Mindful Community, Compassionate Care
The BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Mindfulness aspires to support mindfulness practice, including clinical and educational programs, health professional development, and research. The Centre serves as a hub to connect, support, and grow mindfulness activities for children, youth, families and caregivers, and health professionals. The Centre also aspires to nurture a “mindful culture” throughout the hospital community, the province of British Columbia, and beyond.
Events
Kelty Blog
Mindfulness Resources
Present Matters: Mindfulness and Mental Well-being
Parents and caregivers are often curious about mindfulness – how do we fit this into our busy lives, does this actually help my child or youth's mental wellness? In this episode from the Kelty Centre's Where You Are podcast, listen to Paul Irving (mindfulness champion) and Dr. Dzung Vo, founding Director of BC Children's Hospital Centre for Mindfulness) to learn more.
Mindfulness: Youth Voices
Features young people discussing their experiences practicing mindfulness, how it has benefited their lives and includes insights from a health professional and mindfulness teacher.
Breathr
Breathr provides easy and fun ways to practice mindfulness along with interesting facts about the benefits of mindfulness.
Dr. Dzung Vo
Dzung X. Vo, MD, is a pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine, founding Director of the BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Mindfulness, and a Clinical Associate Professor and Division Head for the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, at BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In partnership with Dr. Jake Locke, Dr. Vo co-developed MARS-A (Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents), an eight-week mindfulness training program for adolescents with depressive symptoms, with or without other co-occurring chronic illness or chronic pain. Dr. Vo also developed a Mindful Healing course for health care providers, adapted from Mindful Practice (Ron Epstein and Michael Krasner) and other sources.
Dr. Joanna McDermid
Joanna McDermid, MD, is a psychiatrist, with a subspecialty in child and adolescent psychiatry and is a clinical instructor with Department of Psychiatry, at BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to her psychiatry training, Dr McDermid has trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC). She has done an extended mentorship with Dr. Ron Epstein and his team in the Mindful Practice® program for physicians and health providers through the University of Rochester. Dr McDermid has developed a mindfulness program to supplement standard care for individuals with eating disorders in residential treatment and she is currently developing a global parent mindfulness informed resource.
Charlene Black
Char obtained her Masters of Public Health from the University of Alberta, and from there went on to become a Senior Project Manager in Health Promotion. Currently, Char works at BC Children's Hospital as part of the Mental Health Literacy Team. She is most passionate about using participatory approaches in promoting health and achieving health equity.
When she's not challenging the many myths, stereotypes, and stigmas that surround mental health, you can find Char playing with her energetic young children and trying to squeeze in many moments of self-care that allow her to show up as her best self, every day.
Dr. Katarina Tabi
Dr. Katarina Tabi, PhD is a researcher and mindfulness practitioner. Dr. Tabi has worked in the research of brain and mind most of her professional career. She was involved in projects and has published in the fields of mental health, mindfulness, neuropsychopharmacology, e-mental health and resilience. Dr. Tabi is a qualified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) teacher, trained by the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts, Medical School. As a mindfulness teacher, she has experience teaching internationally different communities including students, health-care providers, and working professionals. Dr. Tabi is interested in a variety of interventions that lead to the cultivation of awareness. She seeks to understand these techniques through the perspective of both eastern traditions and neuroscience.
Executive Committee
Sarah Bell, Chief Operating Officer, BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children; Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Head Interprofessional Practice, Children's & Women's Health
Dr. Jana Davidson, MD, FRCP(C), Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, UBC; Head, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, UBC; Chief Medical Officer, BC Children's, Sunny Hill & BC Women's Hospital
Dr. Evelyn Stewart, Professor in Psychiatry, UBC; Lead for Brain, Behaviour & Development Research, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute; Research Director for Child, Adolescent & Reproductive Mental Health, BC Children’s Hospital
Andrew Tugwell, Director, Health Promotion and Prevention
Council
Lori Brotto, Executive Director Women’s Health Research Institute; Philip Crowell, Spiritual Care Leader at BC Children’s Hospital; Halima Elmi, Program Coordinator, PHSA Health Promotion; Helen Kennett-Bacon, Nurse Clinician; Sabrina Gill, Nurse Clinician; Christy Hay, Director New Knowledge & Innovation; Lucinda Kunkel, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist; Dr. Gilbert Lam, Pediatrician; Dr. Brad Locke, Psychiatrist; Dr. Jake Locke, Psychiatrist; Michelle Man, Communications, Pediatrics; Dr. Ashley Miller, Psychiatrist; Theresa Newlove, Director of C&W Workplace Wellness, Culture & Experience; Carina Perel-Panar, Psychiatrist, BC Mental Health and Addiction Services; Susan Poitras, Project Manager; Mia Remington, Pediatrician; Dr. Fulroop Sidhu, Psychiatrist; Tatiana Sotindjo, Adolescent Medicine Clinician; Dr. Caron Strahlendorf, Deputy Head, Department of Pediatrics; Joan Sutherland, Nurse Clinician; Ciara Toddington, Youth in Residence