In an age of rapid technological advancement and persistent social change, the landscape of higher education has transformed dramatically over the last few decades. Today’s postsecondary students consequently live with unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, whereby navigating through these difficulties is not always instinctive. Moreover, educational institutions worldwide are struggling to meet the demands of students who need support transitioning to university life and early adulthood.
Faced with a pressing obligation to help students cope with the mounting number of societal stressors, McGill Faculty of Education experts have launched the Education for Mental Health Resilience (EMHR) Office, tasked with the mission of leveraging education and pedagogy to support mental health and well-being in educational settings. Since its inception in 2020, the EMHR Office has developed and continues to oversee a collection of projects, programming, and partnerships aimed at promoting education for mental health resilience.
The EMHR Approach
The EMHR approach is to rely on evidence or research-based insights, then develop quality educational materials for target audiences using internationally recognized best practices. Led by experts in educational and counselling psychology, McGill's Faculty of Education is bolstering mental health resilience through inclusive education by empowering individuals to develop stress-management coping skills and responsible self-care. The goal is twofold:
- Provide youth with evidence-based strategies for improved mental health to thrive in difficult circumstances.
- Offer wellness training to educators, advisors, and others who work with student populations.
Current Projects
McGill+ : Adjustment to University Life and Transition
The Adjustment to University Life and Transition (AdULT) project is a three-year initiative which aims to support incoming undergraduate students’ successful adjustment to university life at McGill. With generous funding and support provided by the Rossy Foundation, this project involves collaboration between McGill’s Faculty of Education and Student Life and Learning. The McGill+ program was created as part of the AdULT project. McGill+ is a self-guided, e-learning program embedded within McGill's learning management system (LMS) providing evidence-based strategies and tips, as well as information regarding relevant campus services. These program are divided into 4 modules covering academic life, social life, adulting, mental health and well-being all focusing on supporting adjustment to university.
Supporting Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood
In collaboration with the David and Monica Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development, this project seeks to develop and disseminate digital multimedia resources for parents and early childhood educators to build capacity to effectively support emotion regulation (ER) in early childhood, with specific attention to neurodiverse children. This three-year project will improve access to evidence-based strategies and resources to support the development of effective ER skills. Materials include a series of multimedia professional development packages featuring experts in early childhood development and education.
Each professional development package includes an expert video, video summary sheet, strategy guide, supplemental video, and a resource for further reading and support. By sharing these resources, we aim to build capacity and address common concerns for supporting ER during the critical developmental period of early childhood.
Regulating Emotions and Stress for pre-Service Teachers (RESST)
Regulating Emotions and Stress for pre-Service Teachers (RESST) is a multi-year, global initiative led by McGill’s Faculty of Education to address the need for stress management and well-being instruction within teacher education curricula. This initiative has been made possible with generous funding from the Rossy Foundation.
The RESST program aims to enhance the well-being of pre-service teachers (and their students) by providing them with research-based strategies for personal and classroom use. Developed through a comprehensive needs assessment and literature review, RESST has been rigorously evaluated and demonstrated efficacy with pre-service teachers at McGill University. The newly digitized RESST (D-RESST) program incorporates all original RESST content and materials, comprises four brief modules (available in English and French), and is offered in a standalone and self-paced format, allowing students to complete it independently.
Previously Funded (Completed)
Promoting Educational Exellence through Resilience to Stress - Hong Kong (PEERS-HK)
Promoting Educational Excellence through Resilience to Stress - Hong Kong (PEERS-HK) was an international collaboration between McGill’s Faculty of Education and the Education University of Hong Kong. This multi-year initiative co-developed, delivered, and evaluated the PEERS program supporting pre-service teacher stress management and well-being in Hong Kong. The PEERS-HK program sought to promote pre-service teacher mental health and well-being through the sharing of evidence-based stress management and well-being strategies for personal and classroom use. This initiative was made possible with generous funding from the WYNG Foundation.
United Nations - World Youth Group Professional Development Project
United Nations – World Youth Group Professional Development Project was a partnership between McGill’s Faculty of Education and the World Youth Group of the United Nations, which aimed to provide educators across the globe with accessible, free-to-use resources to enhance educator and student stress management, ultimately supporting well-being in the classroom. This project involved disseminating multimedia materials and resources through digital platforms designed for online and offline access, to then be used to share evidence-based strategies for stress management and well-being for the benefit of educators and students around the world.
Evaluating Alternative Approaches to Student Resilience
The Evaluating Alternative Approaches to Student Resilience project was a two-year collaboration with Concordia University’s Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD). This project aimed to better understand the experiences of students with disabilities in two areas: (1) their acceptability of differing modalities of resilience-building resources and (2) the effectiveness of these resources as evaluated via students’ reported stress, coping, efficacy, and well-being.
Research
The EMHR Office has contributed to a growing body of research focused on stress, coping, and well-being across educational contexts. This work spans large-scale digital interventions with national and international collaborators as well as knowledge mobilization initiatives. Across all projects, the EMHR team conducts comprehensive needs assessments and program evaluations to ensure interventions are responsive, evidence-based, and effective.
