Episodes

  • Episode 365: On DCO Discourse's 2025 Highlights

    Episode 365: On DCO Discourse's 2025 Highlights
    Jan 5 2026
    In this episode, we listen to clips from our top five episodes of 2025, you’ll hear from current and previous staff at DCO including Marissa R, Caitlin P, Prabhvir G, Christina D, with guests including community members, and therapists such as Chad Mackintosh and Tracey Sebastian. It’s a reminder that the DCO discourse podcast is inherently a community initiative with many voices attached to it. I hope you enjoy! And we look forward to releasing more episodes in 2026. Check out the full episodes here: https://dcontario.fireside.fm/316 https://dcontario.fireside.fm/317 https://dcontario.fireside.fm/321 https://dcontario.fireside.fm/331 https://dcontario.fireside.fm/328
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    25 mins
  • Episode 364: On CPBAO's Cuts to Training for Psychologists

    Episode 364: On CPBAO's Cuts to Training for Psychologists
    Dec 22 2025
    In this episode, Vijay breaks down the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario’s proposed reforms, which aim to speed up licensure and increase access to care. While supporters argue these changes could reduce wait times, many psychologists, educators, and community organizations warn they may compromise the quality and safety of mental health care. Featuring insights from the Psychology Advocacy Network, this episode explores what’s at stake, the growing pushback from professionals, and what these decisions could mean for patients across the province. Check out the Psychology Advocacy Network's website here: https://www.psychadvocacy.ca/ and on social media @psychologyadvocacynetwork to stay updated on the incredible work they're doing! Read articles on the subject here: - www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/psychologists-rally-on-parliament-hill-against-proposed-cuts-to-training/ https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/health/college-looks-to-cut-psychologist-training-requirements-citing-ford-government-changes-11280859 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-psychologists-ontario-plans-lower-training-requirements-worry/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.
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    29 mins
  • Episode 363: Archived Episode: On The Importance of Sleep

    Episode 363: Archived Episode: On The Importance of Sleep
    Dec 15 2025
    This week, we're replaying a popular episode on sleep hygiene. Caitlin shares some information on why sleep is important to our mental health, how we can try to improve our sleep quality, and some resources to learn more. Stay tuned to the end, where Vijay addresses something we didn't the first time around, the dangers of oversleeping. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.
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    15 mins
  • Episode 362: On Shifting Towards Cultural Humility

    Episode 362: On Shifting Towards Cultural Humility
    Dec 8 2025
    This week we're doing another installment of Crisis Reports talking about a paper entitled “Rethinking Cultural Competence: Shifting to Cultural Humility”. This paper focuses on the shift happening across health and social services moving away from cultural competence and toward cultural humility. Your host, Vijay M, walks through what this means practically with some examples of how to incorporate cultural humility into crisis work. Read the full article here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7756036/pdf/10.1177_1178632920970580.pdf To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.
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    17 mins
  • Episode 361: On Domestic Violence Awareness and Support

    Episode 361: On Domestic Violence Awareness and Support
    Dec 1 2025
    November was Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Canada, so this week host Caitlin Plant is joined by Anna Najcler. Anna is the Volunteer Coordinator at the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) of Waterloo Region and a Counselling Psychology Student, Qualifying. Anna has joined us to talk about domestic violence in its many forms, as well as sharing some of the programs SASC offers to support survivors of gender-based violence in the region. Please be aware that this podcast explores topics that may be challenging for some listeners, we encourage you to take a break if you need it and always seek out any supports available to you. Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region: https://www.sascwr.org/ The Canadian Women’s Foundation: https://canadianwomen.org/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.
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    18 mins
  • Episode 360: On Self-Care During the Holidays

    Episode 360: On Self-Care During the Holidays
    Nov 24 2025
    This week’s episode is a companion piece to our November blog titled, “The Gift of Self-Care During the Holiday Season” (https://www.dcontario.org/self-care-during-the-holiday-season/). Caitlin Plant, Director of Operations at Distress and Crisis Ontario, shares some highlights from the blog post, as well as adding in her own thoughts. This episode focuses on promoting self-care as essential, not selfish, and shares tips on balancing body and mind, embracing emotions, letting go of perfection, and reaching out for support. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.
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    16 mins
  • Episode 359: On National Grief and Bereavement Day

    Episode 359: On National Grief and Bereavement Day
    Nov 17 2025
    The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) shares that the third Tuesday in November marks the annual National Grief and Bereavement Day in Canada. The theme for this year is “Help Close Canada’s Grief Literacy Gap”. In this episode, Caitlin is joined by Dr. Susan Cadell, a social work researcher and adjunct professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at University of Waterloo, as well as the co-founder of Grief Matters, a Canadian organization that aims to improve how we understand and make room for grief. Grief Matters: https://griefmatters.ca/ Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association: https://www.chpca.ca/awareness/national-grief-and-bereavement-day/ Grief literacy: A call to action for compassionate communities: https://lifeanddeathmatters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Breen-et-al.-Grief-literacy-A-call-to-action-for-compassionate-communities-1.pdf Canadian Grief Alliance: https://aboutgrief.ca/ and their old site https://www.mygrief.ca/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8
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    28 mins
  • Episode 358: On Men's Mental Health: A Chat with HeadsUpGuys

    Episode 358: On Men's Mental Health: A Chat with HeadsUpGuys
    Nov 10 2025
    In this episode, Vijay from Distress and Crisis Ontario talks about Men’s Mental Health for this Movember. Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and men's suicide. We talk to Josh Beharry, Project Manager of HeadsUpGuys, a website centered around men’s mental health, offering self-care, screening tools, courses, and a therapist directory. Josh himself is a men’s mental health advocate and has done a tremendous amount of writing for the site Check out the full website here: https://headsupguys.org/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8
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    30 mins