b'Supporting Health and Wellnessq DANIEL MARTIN 09Daniel Martin 09 pursued his passions after graduating from Greenwood and is now working as a 2SLGBTQ+ Counsellor at Associated Youth Services of Peel. He graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Evolutionary Biology in 2013, and then went on to complete his Master of Counseling Psychology at OISE, which allowed him to become a Registered Psychotherapist. Daniels interest in counseling began with his role as a Peer Counselor at an organization called Room 13 while he was an undergraduate. Since that time, Ive always been keen on working in mental health, which I think relects how much I enjoy talking to people, said Daniel. There are two primary components of Daniels role as a 2SLGBTQ+ counsellor: he provides ongoing individual therapy to approximately eight clients, and he also facilitates a weekly support group which is meant to be both educational and fun. He and his group have discussions, watch videos, read articles, do art projects and play games. Before the pandemic, all of these activities and meetings would take place in person; today, they are done through video calls or over the phone.Through individual therapy, I am most often helping individuals deal with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, he said. In some cases, I am able to meet together with youth and their caregivers to discuss things like gender identity, and providem HEATHER BURT 15some guidance to caregivers about how to provide more support. Daniels position also allows him to ill the role of case management. ThisHeather Burt 15 is completing her MSc at UBC School can mean helping individuals ind medical practitioners who will provideof Population and Public Health with a research focus trans-airming care, taking youth to food banks or teaching youth how toon mental health. Before UBC, she went to Colgate do laundry. The scope of our program allows for us to be more active inUniversity and was exposed to many dierent research our clients lives than working in a private practice likely would. projects. I was fortunate enough to connect with For Daniel, working with his support group can be incredibly fun. ImDr. Quynh Doan, a pediatric emergency doctor at always impressed with how smart and articulate the youth I work withBC Childrens Hospital and an active researcher in are and the sessions where we really get engagement in discussion makeyouth mental health, said Heather. She is the most me so happy, said Daniel. I deinitely feel a sense of optimism about thepassionate researcher I have ever met and, skip future when I listen to these folks speak about what they care about. forward in the story, I am lucky enough to have heras my thesis advisor. On the other hand, Daniels role presents some challenges. SuicidalityWhat led Heather to UBC was the opportunity to work is a common issue for the folks I work with, and even when youre ablewith, and learn from, Dr. Doan. She found a mentor, a lab to address and mitigate that problem, it is stressful, said Daniel. Moreand a project that allow her to work directly with patients broadly, it can also be frustrating to recognize that theres only so much Iand health care professionals in a hospital that serves as can do in an outpatient counseling program. For youth with unsupportivea irst point of care for the provinces critically ill children families you have to realize that theres a lot you cant change, andand youth. The research opportunities that UBC has, depending on age, it could be a long time before they will be able toin any ield, are second to none, said Heather. I would signiicantly change their circumstances. deinitely recommend UBC to any up-and-coming or Daniel encourages those who are interested in pursuing this ield to tryestablished researcher.and explore the dierent areas of working in mental health. Psychiatry,Young adults in postsecondary education experience social work, clinical psychology, psychotherapy and other professionsmany challenges and stressors moving away from their are all ways to be in this ield, and even within those realms you can indsupport networks while still cognitively developing. dierent types of educational programs to achieve them, he said. HeAccording to Heather, research has shown that young also encourages all those who are interested in more clinical programs adults are also among the most likely to beneit from to try and ind research opportunities early on, ideally in undergrad, sothe use of digital technologies in mental health (MH) you can get more experience before pursuing it as a full-time career. assessments, diagnosis, and treatment. However, digital tools are rarely used in postsecondary health systems. To address this gap, Heathers lab developed HEARTSMAPU, a digital psychosocial assessment and guidance tool aimed at improving students ability to self-identify their need for MH treatment, and to connect them with timely care. In my thesis project, I aim to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of HEARTSMAPU, she said. Following its evaluation, her team intends for HEARTSMAPU to be accessible to postsecondary students across the countryas a downloadable app.Through my experiences at both Colgate and UBC, I have gained more respectand, to my initial surprise, lovefor research, said Heather. I deinitely want to keep research as a part of my career following my MSc, and my current plan is to pursue an MD or an MD/PhD.Greenwood11GRWD206_Evergreen_2020_v5.indd 11 10/9/20 4:28 PM'