Mental Health Week 2024

Mental Health Week is May 6-12, 2024, and this year the theme is "healing with compassion." 

Compassion, as the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) explains, is action combined with empathy ("empathy + action = compassion"), though sympathy and empathy are really interchangeable here. Self-compassion is when you exercise the same level of care and kindness that you would show a close friend towards yourself. Both compassion and self-compassion have mental health benefits, such as increased happiness, satisfaction, and optimism. 

CMHA has put together a toolkit with resources defining compassion, discussing compassion in different areas of life, and a practical activity for the week. You can download your own toolkit here.

Explore the resources below for discussions about compassion in dentistry -- both compassion for others and for yourself -- as well as some general mental health resources.

Compassion Resources

M. Khwaja. Resilience and Well‐being for Dental Professionals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 2023. 

C.K. Germer, K. Neff. Teaching the mindful self-compassion program : a guide for professionals. New York: The Guilford Press. 2019.

K. Neff, C.K. Germer. The mindful self-compassion workbook : a proven way to accept yourself, build inner strength, and thrive. New York: Guilford Press. 2018.

E. Seppala, editor. The Oxford handbook of compassion science. New York: Oxford University Press. 2017.

T.M. Skovholt, M. Trotter-Mathison. The resilient practitioner : burnout and compassion fatigue prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions. Third edition. London : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 2016.

General Mental Health Resources

U of T Dentistry Student Life resources

U of T Dentistry Student Services resources

U of T mental health resources

Mental health resource list from RCDSO

This Mental Health Week, be compassionate to yourself and to others!