Outstanding Women on the Frontlines: Carolyn Campbell
The Tema Foundation is proud to kick off International Women’s week by highlighting some of the phenomenal, driven and passionate women working towards healthier mental health. Welcome to our second year of our Outstanding Women on the Frontlines Series!
Meet Carolyn Campbell, a registered Occupational Therapist by trade whose experience in homecare launched her interest in mental health. Carolyn highlighted her early years in the industry, “The outcomes of social determinants of health and equity could not have been made more apparent to me than working with people in the environments in which they lived their lives.”
Now the Director at the Office of Workplace Mental Health in Nova Scotia, Carolyn has carried mental health advocacy with her throughout her career.
“I have been fortunate to work with the Tema Foundation in partnership to develop and launch peer support programs within the Nova Scotia Public Service. I am also proud to be a Working Mind trainer with the Mental Health Commission of Canada and a LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST) trainer.”
the importance of prioritizing mental health
Carolyn believes her career as an occupational therapist has helped shape her view of mental health, and its priority. “Not only is participation in meaningful, purposeful activity a therapeutic medium, but it is essential to health. I also believe that an individual's mental, physical, social and spiritual health are connected, and can only be artificially separated.” She also points out the obstacle of many, being bound by their work schedule, spending more waking hours there than anywhere else. “I can see how work, both the environment and the tasks can either add to, or take away from a person's well-being.”
Leading the way to mental health and safety in the workplace
The Nova Scotia Public Service was the first provincial government in Canada to adopt the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Notably, Carolyn played a key role as the project manager when the Province was selected as part of the research case study for The Standard led by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
“It has been a privilege to be part of the Province's journey of implementing The Standard since 2014. As a part of that work, I am humbled to lead an amazing team dedicated to supporting mental health in the workplace- The Office of Workplace Mental Health, which was developed as part of implementing The Standard in partnership with NSGEU and CUPE Local 1867.”
As impressive as Carolyn's accomplishments have been in her career, she also stresses the importance of caring for your mental health. “Spend time with people you love. Do yoga, swimming, learn something new just because you find it interesting” – she can reupholster furniture, ride a motorcycle and sew a three piece suit! – “I enjoy a good meal (cooked by someone else), laughing so hard with friends that I cry, listening to people who care about me when they tell me they are concerned about how I am doing and having a minute to just breathe when I don't have time for more than that.” We hope you’re taking notes!
Inspired by the outstanding women in her own life
When she was younger, Carolyn sought inspiration from Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut, who was the Director of an International Girl Guide Camp she attended. She also describes the grit and wisdom her mother and grandmothers instilled in her. We asked Carolyn to share some of her own wisdom to young women interested in work on the frontlines, but what she shared spanned industries, “gratitude, self-compassion and asking for help are practices I wish I had developed earlier.” When she isn’t busy helping others and advocating for mental health, you can find Carolyn spending time with her family, traveling, playing board games or experimenting in the garden.