Chapter title: Healthy Minds | Healthy Campuses (HM|HC): Promoting mental well-being among postsecondary institutions in BC
Author: Tim Dyck, Ph.D.
Affiliation: University of Victoria, Canada
Author: Dan Reist, Ph.D.
Affiliation: University of Victoria, Canada
Author: Bakht Anwar, B.Sc.
Affiliation: Canadian Mental Health Association (BC), Canada
Author: Kamal Arora, Ph.D.
Affiliation: Canadian Mental Health Association (BC), Canada
Author Biographies:
Dr. Tim Dyck is a research associate at the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) as part of its knowledge mobilization team. Assisting BC’s “Healthy Minds | Healthy Campuses” endeavour since 2007, Tim is a co-lead in its support team and has been especially involved in helping HM|HC’s Changing the Culture of Substance Use initiative. His focus has been on encouraging campuses towards a consistent application of a socio-ecological and culturally attentive health promotion approach as the most appropriate framework for addressing substance use. He has authored or co-authored several policy discussion papers and resource guides to support HM|HC campuses in critical reflection and dialogue on implementing that approach.
Dan Reist is the Assistant Director of Knowledge Exchange at the Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research, where he focuses on communicating current evidence in a way that supports the evolution of effective policy and practice. For over two decades, Dan has contributed to policy dialogues in British Columbia related to substance use and addictive behaviours and has participated in many national and international discussions. He champions the careful use of language to describe substance use and its related risks and problems and seeks to bridge the ideological divides and professional barriers that have too often undermined effective responses. Dan’s interests include health promotion, dialogue and hermeneutics, theories of knowledge, the philosophy of education, healthy public policy, and the phenomenology of psychoactive substance use.
Bakht Anwar is the co-lead of the “Healthy Minds | Healthy Campuses” initiative at the Canadian Mental Health Association’s BC Division. In her role, Bakht supports a provincial community of practice that connects campus stakeholders from across British Columbia to promote mental wellness and healthier relationships with substances. A recent graduate in health sciences from Simon Fraser University, she is interested in the role health promotion plays in health equity and in reducing barriers to healthcare for vulnerable populations. Her experiences have taught her that health promotion can be tremendously impactful when it considers policy governance, health literacy and community participation. Bakht has worked on and led projects relating to mental health, substance use, youth engagement, capacity building, and new immigrant and refugee health needs.
Kamal Arora is the leader of Health Promotion and Education at the Canadian Mental Health Association’s BC Division. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology and has taught courses as a sessional instructor at the University of British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and the University of the Fraser Valley. She has worked directly with a range of people with lived experiences of chronic disease, trauma, violence, food insecurity, homelessness and mental health, and substance use concerns.
