Areas Of Focus
Meaning & Purpose
When you have goals and feel that what you do matters beyond yourself, it changes the way you feel about the world around you.
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Quality Relationships
Having people in your life that you can trust, turn to or just chat where you feel you are valued greatly increased wellbeing.
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Resiliency & Self-Efficacy
Understanding your problems and seeing them as manageable is a learned skill that we practice every day of our lives.
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Our Team
ARLENE MACDOUGALL
Dr. Arlene MacDougall is an accomplished psychiatrist, researcher, educator and academic health care leader. She has led the development of transformative systems initiatives for mental health both locally and globally. She has authored over 40 publications and has been recognized as a global Young Physician Leader by the InterAcademy Partnership.
ALEC COOK
Alec is a undergraduate student at Western University, completing an honours specialization in psychology. Alec has been a part of MINDS since 2018, starting as a co-op student in his senior year of high school. He is currently leading the studying Youth-Centred Practice project. Alec is also a facilitator of the Youth Mental Health and Addictions Council (YMHAC).
LILY YOSIEPH
Lily is currently an EDI evaluator and adult liaison to the Youth Mental Health and Addictions Council (YMHAC), which she previously co-facilitated with Alec Cook. Lily admires the transdisciplinary approach to solving complex mental health system challenges within the MINDS lab; outside of work, she enjoys catching up on quality time with friends and family.
IYLAH NEVES
Iylah is an undergraduate student at King’s University pursuing an Honors double major in Psychology and Sexuality Studies. They joined MINDS in 2019 to work on the Safe Storytelling Toolkit, and now also lead the Mental Wellness Profile and Queer in the Classroom initiatives. Outside of work, they are passionate about volunteering, writing, and advocacy.
JASMINE WU
Jasmine is an incoming medical student at McMaster University who is passionate about advocating for culturally-safe mental health systems. Her research with Indigenous mental health services has outlined this disparity within the current mental health system. Jasmine strives to work with marginalized communities to promotes equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.
RENEE HUNT
Renee is passionate and accomplished researcher whose focuses on general health and well-being, with an emphasis on mental health related to positive psychological practices and patterns of interpersonal behaviour. She was most recently a Mitacs Elevate Program Postdoctoral Fellow, Western University and graduated with her PhD in Social Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier.
MELISSA TAYLOR-GATES
Melissa believes foremost in empathy and compassion for those in the world around us. Her work centralizes around power inequality and authentic communication. She strive to foster safe spaces where people can learn from and care for each other in a holistic way. Outside her work, she is a storyteller, archer, tea-lover, feminist, writer, and gamer.
RICHARD BOOTH
Richard Booth is an associate professor at the Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing (Western University) and a clinician researcher with an active research program exploring health informatics, human-technical relationships, and psychiatric-mental health nursing. Richard is an avid angler and will find any excuse use his charcoal barbeque in the rain, snow, or sun.
ABE OUDSHOORN
Abe is Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and the Arthur Labatt Family Chair in Nursing Leadership in Health Equity. Abe is passionate about using research for system change to ensure those experiencing health and social challenges are adequately supported and stably housed. Abe enjoys swimming, biking, running and spending time with his family outdoors.
KELLY ANDERSON
Kelly Anderson is a Canada Research Chair in Public Mental Health Research, and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Epi-demiology & Biostatistics and Psychiatry. Her research program is focused on risk and protective factors for population mental health, and access to mental health care. Kelly enjoys reading and building Lego with her kids.
