The Forensic Community Reintegration Unit (FCRU) is a 25-bed unit at Ontario Shores for patients on Disposition Orders from the Ontario Review Board (ORB) who require a general forensic environment.
The Forensic Outpatient Service (FOS) at Ontario Shores provides community-based treatment and rehabilitation for patients who have been discharged from Ontario Shores, but remain under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Review Board (ORB). Contact: Robin Bowerman, Manager of Forensic Operations and...
An interprofessional team provides flexible service tailored to the individual needs of a person. Individuals are offered a period of assessment followed by ongoing support for the individuals’ recovery process and goal attainment by providing individual or group sessions using evidence based...
In Ontario, adults with depression and anxiety-related conditions can access publicly-funded, evidence-based, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and related approaches to help manage their conditions. CBT is a structured, time-limited therapy that is problem-focused and goal-oriented and teaches...
It is heartbreaking to monitor social media when a patient from Ontario Shores goes missing and the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) post a media release in an effort to inform the public and safely return the individual to hospital. I understand why the public must be alerted and the...
Ontario Shores and its Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) is #RisingUp to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFS team have been doing things differently since the start of the pandemic. Outpatients have been struggling with meeting their basic everyday needs due to the closure of...
Whether you’re a front-line worker encroaching on burnout; a parent trying to juggle working from home and educating your kids; or you’ve been temporarily unemployed, we are all experiencing stressors from our current situation and could use a little self-care. But, there is still some...
Therapy has come a long way from Sigmund Freud’s “lie on a couch and tell me about your mother”. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an incredibly well researched form of treatment that has replaced most other forms of therapy for individuals with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses...
A number of stories related to mental health will be told in the days leading up to Bell Let’s Talk Day, which is scheduled for January 25. Many of those stories will point to the need to treat mental health as important as we treat physical health. This is a common message and one that we often...
March is Nutrition Month and across Canada, Registered Dietitians are spreading the word to promote healthy eating. This year’s Nutrition Month theme is: Unlock the Potential of Food. We want to help Canadians realize the potential of food to fuel, discover, prevent, heal and bring us together. The...
When is the right time for someone in the forensic mental health system to begin the process of transitioning back into the community? What privileges does a person in the forensic mental health system have access to? When can a person be discharged? In general terms, these are very difficult...
There are more than just a few myths surrounding mental health care in Ontario and the services we provide at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores). When it comes to mental illness and the treatment of it, there is an incredibly long history of silence. For decades...
I get it, it’s complicated. Mental Illness is an illness that unfortunately receives compassion only when it is convenient or easy. As a society, we get Bell Let’s Talk with all the celebrities speaking about their challenges, we have compassion for children’s mental health and maybe, to some extent...
Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) is proud to announce it is expanding the availability of its Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) program (formally known as the CBT Demonstration Project) to the regions it serves. Ontario Shores first implemented the initiative in...
With all the emotions that we are collectively experiencing these next few months, we might want to taking time to experience new things that we’ve always wanted to do. In my past two blogs I talked about healthy versus unhealthy anxiety. And while there are many opportunities that people can...
Each day we are charged with the responsibility to be determined in our efforts to leverage innovation to provide exemplary care to our patients and families. A new partnership between Ontario Shores and SilverCloud is certain to create greater opportunities for people struggling with mental illness...
At times, I’ve taken a step back and looked through my life to try and determine where things started to go awry. My brother’s death was a huge catalyst into the start of my mental health journey. Before his death, I’d had people die who were close to me, but they had lived long lives. The loss of...
Aaron and I started our relationship at a difficult time in both of our lives; he was dealing with the recent loss of his brother, and we were both coming out of relationships. We were two wounded people who thought a new relationship would solve our problems. Throughout the years we’ve had our...
Today marks Bell Let’s Talk Day. This is the 13TH time Bell has helped start the conversation about mental health and I thank them for that. This year, however, I’m going to ask you to entertain just a slight, but significant change, to its title, ‘Bell Let’s Talk AND Listen Day’.
Help Support our Therapeutic Gardening programs The Beez Kneez Therapeutic Sustainability Garden was started in 2021 and features wheelchair-accessible raised-bed planters, rain barrels, composters, bird feeders, wind chimes and a honey-producing bee hive maintained by Alvéole. Patients named the...
Episode 5 of the #MindVine Podcast features news, views and interviews related to mental health, mental illness and recovery. In this episode we're on site at CMHA's Mental Health For All conference. Day 3, the last day at the conference includes interviews with John Pare, Chief of Police at London...
Episode 7 features interviews with forensic outpatient and #mentalhealth advocate Brian Rose and Simcoe Reformer reporter Daniel R. Pearce, who is working on a follow up story on Brian and mental health in his community. The #MindVine podcast is hosted by Communications team members Darryl Mathers...
In this episode, we have special guests Sanaz Riahi, VP and Chief Nursing Executive at Ontario Shores (@SanazRiahi) and Kelaiah Guiel, Actor (@laiahg). This episode of the #MindVine Podcast is hosted by Communications team members Darryl Mathers (@DarrylMathers) and Chris Bovie (@ChrisBovie1).
Episode 119 of the #MindVine #mentalhealth podcast features Dr. Elizabeth Coleman, forensic psychiatrist, and Cathy Duivesteyn, Director of the forensic mental health program. The two discuss everything forensic mental health, including NCR, passes, missing patients and recovering from complex...
Welcome to "Mental Health Matters," where in our first episode we'll be delving into workplace mental health. Amber Smith leads a discussion with guest Melissa Geary, sharing eye-opening statistics and insights, while Christina Fuda highlights the significance of mental health training, offering a...