SP0139: #MeToo

The Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University in collaboration with McGill’s Counselling Services, Mental Health Services, and the Peer Support Network are working with NataliFilm to produce video content that aims to tackle the idea that seeking help for mental wellness is a sign of weakness. The idea is to promote that sharing personal stories and experiences with others helps alleviate the stigma associated with mental health in the McGill community. The goal in producing this project is to demonstrate through video testimonials that getting help during difficult moments in life should be acknowledged for what it is: a sign of strength and resilience. 

One of the main roadblocks faced by those seeking help is the misconception that help is not necessary. In much of the McGill graduate student population, seeking help or displaying signs of difficulties is perceived as a mark of social, cultural, psychological, or cognitive shortcoming. These situations generate an even more complex set of difficulties that can ultimately result in a feeling of isolation and of misunderstanding of what seeking help actually means. 

The video itself will follow the personal journey and testimonials from McGill community members that will tie together their experiences as they face adversity head on and explore the multitude of resources available to them. The video will highlight how seeking help can contribute to a positive outcome. 

The film will feature interviews with students and other members of the community at McGill who have faced struggles with mental health in their lives and have sought help. The scope of help discussed will encompass all avenues of assistance and support. This will be a unique video initiated by students and directed toward every member of the McGill community, regardless of background or experience. Using McGill’s resources that are aimed at serving a diverse and broad range of members, we will include messages from different languages in order to have the broadest impact. 

Funding from the SPF will be put towards production costs of the video, as well as a launch event and promotional materials. There are numerous sources of funding for this project. 

Through bi-weekly meetings and guidance provided by professionals from the McGill community, the integrity of the project and the privacy considerations of all participants will be respected at all times.