North Shore PCN Mental Health Clinicians offer Practical Workshops on Conflict Resolution & Understanding our Emotions
Collaborative, team-based care is central to the North Shore Primary Care Network. Mental Health Clinicians are allied healthcare professionals that form part of your health care team. They work with your primary care provider and provide you with time-limited support to help with the challenges and issues that you are facing in your life. If you require counselling, the clinician will work with you to help address your immediate mental health challenges in the short term, while helping you to build healthy coping skills for the long term.
As part of building healthy coping skills the PCN Mental Health Clinician team recently held a Conflict Resolution Workshop. The group met for five weeks and was co-facilitated by two mental health clinicians. Participants who were seeking help to gain a deeper understanding of how to manage conflict in their lives and to develop more effective communication skills were referred to the workshop by family doctors who are connected to the Primary Care Network. The group discussed a wide array of topics and undertook practical exercises each week.
Over the course of the five weeks, participants added to their personal handbook of diverse practical handouts. The one-and-a-half-hour sessions were structured to help participants learn about assertive and healthy communication, and provided opportunities to practice and build on these skills in a safe, supportive setting.
Some of the topics that participants found particularly useful included exploring their own conflict styles and their personal values in relation to what is most important to them. Another area that group members highlighted was practicing the use of “I” statements. These exercises were designed to teach participants to share their feelings and needs with clarity and empathy, as well as how to make requests, repair attempts, and apologies in a mindful way. Participants also practiced ways of setting healthy boundaries with others and learned about the importance of cultivating self-compassion in the process of applying these skills.
Upcoming Workshop on Understanding Emotions
The Mental Health Clinician Team is now offering another five-week closed group workshop on “Understanding Emotions“, beginning April 24th, which will guide participants through a deeper understanding of the role emotions play in their lives, and how to recognize and navigate through them with greater awareness and understanding. Referrals for this group are open until April 17th. Interested participants who are connected to the North Shore Primary Care Network can express their interest in registering for the group by emailing NSPCNMHST@vch.ca, after which a clinician will contact them for a screening call and provide additional information.