By:
Morena Hernandez
Friday, March 31, 2023
Back Row (L-R): Brad Daly, Mike Cywink, Nikita Kalwani, Amal Baobaid, Alyssa Mueller, Sue Kim, Meghan Fournie, Amira Noyes, Christina Amico, Alicia Lapointe, Terry Spencer; Front Row (L-R): Eli Cwinn, Morena Hernandez, Claire Crooks, Andrea Delaney, Maisha Syeda, Emily Barry, Gina Kayssi, Maria Ibanez, Sandra Savage, Natalia Kubishyn; Absent: Erin Gurr
Twenty-two Centre for School Mental Health (CSMH) staff and students had the opportunity to attend the 52nd Banff International Conference on Behavioural Science held at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, from March 19 to 23, 2023. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the conference in 2020 and 2021.
The conference is geared towards professionals planning, implementing, and evaluating mental health services for elementary and secondary school students. This year's theme was School Mental Health: Utilizing Science, Culture, and Context to Inform Practice.
Through plenary addresses and workshops, participants were presented with the most recent research findings from internationally recognized experts, with an emphasis on integrating science, culture, and context into everyday practice to support the mental health of diverse youth.
Claire Crooks co-led the Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG): Implementation and Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention for Immigrant and Refugee Students workshop with Sharon Hoover from the National Center for School Mental Health.
Andrea Delaney, Mike Cywink and Sherry Letendre co-led a workshop on Promoting Well-being among Indigenous Youth through Strengths-Based and Culturally-relevant Healthy Relationships Programs.
Alicia Lapointe also led a workshop on Turning the Right 'Key' to Open Doors for 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth: Promoting Positive Mental Health through a Group Intervention.
Several CSMH students and staff also participated in the conference's poster session. This year the outstanding poster prize was awarded to Sue Kim for her poster on "The protective role classroom climate plays on students' worry and negative peer relations: A multilevel examination." Sue is a doctoral candidate in School Psychology supervised by Dr. Claire Crooks.
Learn more about the Banff International Conferences on Behavioural Science.