Sample Publications (last 5 years)
Böke, B. N., Mettler, J., Bastien, L., Cho, S., & Heath, N. L. (2026). Examining the acceptability and effectiveness of a self-directed, web-based resource for stress and coping in university: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mental Health, 13, e74205.
Petrovic, J., Böke, B. N., Wang, J., & Heath, N. L. (2026). Leveraging digital programming to support pre-service teachers’ stress management and well-being: Evidence of effectiveness and acceptability. Journal of Education for Teaching, 52(1), 138-152.
Henderson, S., Bloom, G. A., & Heath, N. L. (2025). Ice hockey coaches’ perceptions of their role in supporting athlete mental health. International Sport Coaching Journal (ISCJ), 13(2), 236-246.
Wang, H., Böke, B. N., Chan, W. Y., & Heath, N. L. (2025). Enhancing coping self-efficacy and well-being: A multi-context study of an emotion regulation program for preservice teachers. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 35(1), 119-131.
Böke, B. N., Petrovic, J., Zito, S., Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., Rodger, S., & Heath, N. L. (2024). Two for one: Effectiveness of a mandatory personal and classroom stress management program for preservice teachers. School Psychology, 39(3), 312-324.
Cho, S., Bastien, L., Petrovic, J., Böke, B. N., & Heath, N. L. (2024). The role of mental health stigma in university students’ satisfaction with web-based stress management resources: Intervention study. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Formative Research, 8(1), e50018.
Zito, S., Petrovic, J., Böke, B. N., Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., & Heath, N. L. (2024). Exploring stress management and well-being needs of pre-service teachers. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 152, 104805.
Internship/Fieldwork Opportunities
The EMHR Office provides students with hands-on experience in research, digital resource development, and knowledge mobilization focused on mental health and well-being in educational contexts. Students have opportunities to contribute to ongoing projects and develop practical skills including but not limited to translating complex research into accessible digital tools, program development and digitization, data collection, and program implementation. Inquire about completing Fieldwork (e.g., EDPI539 or 540) or Special Activity (e.g., EDPE 697, 698, or 699) course requirements at the EMHR Office.
Connect with us!
The EMHR Office expertise includes the development, evaluation, and dissemination of educational outreach, instructional programming, and engaging digital materials – for the purpose of supporting coping capacity and skill-development for emotion regulation, stress management, and well-being in teaching and learning contexts. If you’re looking for ways to integrate engaging, evidence-based instructional materials to support well-being in your context, contact us at emhr [at] mcgill.ca to discuss ways we could collaborate.
Leadership
Director, EMHR Office
Victoria Talwar, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology in McGill University's Faculty of Education and Director of the Education for Mental Health Resilience Office. She is also an Associate Member of the Institute for Human Development and Well-Being (IHDW) and the Department of Psychology. Dr. Talwar was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Developmental Psychology (SSHRC) in 2024, following her tenure as Tier II Canada Research Chair in Forensic Developmental Psychology from 2012 to 2022. An internationally recognized developmental psychologist, she is a leading expert on children's social, cognitive, emotional, and moral development across childhood and adolescence. For more than two decades, Dr. Talwar's research has examined how children and youth understand, interpret, and respond to social information in a range of contexts, including family, school, digital, and legal environments. Her work bridges developmental science and practice, generating evidence that informs education, parenting, mental health promotion, legal procedures, and public policy. Through her research and leadership, Dr. Talwar has advanced understanding of how early experiences shape resilience, well-being, and social-emotional development across the lifespan. Her work continues to contribute to the development of supportive environments that promote children's and youths' mental health and positive development, both offline and online.
Co-Director, EMHR Office
Bilun Naz Böke, PhD is an Academic Associate and Co-Director of the Education for Mental Health Resilience office at McGill University Faculty of Education. Dr. Böke’s research program examines the effectiveness of innovative and developmentally tailored programs to support students' adjustment, stress management, and coping capacities in educational contexts. Dr. Böke has a strong research record with 25 peer-reviewed publications, over 60 presentations at national and international conferences, along with 20 workshops and invited talks delivered in community settings. Dr. Böke’s work is recognized through competitive provincial funding (Fonds de Recherche du Québec- Société et Culture Doctoral Scholarship) and community engagement awards (Alumni Student Engagement Award).
Co-Director, EMHR Office
Laurianne Bastien, PhD is an Academic Associate and Co-Director of the Education for Mental Health Resilience office at McGill University Faculty of Education. Dr. Bastien’s research focuses on student mental health and the effective knowledge mobilization of evidence-based strategies in educational settings. Her doctoral research examined the acceptability, effectiveness, and uptake of scalable digital student resources. Dr. Bastien has authored 16 peer‑reviewed publications and has presented at over 40 peer‑reviewed national and international conferences. She has a longstanding record of contributing to knowledge mobilization activities for university and high school students, teachers, and university administrators. Her work is further distinguished by an exceptional track record of competitive funding, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph‑Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholarship and Fonds de Recherche du Québec- Société et Culture Doctoral Scholarship.
