About Open Minds
Hi, I’m Sarah Stewart: Owner and Lead Trainer.
I’m a Registered Social Worker (OCSWSSW), a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor with Mental Health First Aid Canada, and a former trainer of Gentle Persuasive Approaches to dementia care. I’ve developed trainings on trauma-informed practice, boundaries, supporting mental health in the workplace, and many more. I’m proud to be an Associate of TEND, an organization offering resources and training to address the complex needs of high stress, trauma-exposed workplaces. I’ve trained thousands of people in mental health and well-being topics across North America. I am also pleased to be part of a network of skilled progressive educators, therapists, and social workers with whom I co-facilitate and collaborate on occasion (hence the ‘us’ in About Us).
Why I do what I do
I started Open Minds, my business' nom de plume, in 2017 in order to work in a way that accommodates my own mental health needs while promoting mental health literacy, mental health-related accessibility, and anti-stigma education. I know that mental health can be tough to talk about, and that we sometimes need guidance on how to do so with confidence and skill.
Like so many helping professionals, I was a helper long before I started getting paid for it. I know what it’s like to experience compassion fatigue (empathic strain), vicarious trauma (secondary traumatic stress), burnout, and moral distress - and also to recover - and I am passionate about supporting other helping professionals to stay well and act ethically in this tough work.
My experience and approach
I’ve worked in front-line client service, community mental health, community development, curriculum development, and facilitation across Canada.
I’m passionate about encouraging practical, trauma-informed, and open-minded approaches to learning.
My trainings offer practical, plain-language strategies and up-to-date resources, and I deliver them with humour and heart.
My work is social justice-centred and emphasizes the Social Determinants of Health. You won’t hear me talk about self-care without community care and the necessity of systems change.
I believe there are no stupid questions, and that learning environments can be transformative spaces when we are supported to be challenged and curious and to take risks that help us grow.
My home
I am a settler, grew up in the Maritimes, and now live with my partner and our fur-family in Guelph, Ontario, which is subject to the Dish with One Spoon covenant. This is the traditional territory of the Attawandaron and Haudenosaunee people and is Treaty 3 territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. I continue to learn about the ongoing colonization of this country as well as what decolonization can look like personally and systemically, and do my best to put change into practice in my personal life and work. Open Minds is proud to be an ongoing supporter of Woodland Cultural Centre and its important work.
I also spend lots of time snuggling animals, puttering in my garden, cozied up in my reading chair, bobbing around in any swimmable water, and laughing with friends and family.