The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health’s (CICMH) Annual Conference is an opportunity for individuals involved in post-secondary student mental health across Ontario and Canada to come together and connect over their shared goals and learn new skills and strategies to bring back to their practice. Now, more than ever, opportunities for campuses and community organizations to collaborate and increase skills are crucial. This year, our virtual conference will occur on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. In the past, this event has attracted close to 700 participants, 20 exhibitors, and a wide variety of speakers from across the post-secondary mental health sector, offering workshops on best and emerging practices.

Conference Theme: Dialogue to Action: Skills for the Future

The last few years have been difficult for post-secondary and have brought lots of changes. Now more than ever, staff, administration, and students need to prepare and build up their skills for a rapidly changing world. The ultimate goal of our conference is to improve the capacities of Ontario campuses to support student mental health. Throughout the conference, we encourage a spirit of reciprocity – it is an opportunity to celebrate and share skills, as well as learn new strategies and innovations to prepare for the future. We hope attendees will take initiative and bring our collective vision of a healthy campus to reality. In working with this conference theme, we encourage each session, regardless of stream, to intentionally highlight skill-building. For this call, we are using the term skill in the widest sense- being it professional skills, academic skills, technical skills in counselling etc.

To facilitate this discussion, we will delve into the six following streams:

1. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism (EDIAA)
2. Changing Systems
3. Indigenous Student Engagement and Wellness
4. Student Engagement
5. Substance Use & Harm Reduction
6. Clinical Interventions and Skills

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, & Anti-Racism (EDIAA)
There is a growing movement for institutional leadership and campus frameworks to implement equity, diversity, inclusivity, accessibility, and anti-racism-related policies to ensure equitable access to services and programming on campus. Province-wide, there has been a focus on understanding the unique needs of students based on the various intersections of their identity, such as culture, race, religion, sexual orientation, and physical or mental health disability. Presentations in this stream will address equity-driven and student-driven programming and skill building.

Changing Systems
Presentations in this stream will focus on the overarching systems of mental health provision on campus and how students and staff are challenging and changing those systems through anti-oppressive practices. Presentations in this stream will speak to systemic barriers within this work and strategies for shifting the structure and organization of mental health services on campus through the implementation of EDIAA principles, including work around the Okanagan Charter, the Limerick Framework and the National Standard for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students.

Indigenous Student Wellness and Engagement
Presentations in this stream will center around Indigenous world views grounded in holistic understandings and the value of interrelatedness as a model for wellness and engagement of Indigenous student populations. Areas of focus may include embracing Indigenous worldviews in campus and learning environments, Indigenous pedagogy, and educational interconnections.

Student Engagement in a World of Technology
New research from McMaster University shows that psychological distress among Ontario teenagers has nearly tripled in the past few years. Facilitating connection and belonging among students is vital to counter the increasing experiences of isolation and loneliness in the virtual world. Increased reliance on tech, AI and social media have highlighted a need to devise innovative strategies that allow students to meaningfully engage with their institution and peers. Presentations in this stream will center around innovative initiatives that create meaningful programming for students outside the classroom environment, utilize peer-to-peer models to develop meaningful relationships among students, emphasize communal spaces for students to address mental health and wellness topics, and feature co-design with students. We encourage presenters in this stream to consider the ways in which technology, and specifically social media, both help and hinder engagement and connection.

Substance Use & Harm Reduction
There has been an increase in substance-related harms and problematic gambling behaviours on campuses. Presentations in this stream will focus on the use and misuse of drugs, alcohol, and other substances by student populations, as well as behavioural addictions. Example topics might include trends and patterns in student substance use, harm reduction programming on campus, problematic social media use, and gambling.

Clinical Interventions and Skills
Presenters will have the opportunity to discuss specific clinical interventions, clinical skills, and the overall landscape on campus for clinicians. Presentations in this stream can focus on topics such as clinical frameworks, clinical supervision, the increase in complex mental health challenges, cultural safety in clinical work, or any area involving clinical interventions. We encourage participants to bring forward evidence-based practices and use a critical lens in discussing the plurality of interventions.

