Resources.

Calgary Distress Centre
24 hour Crisis Line: 403 266-HELP (4357)
www.distresscentre.com

Wood’s Homes Community Resource Team
24-hour Crisis Support for Parent/Teen Conflict, Mediation, + Coaching
Call: 403-299-9699

Connect Teen
24-hour Support In or Out of Crisis
Call: 403-264-8336 (403-264-TEEN)
Text: 587-333-2724
Monday-Friday from 3pm – 10pm
Saturday-Sunday from 12pm – 10pm

Kids Help Phone
24-hour Crisis Support Over Phone or Text
Call: 1-800-668-6868
Text: 686868

Call 211
Access to an entire network of community, social, health and government services.
211 is free, confidential, multilingual and available
24 hours/day, 365 days/year.
To reach 211, dial 2-1-1,
Text INFO to 211
or visit ab.211.ca and click “live chat.”

First Nations + Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line
1 (855) 242-3310 + WEB: https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/

Black Youth Helpline Canada
Call 416-285-9944 Toll Free 1-833-294-8650 info@blackyouth.ca 
Everyday 9 am - 10 pm

Trevor project helpline
(LGBTQIA2S+ friendly)
1-866-488-7386 + Text: 678-678

Additional LGBTQIA2S+ Help
https://alberta.cmha.ca/lgbtq2s-resources/#:~:text=NEED%20HELP%3F,%2D877%2D303%2D2642.

Alberta Wide Mental health help line
1-877-303-2642 (Toll free)

If You’re Thinking About Suicide
9-8-8 is there to help
Call or text 9-8-8 toll-free, anytime

Books.

Art

• Art Is a Way of Knowing: A Guide to Self-Knowledge and Spiritual Fulfillment through Creativity by Pat B. Allen

• Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul by Shaun McNiff (Author)

• Geography of Dream Work and Art Therapy by Monoca Carpendale

• How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb

• Ish by Peter H Reynolds

• Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee

• Life, Paint and Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression by Michell Cassou + Stewart Cubley

• Mix it Up! by Herve Tullet

• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubun

• The Art Therapy Sourcebook by Cathy Malchiodi

• Trust the Process: An Artist Guide to Letting Go by Sean Mcniff 

Parenting

• 7 Simple Steps to Understanding Your Teenager (Just Kidding, That’s Impossible) by Danelle Spence

• 12 Principles for Raising a Child with ADHD by Russell A. Berkeley 

• Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children by Lynn Lyons LICSW and Dr. Reid Wilson PhD

• Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

• Fighting Invisible Tigers: Stress Management for Teens by Earl Hipp

• Freedom From Self Harm by Kim L Gratz and Alexander L. Chapman 

• Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

• Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté MD

• Please Explain Anxiety to Me: The Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents by Lori Zellinger and Jordan Zellinger – Illustrated by Eliza Sabella 

• The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind Book by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

• Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn 

Neuroscience + Neuroplasticity + Stress Response Cycle/Stress Management

• Anything Daniel Siegel, Rick Hansen, or Cathy Malchiodi (the latter for art and neuroscience)

• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski + Amelia Nagoski

• Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence by Rick Hanson

• You’ve Got Dragons by Catherine Cave and Nick Maland 

Technology

• How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price

• The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up in a Digital World by Dr. Shimi Kang

Reltionships

• And Baby Makes Three: The Six-Step Plan for Preserving Marital Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives by John Gottman + Julie Schwartz Gottman

• Anything by the Gottmans (and there are many resources)

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--and Keep-- Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

• Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman

• The Invisible String by Patrice Karst

• The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships by Diane Poole Heller + Peter Levine

• Wired for love by Stan Tatkin

2SLGBTQIA+

• Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin 

• The Gender Quest Workbook by Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolheart and Jayme Peta

• Transgender Teen: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Teens by Stephen Brill and Lisa Kenny 

• George by Alex Gino

• Rick by Alex Gino 

Grief + Loss

• Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet by Moira Allen

• Anything (and there are many resources) by Alan D Wolfelt

• Understanding your Grief: Ten Essential Touchstones for Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart by Alan D Wolfelt

Anti-Racism

• Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

• You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience  – by Tarana Burke (Editor), Brené Brown (Editor)

Anti-Fat Phobia, Feminism

• Feminism is for Everybody by Bell Hooks

• The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

• The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

• The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir

• Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook for Unapologetic Living by Jes Baker

Perfectionism, Shame, Vulnerability

• Anything by Brene Brown!

• Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Trauma

• Expressive Arts Therapy for Traumatized Children and Adolescents: A Four-Phase Model by Carmen Richardson

• Eye Movment Desensitization and Reprocessing (Emdr) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures by Francine Shapiro

• No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz

• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

• Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Levine

Because!

• Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Artwork by Jason Griffin 

• A is for Advice, the Reassuring Kind – Wisdom for Pregnancy by Ilana Stanger

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl

• Self Compassion (and the workbook) by Kristin Neff 

• The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living: A Guide to ACT by Russ Harris

• The Healing Compass: Find Your Roadmap to a Healthy, Happy Life by Angie Schickerowski and Amber Solberg

• The Light Makers Manifesto by Karen Walrond 

• The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran 

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle 

*I’ve tired to separate these book recommendations into categories but PLEASE keep in mind, many could share all of these categories!

Media.

Podcast

Art/Art Therapy

• Arts For The Health Of It

• Art Therapy IRL

• Art Therapy Is

Music

• All Songs Considered: Upgrade Your Playlist

• Nora Jones is Playing Along

• Questlove Supreme

• Tiny Desk Concerts (NPR)

Mindfulness/Meditation

• Kristin Neff (guided meditations)

• Meditation Oasis (guided meditations)

• Tara Brach (meditation invitation + information/perspective)

Therapeutic Wellness + Personal Growth

• Dare to Lead with Brené Brown

• Being Well by Rick Hanson + Forrest Hanson

• ReThinking with Adam Grant

• The Huberman Lab

• Therapy Thoughts with Tiffany Roe

• Unlocking Us by Brené Brown

• You Need to Hear This with Nedra Tawaab

Inspiring

• We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle

• Wiser than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Documentaries/Storytelling

• Keys to the Kingdom

• The Retrievals

Pop Culture/Entertainment/Comedy

• Best Friend Energy

• Conan O’Brien

• Don’t Ask Tig

• Dungeons and Daddies

• Films To Be Burried With with Brett Goldstein

• Hi Jinkx! With Jinkx Monsoon

• How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer

• Milennial Made

• My Brother, My Brother and Me

• Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker

• Smartless

• Still Processing

• Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

• The Papaya Podcast

• The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya

• Vancouver Island Pinball (VIP) (shoutout to my Uncle D)

• WTF With Mark Maron Podcast

Knowledge-Based

• Find your Food Voice

• Marsha’s Plate: Black Trans Podcast

• Stuff You Should Know

• Radio Lab

• Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

• Skeptoid

• Sounds Like a Cult

• This American Life

Relationships:

• Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

Teens/YA (Cool for Adults too)

• Grown, A Podcast from The Moth

Parenting/Teaching

• Mr. Chazz’s Leadership, Parenting and Teaching

Pet Centric

• Can I Pet Your Dog?

Ted Talk

• Gaming can make a better world - Jane McGonigal

• The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life - Jane Mcgonigal

• The Power of Vulnerability - Brené Brown

• Where Joy Hides and how to Find it - Ingrid Fetell Lee

• Your Elusive Creative Genius - Elizabeth Gilbert

YouTube

• A Tool to Help Clients Calm the Nervous System by Deb Dana (from the Polyvagal lens)

• Brené Brown on Empathy (Animation)

• Creative Wellness - Mark Making with Paula Timm

• What is Polyvagal Theory? (Stephen Porges)

Links for Parents (and teens) Re. Validation and Emotion Coaching

• It’s not About the Nail - Jason Headley

• Dr. Adele Lafrance introduces emotion coaching for parents and caregivers supporting a loved one with an eating disorder (ED) - helpful coaching for kids/adolecents without an ED as well

Art Resources + Other Supportive Resources.

Art

• Antyx Free arts programming, ages 13-24

• Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts) Continuing Education Art Classes

• ArtRecruits Free arts-based programming for 18+ participants with mental health barriers to employment or education

• Be Gay Do Crafts (… a casual crafts and hangout group focused on LGBTQ folks in Calgary. Bring a craft, meet new friends!)

• Paula Timm Artist, Facilitator, Instructor, Weaver of Web

• Rachel Rose Self-care art workshops

• Rumble House Art making and auction 7pm/Wednesdays

Other Supportive Resources

• Different Strokes Calgary A non-profit, volunteer run swim club inclusive of LGBTQ+ swimmers and their supporters, dedicated to the master swim program philosophy of “fun and fitness for life” in an environment that is both positive and supportive.

• Matched Savings for Youth (Momentum) A program that teaches youth (16-24) how to save and manage your money during workshops AND will match the money you save 4:1, which you can spend on: tuition, textbooks, laptop for school, tools for work, RESP, RDSP, or starting your own business!

• Outlink A not for profit dedicated to providing support, education, outreach, and referrals for the LGBTQ2S+ and allied community in Calgary 

• Skipping Stone Foundation A non-profit organization that supports trans + gender diverse youth/families

• Youth Matters/Trellis They provide free one-to-one support for youth ages 13-21 as well as facilitate group programming. Youth can directly call Anna-Marie Laycock (Youth Support Worker) for intake at (403) 471-3970 or Byanca Nimijean (403)472-5568 and Patience Irete (403) 473-5503. Youth have to have identifiable goals, then are set up with a mentor (there are all kinds of mentors, some with experience in the expressive arts). They are currently offering virtual support services as well as in-person outdoor/community.

Personal Links.

• Book With Michelle Dyer

• Lionheart Foundation: Partnering Therapists

• Podcast Interview Gently into the Night by Kirsten White MC, R.Psych - Episode 2: Michelle Dyer - Grief + Art Therapy

• Podcast Interview Therapists on the Couch by Kirsten White MC, R.Psych - Episode 2: Michelle Dyer

• Vagina Bug Short film

• Vagina Bug - Behind the Scenes By Julia Gunst

• Vagina Bug - About the Film POWFest, film festival, interview

• Psychology Today (link TBA)