Resources on this page are intended for service providers and prospective workshop facilitators. If you are an older adult or a caregiver, or if you are looking for resources to distribute, please view our resources for older adults and caregivers.
Get involved
Our community of interest is open to caregivers, health service providers, and community staff supporting older adults, as well as older adults interested in project updates and resources.
Join our Community of Interest on EENet Connect
About the project
How can we support the mental health and well-being of older adults in Ontario?
The Understanding Mental Health and Well-Being in Later Life project aims to:
- raise awareness among older adults about mental health, addiction and substance use issues and where to access help
- respond to the unique needs and strengths of older adults from immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural and racialized groups and among Indigenous older adults
- address the needs of older adults living in long-term care and retirement homes.
To meet these goals, we have developed a set of evidence-based workshops, courses and resources for service providers, caregivers and adults 65 years and older. We work closely with community partners in developing our resources.
Workshops | Resources | Courses | Project team
Workshops
Facilitators offer our evidence-based workshops to older adults in different community contexts across Ontario. The first workshop in the series provides an introduction to mental health and well-being in later life. The other 11 cover a broad range of mental health, addiction and substance use topics, including:
- depression
- anxiety disorders
- bipolar disorder
- psychosis
- dementia
- delirium
- opioids and other medications
- cannabis and alcohol
- gambling
- positive mental health
- navigating the care system.
This series has also been adapted to honour the traditional knowledge and community expertise of Métis people in Ontario.
Interested in bringing the workshops to your community?
We are always looking for new partners who are interested in delivering the workshop series to older adults in their communities.
To facilitate a workshop, you should have experience:
- working with older adults
- facilitating groups, and
- assisting clients with mental health or addiction issues.
Facilitators and partner organizations also get access to an evidence-based curriculum and support from Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital—at no cost.
For more information, please check out this overview of the workshop series and our FAQ about becoming a facilitator. If you have questions about the workshop series or are interested in becoming a facilitator, email olderadults@camh.ca.
Resources
Our team has developed handouts for older adults about the topics covered in the 12 workshops. And thanks to a collaboration with our partners, these information sheets are available in English, French, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Punjabi, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese.
Also, our team has developed a fact sheet on understanding trauma in later life, which is available in both English and French.
Courses
Aging and mental health: A primer on health equity, diversity and anti-racism
This free, self-directed online course is designed to raise awareness of the social and structural factors that influence the mental health of older adults from immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural and racialized groups. Access the course.
Supporting the mental health of older adults in care
This free, self-directed, online course is for service providers and staff working with older adults in long-term care and retirement homes. It provides an overview of mental health and mental illness in older adults in care, including factors specific to older, diverse populations. Access the course.
Project team
This project is led by the Provincial System Support Program (PSSP) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) with funding from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, the Ministry of Health and the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence at Ontario Health.
Related resources, news, and events
Webinar recording: Getting good sleep: Sleep and mental health in later life
Resource | Sept 29, 2023Mental health and well-being in later life: Multilingual resources
Resource | Jun 15, 2023Research Snapshot: Social isolation and psychological distress among older adults related to COVID-19
Resource | Jul 18, 2022Research Snapshot: Discrimination reported by older adults living with mental health conditions
Resource | Jul 11, 2022Course updates for service providers working with older adults
News | Jun 7, 2022Become a workshop facilitator for older adults
News | May 6, 2022Webinar recording: How to support the mental health and well-being of older adults and service and care providers
Resource | Mar 22, 2022Supporting older adults with substance use challenges
Resource | Mar 17, 2022Webinar: How to support the mental health and well-being of older adults and service and care providers
Event | Mar 2, 2022Webinar: Social prescribing as a pathway to well-being
Event | Feb 23, 2022Research Snapshot: Ethnic differences in mental health status and service utilization
Resource | Feb 7, 2022Webinar recording: Older adults and service delivery from an ARAO framework
Resource | Jan 26, 2022Webinar: Older adults and service delivery from an ARAO framework
Event | Jan 12, 2022Webinar recording: Key elements to assisting people living with dementia in ethnocultural communities
Resource | Dec 3, 2021Webinar recording: Best practices for language access in older adult populations
Resource | Nov 26, 2021Research Snapshot: Organizational conditions that influence work engagement and burnout
Resource | Nov 22, 2021Webinar: Key elements to assisting people living with dementia in ethnocultural communities
Event | Nov 12, 2021Webinar: Best practices for language access in older adult populations
Event | Nov 1, 2021Research Snapshot: Mental health care of older adults
Resource | Oct 3, 2021CAMH publication about older adults with mental health and addiction problems
News | Jul 26, 2021Multilingual resources to support mental health and well-being in later life
News | Jun 22, 2021Online course: Supporting the mental health of older adults in care
Resource | Jun 11, 2021Webinar: Launch of multilingual mental health resources for older adults
Event | May 25, 2021Online course: A primer on health equity, diversity and anti-racism
Resource | May 18, 2021Grieving during COVID-19: What health service providers of older adults need to know
Resource | May 11, 2021Promising practice: Addressing older adult loneliness through the Rx Community social prescribing pilot
Resource | Sept 18, 2020Strategies for social connection among isolated older adults
Resource | Aug 14, 2020Evidence brief: Virtual and remote mental health care for older adults
Resource | Jul 30, 2020Preventing and recognizing burnout and compassion fatigue when working with older adults
Resource | Jul 10, 2020