Guidelines

  • Submissions should provide a brief explanation of the presentation including how presenters will engage the audience in 150 words or less.
  •  Abstracts will be accepted until May 10, 2026, at 5:00PM ET.
  •  Presenters will be notified if their abstracts have been accepted by the end of May.
  •  Honoraria are not available for presenters. A discounted registration rate for the conference will be available to accepted presenters.

Conference sessions will be offered in two formats:

  1. Concurrent Sessions: A concurrent session provides a platform for presenters to share expertise and for participants to gain new knowledge and/or a new skill.
  2. Virtual Poster Presentations

Display space for Virtual Poster Presentations will also be offered. Please prepare your poster as a PDF document (11 by 17, 96 dpi). You are welcome to create additional documentation such as handouts.

About You

Please provide presenter names as you would like them to appear in the conference program:
Presenter Name(s):
Title/Occupation:
Organization:
Phone:
Email:
Is there an alternate contact person (example: an assistant)?
Name:
Email:
Phone:
Preferred Presentation

Please note: Based on the number of presentations we receive, we may have to combine presentations. If your abstract is not accepted, you may have an opportunity to present a poster presentation.
Your preferred presentation duration is:
Conference Streams

Please Note: Based on the number of presentations we receive, we may have to combine presentations.  If your abstract is not accepted, you may have an opportunity to present a poster presentation.
Please choose the stream that your that relates to your submission
Your Submission

Note: The presenter may submit multiple abstracts for the conference. One submission for each presentation is complete. If your abstract is accepted, we will reach out for your full abstract and your AV/Tech needs.
Title of your Presentation: (no more than 10 words) (Required)

Description of your concurrent session/poster: (150 words or less) Required

Please provide 1-3 learning outcomes for your concurrent session/poster

How does your submission encourage and promote skill building within your selected stream(s)? (150 words or less)

It is important for all sessions to be interactive and encourage participation among attendees. Please note, breakout rooms may not always be practical depending on the number of participants in attendance. We ask presenters to not rely solely on breakout rooms as a means of engagement. Please explain how your session will be interactive, giving concrete examples (150 words or less)

What is your call to actions for participants?

Who is your intended audience? (Check all that apply)
Front-line staff (e.g. counsellors, clinicians, case managers, advisors)
Student leaders
Peer mentors
Administration (e.g. vice-president of student services, counseling centre directors, program managers)
Faculty
Health and well-being staff (e.g.: health promotion specialist, accommodations specialist, athletics and recreation staff)
Community mental health staff

Presenter 1 Name and Biography (50-60 words or less)
Presenter 1 Email:

Presenter 2 Name and Biography (50-60 words or less)
Presenter 2 Email:

Presenter 3 Name and Biography (50-60 words or less)
Presenter 3 Email:

Presenter 4 Name and Biography (40-50 words or less)
Presenter 4 Email:
Presenter Acknowledgement
I understand that if my proposal is accepted, I am required to register for the event in order to present.
I confirm that the information provided in this submission is accurate and that all co-presenters have agreed to participate
I agree that the presentation title, abstract, and presenter names may be used in conference materials and promotional content if the proposal is accepted.
I understand that presentation dates and times will be assigned by the conference organizers.
Notes

All submissions will be evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Relevance to the conference theme
  • Clarity and coherence of submission
  • Relevance and utility to participants
  • Evidence that the submission will encourage interaction with conference participants
  • It is encouraged that presenters include a lived experience component or perspective where relevant.

Acceptance as a presenter:

  • Presenters must register for the conference. Honoraria and travel reimbursement are not available.
  • Presenters will be asked to submit an electronic version of their presentation two weeks prior to the conference.
  • Recordings of the presentations will be made available to conference delegates following the conference
  • Presenters are encouraged to provide written material to conference participants in both French and English (if available).
  • Presenters will be provided with a designated time to present by the conference committee.
  • Accepted presenters will be provided with essential training on the use of the conference platform. This will involve a live training session prior to the conference, that will take approximately 1-hour.
A pop up screen will confirm your submission.  We will be in touch with final results by the end of May.
Any questions, please contact Sherry Sim, Event Manager at 1-866-655-8548 or sherry@innovative4you.com