Your favourite medical science podcast is making the most of ‘the new normal’ - this year’s Raw Talk Live event was broadcast entirely on YouTube! Over 8 weeks, we spoke to researchers all across Canada about all things COVID-19.

Our third instalment features Dr. Rima Styra, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and clinician-investigator at the University Health Network, and Donna Alexander, social worker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, former Vice-President of the Black Health Alliance and Board Member of Black Mental Health Canada and the Community Advisory Committee for Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. We will discuss how our mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the specific psychological effects experienced by healthcare workers and the Black community, and what changes should be made in our mental health systems in response to the “new normal.”

Guest - Dr Rima Styra

Guest - Donna Alexander

Watch this stream on YouTube

U of T Alumni Offers from our sponsors TD Insurance & MBNA

COVID Decoded Feedback survey

Mental Health Resources:

The Star: Canada could face a mental health ‘echo pandemic’ in the aftermath of COVID-19

The Star: Here’s what you actually feel: Two Toronto doctors explain the psychology of pandemic

CTV News: Half of Canadians report worsening mental health, experts say woes just beginning

WNYC News: Advice on Getting Through COVID Isolation From Two Doctors Who Worked Through SARS

2004 SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine

COVID-19 Mental Health Services (City of Toronto)

Black Mental Health Resources/Services/Organizations:

Mental health resources for the Black community in Toronto

8 Mental Health Practices for People of African Descent while Isolated

Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY)

Black Health Alliance

Black Youth Helpline

Black Mental Health Canada

Black Mental Health Day

WellNest Psychotherapy Services

Mental Health Services for Healthcare Workers:

CAMH Resources for health care workers during COVID-19

St. Joe's COVID-19: Mental Health Services for HCW

Free Psychological Services for Frontline Workers (Canadian Psychological Association)

Mitigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 on health care workers

Impact on health care workers employed in high-risk areas during the Toronto SARS outbreak