The Royal Goes Mobile with HealthyMinds App

Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) join us as partners to promote free mental wellness app on campuses across the country

OTTAWA, Jan. 30, 2014 /CNW/ - The Royal, along with its partners, has launched the HealthyMinds app to foster healthy minds and provide students with a problem-solving tool to help them better manage their emotions and cope with the stresses they encounter on and off campus. The goal of HealthyMinds is to emphasize the importance of taking care of one's brain health as part of overall physical well-being.

Through a donation from D.I.F.D., The Royal developed the app in response to requests from students who participate in their successful Is It Just Me? mental health awareness program. A great number of youth asked for ways on how to better cope with day-to-day pressures, stressful situations and how to keep their emotions in check.

"You can't have health without good mental health" said George Weber, President and CEO of The Royal. "By taking care of our brain health, we enhance resilience and the ability to face life's challenges. A needed skill in today's fast-paced society where the need to stay connected is high," added Weber.

HealthyMinds features a daily mood tracker to help stay mindful of emotions, as well as a journaling feature with photo entry capability. A problem solving tool linked to iCalendar also guides users step-by step through the process of identifying, reframing and developing a plan to address challenges in life based on a problem solving approach used in mental health treatment. The app also features coping and stress buster strategies, information on mind and body and a video breathing exercise to help calm the mind.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) have joined as partners to help promote the app and the message of mental wellness and healthy minds on campuses across the country. ACCC and AUCC will promote HealthyMinds to their member institutions to help generate awareness among students about this free mental health tool.

"We're pleased to support the HealthyMinds initiative because students need awareness of their mental health, as well as their physical health to succeed," said Denise Amyot, President and CEO of ACCC. "In an increasingly mobile world, student access to mental health support on-the-go is a great idea and we hope it has a positive impact on learning."

"Canada's universities offer many services and programs aimed at mental wellness on campus," notes Paul Davidson, President and CEO of AUCC. "We're pleased to see the launch of HealthyMinds as a promising tool to help support students' mental health wherever they are."

HealthyMinds is now available in English and French for free for iPhone, iPad, iPad mini and iPod Touch through the App Store or through healthymindsapp.ca, theroyal.ca, and difd.com, where printable promotional materials are also available. Android coming soon.

About The Royal
The Royal is one of Canada's foremost mental health care and academic health science centres. Its mandate is simple: to get more people living with mental illness into recovery faster. The Royal combines the delivery of specialized mental health care, advocacy, research and education to transform the lives of people with complex and treatment resistant mental illness. For more information, visit theroyal.ca.

About ACCC
ACCC is the national and international voice of 131 of Canada's publicly-funded colleges and institutes, with 1.5 million learners of all ages and backgrounds at campuses serving over 3,000 urban, rural and remote communities.

About AUCC
As the voice of Canada's universities at home and abroad, AUCC represents 97 public and private not-for-profit universities and university degree-level colleges. It is a membership organization providing university presidents with a unified voice and a forum for collective action. AUCC has represented the interests of Canadian universities since 1911.

About D.I.F.D.
D.I.F.D. was created by friends and family of 14-year-old Daron Richardson, who died by suicide in 2010. D.I.F.D. is inspired by hope for a future where young people will reach out for help without fear or shame and supports programs and initiatives aimed at transforming youth mental health. Visit DIFD.com to learn more.

Image with caption: "The Royal Goes Mobile with HealthyMinds App (CNW Group/The Royal)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140130_C6378_PHOTO_EN_36063.jpg

SOURCE: The Royal

Media contacts:

Nicole Loreto, Vice President, Communication & Stakeholder Relations, The Royal
613.722.6521 ext. 6448 (office) | 613.697.2000 (mobile) l [email protected]

Shawn Dearn, Director of Communications, ACCC
613-746-2222 ext. 3123 l [email protected]
Twitter: ACCC_Comms

Helen Murphy
Assistant Director, Communications, AUCC
613-563-3961 ext. 238 l [email protected]