Future

For our fourth episode, we look to the future. Specifically towards a post-COVID-19 world.  What support will youth need to navigate coming out of the pandemic?  We wanted a more clinical and professional insight into this matter for this episode.  Towards that end Winnie and Camila sat down with Bernie Yeung of Hope and Me - MDAO. Bernie works with youth on their mental health at a non profit headquartered in the GTA in Ontario.  He works with youth from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and socio-economic status.  At Hope and Me - MDAO he is a peer support facilitator for numerous programs in the organization. Bernie joins Winnie and Camila to provide his insight and professional experience on what youth are experiencing post-COVID-19 as well as what some of the programs and tools Hope and Me - MDAO are able to provide to assist youth on their journey. Winnie Diverlus is a Child Development Strategist, Educator, and Program Facilitator Camila Cortes is a registered Social Worker, Community Advocate and Program Facilitator. This podcast is made possible by: Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario [https://mooddisorders.ca/] and their website Changingmindswithyouth.ca [https://changingmindswithyouth.ca/youth-living-well] and The Ontario Trillium Foundation [https://www.otf.ca/] Production services provided by Joel MacLeod Music by Roman Kostiuk - Licensed from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-greatness-main-123577/]

Winnie and Camila Reflect on What They've Learned

Coming off the two discussions with Kristen and Serene in our previous episode, our co-hosts Winnie and Camila pause to reflect on how the pandemic shaped their development. While the focus of the media has been on what was lost during the pandemic in terms of social interactions, little has been said on the resilience of youth.  The discussions with Kristen and Serene sparked a conversation between our co-hosts on how they learned to cope with the changes around them.  As our regular channels of contact fell apart, the innovative nature of youth took hold to find new mediums and avenues to use for their own development. Winnie and Camila have a great chat about the resources they turned to during the pandemic and what the research has shown about the power of social media.  As well as how youth were able to take the opportunity of this global crisis and use it for personal development and transformation. Resources cited in this episode: https://www.youthline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2020-2021-YL-Annual-Report.pdf [https://www.youthline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2020-2021-YL-Annual-Report.pdf] https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2021/social-connection-and-well-being-during-covid-19/ [https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2021/social-connection-and-well-being-during-covid-19/] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2332858421995537 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2332858421995537] https://www.elle.com/culture/a33635518/chloe-ting-teenage-girls-and-the-quest-for-flat-abs-in-lockdown/ [https://www.elle.com/culture/a33635518/chloe-ting-teenage-girls-and-the-quest-for-flat-abs-in-lockdown/] https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/tiktok-actual-weight-trend [https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/tiktok-actual-weight-trend] https://www.vox.com/even-better/2022/8/17/23306357/aesthetic-fitness-workout-tiktok-mindset [https://www.vox.com/even-better/2022/8/17/23306357/aesthetic-fitness-workout-tiktok-mindset] https://ddsecurity.com/2015/04/23/social-media-can-motivate-social-learning-in-teens/ [https://ddsecurity.com/2015/04/23/social-media-can-motivate-social-learning-in-teens/] https://hbr.org/2021/11/6-strategies-to-boost-retention-through-the-great-resignation [https://hbr.org/2021/11/6-strategies-to-boost-retention-through-the-great-resignation] Winnie Diverlus is a Child Development Strategist, Educator, and Program Facilitator Camila Cortes is a registered Social Worker, Community Advocate and Program Facilitator. This podcast is made possible by: Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario [https://mooddisorders.ca/] and their website Changingmindswithyouth.ca [https://changingmindswithyouth.ca/youth-living-well] and The Ontario Trillium Foundation [https://www.otf.ca/] Production services provided by Joel MacLeod Music by Roman Kostiuk - Licensed from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-greatness-main-123577/]

Kristen and Serene Give Us a Student's POV

In our second episode, we build off our discussion about the various phases of development of youth and how they might have been impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our illustrious co-hosts Winnie and Camila put theory into practice as they sat down to talk with two university students who were like every other student forced to reexamine their relationships and how they navigated this new world.  Kristen and Serene are two students whose lives were turned upside down when schools shut down during the pandemic.  Winnie and Camila talk separately to both Kristen and Serene through the lens of the stages of development they discussed in our previous episode. This episode is extra long due, as both guests get very frank and honest in their discussions and we didn’t want you to miss out on their insight! Winnie Diverlus is a Child Development Strategist, Educator, and Program Facilitator Camila Cortes is a registered Social Worker, Community Advocate and Program Facilitator. This podcast is made possible by: Hope and Me - Mood Disorders Association of Ontario [https://mooddisorders.ca/] and their website Changingmindswithyouth.ca [https://changingmindswithyouth.ca/youth-living-well] and The Ontario Trillium Foundation [https://www.otf.ca/] Production services provided by Joel MacLeod Music by Roman Kostiuk - Licensed from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music/indie-pop-greatness-main-123577/]