Defence Team: #GetReal about how to help – A message from your Mental Health co-Champions

May 2, 2022 -  Defence Stories

Team,

Mental Health Week (accessible only on the National Defence network) 2022 is here and this year’s theme is Empathy.

As your Defence Team Mental Health co-Champions, we encourage you to learn more about how to use empathy as a tool to more effectively support one another, especially in the midst of serious challenges.

Empathy is as complex as mental health. It’s the ability to put yourself in someone else’s position, both intellectually and emotionally, while recognizing that you are a different person and those are not your feelings. It starts with observation, curiosity about others, appropriate communication and respectful behaviour. While it can come so naturally to some, for others empathy requires practice and awareness.

We, as individuals, colleagues, and leaders, play an important role in creating an open, inclusive, and psychologically safe work environment for everyone to feel supported. Putting empathy into practice can sometimes feel intimidating but personal reflection on how you can relate is a simple first step towards helping someone feel heard, understood, and validated.

The newly released Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy (THWS) reflects the commitment to our well-being and to the cultural change needed to make all Defence Team members feel safe, respected, included, and empowered in their workplaces.

Join us in making #MentalHealthWeek resonate on your social media, #GetReal about mental health by demonstrating #Empathy, and consulting all the tools, resources, and services available to you and your family members.

Bill Matthews
Deputy Minister
Mental Health co-Champion

Lieutenant-General Frances Allen
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Mental Health co-Champion

Wanda Boudreau
President Federal Government Dockyard Chargehands Association
Mental Health co-Champion

Related links

• “#GetReal for Mental Health Week: Preventing and Managing Burnout at Work” virtual event hosted by the Canadian School of Public Service on May 5.
• Mental Health Related DLN Courses:
  • Mental Health in the Workplace for Employees (Course Number 302823) [PDF - 5.2 MB] (accessible only on the National Defence network)
  • Mental Health in the Workplace for Managers (Course Number 301604) [PDF - 5.2 MB] (accessible only on the National Defence network)
• Defence Team COVID-19 - Mental Health and Wellness Resources
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program (CFMAP)
• Canadian Mental Health Association (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website)
• Mental Health Week Toolkit (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website)
• Ways to #GetReal about mental health (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website)
• Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy