Learning, training and networking
Professional learning and collaboration are at the heart of a strong, sustainable school mental health system.
School Mental Health Ontario supports regulated mental health professionals across Ontario’s publicly funded school boards to strengthen prevention and early intervention services through evidence-informed learning, skill-building and professional networking, so that every student can benefit from consistent, high-quality and identity-affirming mental health care at school.
Our approach to learning, training and networking
Our approach is grounded in implementation science to support sustainable, evidence-informed school mental health practices. Training and networking opportunities are designed to align with your board’s mental health strategy, Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 169 and provincial priorities.
We also offer structured networking opportunities including communities of practice and affinity groups that foster collaboration and shared learning among school mental health professionals across the province.
If you’re a regulated mental health professional in an Ontario school board and are interested in training, please speak with your clinical manager or mental health leader. Registration links are provided directly to boards to ensure alignment with local priorities and implementation planning.
Implementation considerations for managers
School Mental Health Ontario is committed to supporting the sustainable uptake of training and professional learning. To support effective implementation, mental health leaders and clinical managers are encouraged to consider how each opportunity fits within the local context before registering participants.
Key questions to guide planning:
- Does this training align with the priorities in your board’s mental health and addictions strategy?
- How does the learning fit within your current service model and delivery structure?
- What supervision, data and referral processes need to be in place to support uptake?
- How will the impact on student outcomes be measured and supported over time?
Careful alignment at the planning stage helps ensure that training translates into effective, equitable and coordinated services for students. For more guidance on implementation planning, please contact your board’s implementation support coach or see the Clinical Supervisors’ Quick Reference Guide on the Leadership Portal.
Clinical foundations training
Our clinical foundations training builds shared knowledge and skills among school mental health professionals. These sessions focus on core priority areas within the school context.
A new protocol that adapts Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the school setting, highlighting key techniques and metaphors set out in eight modules that the clinician can draw from to customize the intervention for each student.
Professional learning focuses on practical school-based CBT strategies that help students understand the relationship between thoughts, emotions and actions. Training emphasizes brief goal-directed interventions appropriate for mild to moderate concerns.
A self-guided training where school mental health professionals learn how to integrate relevant Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) informed skills in the process of suicide risk assessment and management with students.
Learning opportunities support the use of MI to strengthen student engagement, enhance readiness for change and support collaborative, student-centred goal-setting.
Training supports the use of SBIRT as a structured prevention and early intervention approach, particularly for substance use health. Emphasis is placed on early identification, brief intervention and connection to additional supports when needed.
Access the learning and training calendar for dates and connect with your board Mental Health Leader to register.
Brief, evidence-informed school-based protocols and interventions
Our available protocols are evidence-informed, identity-affirming psychosocial supports and clinical approaches designed to support early intervention in the school setting. These brief structured interventions help address student needs efficiently, often within a short-term therapeutic framework.
Our core protocol and intervention trainings are offered regularly throughout the year.
Training builds practitioner confidence in delivering brief, modular coping supports and use of the progress monitoring tool. Learning emphasizes selecting appropriate modules, teaching coping and problem-solving skills efficiently and adapting delivery to student strengths, goals and cultural context.
BRISC is an engagement, triage and brief intervention strategy grounded in CBT principles and well-suited for students with mild to moderate mental health concerns. It offers a brief structured approach to engagement, assessment and early intervention. Student goals are addressed using one or more research-based strategies.
BRISC is typically delivered over four sessions and emphasizes both social-emotional and academic outcomes. Training focuses on understanding protocol flow, collaborative goal-setting, session planning and ongoing progress monitoring to support timely and effective care.
Preventure is a two-session prevention program for youth aged 12-18 that uses personality-focused interventions to promote mental health and reduce the risk of substance use through the development of goal-setting, decision-making and coping skills.
STRONG is an evidence-informed school-based intervention for newcomer youth, designed to support their transition to a new school and community.
It is intended for students experiencing psychological distress or difficulties functioning at home, at school or within their community, often related to adversities and trauma associated with migration and settlement. Training prepares professionals to facilitate STRONG as a group-based intervention for newcomer students. Learning emphasizes group facilitation skills, trauma- and strengths-informed delivery, cultural responsiveness and fostering connection and resilience through structured group processes.
School Mental Health Ontario’s protocol trainings are grounded in research, informed by field testing in Ontario schools and supported through the Innovation and Scale-Up Lab. Learning opportunities are designed to help professionals translate evidence into practice while maintaining flexibility, trust, connection and identity-affirming care.
Training dates are available at the start of each school year, please consult the learning and training calendar for more information.
Professional learning
Our professional learning sessions focus on key topics in school mental health. These sessions support reflection, skill-building and alignment with current research, policy and best practices.
Professional learning explores approaches to support and care that are accessible, inclusive, culturally relevant and responsive. This includes reflecting on how services are delivered, how relationships are built and how pathways to support are shaped in partnership with communities and organizations with expertise in equity, reconciliation, culture and mental wellness. Participants leave with concrete strategies for school mental health practices where every student feels seen, valued and supported.
Professional learning provides an interactive overview of best practices in the prevention of eating-related issues, supports early identification, prevention and school-based responses, with attention to protective factors, stigma reduction and collaboration with families and community partners.
Training explores the core elements of effective facilitation, building supportive group spaces and navigating challenges in group facilitation, including managing group dynamics and supporting diverse student needs.
Affinity groups
Affinity spaces are voluntary identity-based spaces for school mental health professionals to connect, share best practices and support each other’s well-being. They foster community, inform identity-responsive resources and provide a supportive space to explore experiences and questions of practice.
Communities of practice
Our communities of practice bring together professionals with shared roles or training to exchange insights, surface challenges and learn collaboratively. These groups focus on applied learning, continuous improvement and peer-to-peer support. Here are some of the communities of practice presently offered:
- ACT for school-based settings
- BRISC
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Schools
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Informed Suicide Risk Assessment Management
- Life promotion
- Suicide Risk Assessment Management
- STRONG
Access the learning and training calendar for dates and connect with your board Mental Health Leader to join.
FAQs about SMH-ON learning, training and networking opportunities
Are there considerations to keep in mind as I choose training?
Yes. School Mental Health Ontario is focused on supporting the sustainable and meaningful uptake of training across the province. Before registering for any training, it’s important to consider how the opportunity aligns with your board’s mental health strategy and service model.
If you’re a school mental health professional, ask yourself:
- Why is our board adopting this intervention?
- How does it fit within our model of service?
- How might it enhance or shape my work with students?
- What supports or barriers might influence implementation?
- What are the expectations for data collection, reporting or supervision?
If you’re a mental health leader or clinical manager, you can access the Clinical Supervisors’ Quick Reference Guide on the SMH-ON leadership portal for implementation planning support.
Thoughtful planning helps ensure training translates into effective, identity-affirming service for students.
Who can participate in training?
Learning, training and networking opportunities highlighted on this page are for regulated school mental health professionals (e.g., social workers, psychologists and psychotherapists) offering psychotherapeutic prevention and early intervention services within publicly-funded Ontario school boards. These individuals are registered with a college that oversees their profession (e.g., Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, the College of Psychologists of Ontario and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario) and are authorized to perform the controlled act of psychotherapy. For learning and training opportunities for other roles, please see the events calendar.
How is new training developed?
New learning opportunities are developed through a careful, evidence-informed process that centres identity-affirming, practical approaches suited to school settings. We consult with school mental health professionals, researchers and partners to identify needs, and we test and refine new offerings before scaling them across the province.
Many of our protocols and interventions are piloted through our Innovation and Scale-Up Lab, where we explore what works, for whom and under what conditions.
Learn more about the Innovation and Scale-Up Lab
Contact us
Questions or input relating to training opportunities? Please contact our team.