Mental Health in Our City

Join us for a one-day conference and the grand opening of BCG Counselling Vancouver – a day dedicated to healing, hope, and mental wellness in our city.

Date: April 11, 2026 (New Date)
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Venue: BCG Counselling Group Vancouver (1011 Nelson Street) | Guests will find many public pay parking options nearby.
Conference Fee: $25

Register Now

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Event Description

Mental Health in Our City is a one-day conference hosted by BCG Counselling Group in partnership with First Baptist Church, as we celebrate the grand opening of the new BCG Counselling Centre in Downtown Vancouver. 

This special day will offer thoughtful and supportive sessions on mental health recovery, grief, emotional wellbeing, faith and mental health, building resilience in kids and navigating separation and divorce.

Whether you are seeking support, walking alongside others, or simply wanting to learn, we welcome you to be part of a meaningful day of learning, healing, and community as we open our doors and our hearts to serve Vancouver in a deeper way.

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Conference Schedule

MORNING PLENARY SESSION | 9:00am – 10:30am

• Opening remarks 
• Mental Health Recovery – Cameron Keller
  Canada is in a mental health crisis today, and there are still many barriers that get in the way of people getting the help they need.  Mental health treatment works, but things like low mental health literacy and stigma get in the way.  Cameron will provide a framework to talk about mental health in a way that everyone can understand.  He will also address the issue of stigma and discrimination as a barrier to care and will explain the recovery model of mental illness and that recovery is possible with the right treatment and intervention.

 MORNING BREAKOUT SESSIONS | 10:50am – 12:00pm

• “Grief/Lament” in the Human Condition (Mandarin) – JY Zhang
  “Grief is the price we pay for love.” — Queen Elizabeth II
  There are more losses other than death in life: loss of job, security, peace, relationships, connection, intimacy, dreams, and even ourselves. There is a Chinese saying, “In life, eight or nine things out of ten do not go as we desire.” In order to have a satisfied life, it is critical to have the abilities to cope with the disappointment, fear, and heartbreaks. In order to recover and heal, we need to go through grief process. JY will talk about how grief process can help you grow and flourish and deepen your relationship with God and others.
• Emotions 101 – Christine Lee
  Emotions are often viewed as irrational and treated as inconvenient or weak, but there is a functional purpose to their existence and our experience of them. Understanding our core emotions and the intended message they give us about our needs can help us connect better to ourselves and others with greater authenticity and stability. In this workshop, Christine will introduce emotions in a way that’s easy to understand and a framework to make sense of our internal experiences, as well as tools to manage them in various circumstances. We will also learn about the ways we avoid feeling our emotions, and the hidden and overt costs of avoiding them.

LUNCH (not provided) | 12:15pm – 1:15pm

AFTERNOON PLENARY SESSION | 1:20pm – 2:30pm

• Faith and Mental Health – David Lee
  How does the Good News—the message of the Kingdom—speak into our mental health journey? This talk explores how Jesus meets us in our brokenness, offers hope and redemption, and empowers us to become who we are, God’s Beloved. Participants will consider how faith and mental health insights intersect, and how our mental health journey, in which Jesus is present with us by his Spirit, empowers us to live a life of courage and transformation as those beloved by God.
  

AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS | 2:50pm – 4:00pm

• Building Resilience in Our Kids – Lois Jones
  Parenting in today’s climate is tough! How do we help our kids respond to their big feelings, to stressful situations? How do we help them bounce back from life’s inevitable disappointments and frustrations? How do we, with our fully developed adult brains, negotiate disappointment, frustration and stress? If our kids are looking to us to support resiliency, then we’d better have a road map. But what does this buzz word “resiliency” even mean?! Come explore a resiliency road map for parenting with Lois, a child therapist and parent herself.
• Separation and Divorce:  Prevention and Pathways – Koby Hale
  Separation and divorce are among life’s most challenging experiences, deeply affecting individuals, families, and communities. In this compassionate and informative workshop, Koby will explore ways to navigate relationship distress—whether working toward repair, engaging in relationship discernment, or moving toward separation. She will share therapeutic resources that support emotional insight and relational health across these stages. Koby will also introduce the Collaborative Process—a team‑based, family‑centred approach to separation that reduces conflict and promotes cooperation. Participants will gain perspective and encouragement for navigating this complex journey with hope and the belief that transformation is possible even in difficult times.
  

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Register Now