Stand Up For Mental Health
Encyclopedia
Stand Up For Mental Health (SMH), founded in 2004, is a program based in Vancouver
, BC, Canada
, in which people who have mental illness
(e.g. bipolar disorder
, depression
, schizophrenia
, obsessive compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder
) are taught stand-up comedy
as a form of therapy and then present to the community as a way of addressing the stigma, discrimination, and prejudice surrounding mental health problems . SMH does not consider itself a replacement for medication or conventional therapy, simply as a supplemental way for people with mental illness to feel better about themselves while educating others . The classes are taught by counselor, stand-up comic and author of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead to Happiness and Success, David Granirer
who lives with depression . SMH has classes in Halifax, Montreal
, Ottawa
, Toronto
, Guelph
, Fort Frances, London (ON), Vancouver
, Abbotsford
/Chilliwack
, Victoria
and Courtenay
. Famed Canadian comedian Mike MacDonald is a supporter of SMH and performs at many of their shows. Mike MacDonald has bipolar disorder
.
teaches community members who have a mental illness how to create and perform original comedy material about their mental health journeys. They do shows throughout the course of their 20 classes, then can continue on with SMH in the Alumni Program. The key to the therapeutic aspect of SMH classes is that mental health consumers are able to re-conceptualize their experiences, and make light of their own problems while building self-esteem and a support network. They do not joke about each others problems but do openly talk about them. They avoid making jokes about sexual abuse as there is nothing funny about that; although other than that, very little is taboo . SMH also does Fighting Stigma in the Workplace and Laughter in the Workplace presentations and workshops for many different companies, government agencies and others. SMH performs across North America at conferences, on military bases, university and college campuses, at mental health facilities, comedy festivals and for the general public.
A CBC Television
Passionate Eye Documentary was made about Stand Up for Mental Health, entitled "Cracking Up" which won a US Government VOICE Award in 2008.
Stand Up for Mental Health piloted several projects in 2009/2010.
SMH hopes to introduce a pre-release program into William Head Institution
on Vancouver Island
for Corrections Canada. This program will help offenders rebuild self-esteem and gain life-coping skills as they reintegrate into the community.
Early in 2010, SMH received a $50 000 sponsorship from Canada Post
who called it a "highly-successful laughter-therapy program" .
The organisation in the process of becoming a registered charity.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, BC, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in which people who have mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
(e.g. bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, obsessive compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
) are taught stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
as a form of therapy and then present to the community as a way of addressing the stigma, discrimination, and prejudice surrounding mental health problems . SMH does not consider itself a replacement for medication or conventional therapy, simply as a supplemental way for people with mental illness to feel better about themselves while educating others . The classes are taught by counselor, stand-up comic and author of The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead to Happiness and Success, David Granirer
David Granirer
David Granirer is a counsellor, stand-up comic, the author of , and the founder of Stand Up For Mental Health. David lives with his wife and two kids in Vancouver, BC....
who lives with depression . SMH has classes in Halifax, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Fort Frances, London (ON), Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Abbotsford
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
/Chilliwack
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...
, Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and Courtenay
Courtenay, British Columbia
Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District...
. Famed Canadian comedian Mike MacDonald is a supporter of SMH and performs at many of their shows. Mike MacDonald has bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
.
Background
David GranirerDavid Granirer
David Granirer is a counsellor, stand-up comic, the author of , and the founder of Stand Up For Mental Health. David lives with his wife and two kids in Vancouver, BC....
teaches community members who have a mental illness how to create and perform original comedy material about their mental health journeys. They do shows throughout the course of their 20 classes, then can continue on with SMH in the Alumni Program. The key to the therapeutic aspect of SMH classes is that mental health consumers are able to re-conceptualize their experiences, and make light of their own problems while building self-esteem and a support network. They do not joke about each others problems but do openly talk about them. They avoid making jokes about sexual abuse as there is nothing funny about that; although other than that, very little is taboo . SMH also does Fighting Stigma in the Workplace and Laughter in the Workplace presentations and workshops for many different companies, government agencies and others. SMH performs across North America at conferences, on military bases, university and college campuses, at mental health facilities, comedy festivals and for the general public.
A CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
Passionate Eye Documentary was made about Stand Up for Mental Health, entitled "Cracking Up" which won a US Government VOICE Award in 2008.
Stand Up for Mental Health piloted several projects in 2009/2010.
- In October 2009, SMH performed on-campus shows for the University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, the University of the Fraser Valley, UVic, and Camosun CollegeCamosun CollegeCamosun College is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2009 it had over 12,500 full-time and part-time students between its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses. The Lansdowne campus provides university transfer and access programs, as well as career, technical and vocational...
during Mental Illness Awareness Week. They will be performing in October 2010 at those schools as well as several other universities and colleges including University of RochesterUniversity of RochesterThe University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie UniversityDalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
, and McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. - In Spring 2010, SMH developed a class for sex workers with mental illnessMental illnessA mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
through their partnership with Prostitution Alternatives Conselling & Education (PACE) Society in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. - SMH also piloted a lecture/workshop as part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine's 2nd year curriculum (in collaboration with the Island Medical Program - University of VictoriaIsland Medical Program - University of VictoriaThe Island Medical Program at the University of Victoria is a program created by the province to increase the number of new physicians on Vancouver Island in British Columbia....
and the Northern Medical ProgramNorthern Medical ProgramNorthern Medical Program is a joint medical program by the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the University of Northern British Columbia for training of doctors in British Columbia, Canada...
at UNBC) .
SMH hopes to introduce a pre-release program into William Head Institution
William Head Institution
William Head Institution is a minimum-security federal correctional institution for men located in Metchosin, British Columbia, about 25 kilometres west of Victoria on the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island. The Institution opened in 1959 and can house 140 inmates. Inmates live in four groups of...
on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
for Corrections Canada. This program will help offenders rebuild self-esteem and gain life-coping skills as they reintegrate into the community.
Early in 2010, SMH received a $50 000 sponsorship from Canada Post
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
who called it a "highly-successful laughter-therapy program" .
The organisation in the process of becoming a registered charity.