Y MIND

Y Mind

Everyone experiences worries and anxiety. The key is to learn how to make sure these don’t get in the way of doing things you care about!

The Y Mind curriculum includes education and experiential learning about evidenced-based tools and strategies grounded in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness in order to do the following;

• Engage young people in early-intervention mental wellness support.
• Support participants who experience mild-to-moderate anxiety to learn effective skills to cope with their symptoms.
• Educate participants in an introductory level knowledge and practice of the tools/strategies from the main concepts of ACT & Mindfulness.
• Create a safe environment for participants to connect with others who have similar experiences.

Y Mind is a registered program.

All participants are required to join an information session and do an intake before they can  join the program.  

Information sessions are drop in and open to all.

Register Here

Currently, we are looking to partner with organizations that are interested in delivering the Y Mind program in the Southwestern Ontario region. Partner organizations would be responsible for confirming facilitators from their staff with appropriate experience in mental health and group facilitation or confirm plans to hire appropriate staffing.

Y Mind facilitators must possess certain qualifications and will also have specific responsibilities. For more details on facilitator responsibilities, delivery schedule, and deadlines, please refer to the Letter of Interest document. To apply as an organization that would like to facilitate Y Mind, please submit your application through our online form.

Supporting participants mental health journey

While Y Mind Groups can be effective and supportive for many individuals, it does not mean it is the best fit for everyone. We want to ensure that wherever youth are at in their mental health journey, they are getting the appropriate kind of support.

As such, during the intake process, facilitators will discuss with the youth, their experience of anxiety and their willingness to participate in the program to determine together their readiness and confirm if this will be the most suitable support for the youth at this time.

Program Audience
Y Mind Youth aims to support those experiencing mild to moderate anxiety.

Mild to moderate anxiety may have an impact on daily life, but does not severely interfere work, activities and relationships. Despite having days where worry and uneasiness feel particularly challenging for youth experiencing mild to moderate anxiety, they still manage to engage in daily life activities.

⊕ Mild to moderate anxiety may show up in the following ways:

1. Feeling nervous, stressed, worried, restless or tense.
2. Experiencing a general sense of uneasiness and nervousness.
3. Spiralling in thoughts that may be about something that happened in the past, something you are worried about happening in the future, or self-judgement and self-criticism.

⊕ Moderate to Severe anxiety may show up in the following ways:

1. Feeling relentlessly tense, worried, and on edge.
2. Interference with work and relationships – calling in sick, screening calls, not leaving room/home.
3. Believing something bad will happen if certain things are not done a certain way.
4. Avoidance of everyday situations or activities because of anxiety.
5. Experiencing sudden, unexpected attacks of heart-pounding panic daily or weekly.

If you are in crisis and need immediate support, please contact the ConnexOntario Helpline: 1-866-531-2600, go to the hospital, or call 911.

For additional support, please check out these local community resources:

Good2Talk

• For people ages 17 to 25.
• Toll-free: 1-866-925-5454
• Email

Kids Help Phone

• For children and youth ages 5 to 20.
• Toll-free: 1-800-668-6868
• Live web chat
• Text

The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada