Shaden portrait holding book
Mental health resources
Resources

things that might help

This page is a living collection of resources offered with care. Whether you're in crisis, in need of reflection, or just looking for something to accompany your process, I hope you find something here that supports you.

DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES ● READING LISTS ● CRISIS & SUPPORT LINES

DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES ● READING LISTS ● CRISIS & SUPPORT LINES

suggested reads

A curated reading list for reflection, healing, and self-inquiry

Shaden portrait on resource page

    • The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk

    • My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts – Resmaa Menakem

    • What My Bones Know – Stephanie Foo

    • Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors – Janina Fisher

    • It's Not Always Depression – Hilary Jacobs Hendel

    • Self-Compassion – Kristin Neff

    • Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach

    • The Places That Scare You – Pema Chödrön

    • No Bad Parts – Richard Schwartz

    • The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown

    • Daring Greatly – Brené Brown

    • Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay C. Gibson

    • Anam Cara – John O'Donohue

    • Women Who Run with the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estés

    • Letters to a Young Poet – Rainer Maria Rilke

    • Man's Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl

    • Staring at the Sun – Irvin D. Yalom

    • The Book of Disquiet – Fernando Pessoa

    • The Death of Ivan Ilyich – Leo Tolstoy

    • The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

    • All About Love – bell hooks

    • The Art of Loving – Erich Fromm

    • Nonviolent Communication – Marshall Rosenberg

    • Hold Me Tight – Sue Johnson

    • The Wild Edge of Sorrow – Francis Weller

    • The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion

    • A Grief Observed – C. S. Lewis

    • The Grieving Brain – Mary-Frances O'Connor

    • It's OK That You're Not OK – Megan Devine

    • Bearing the Unbearable – Joanne Cacciatore

    • The Wild Iris – Louise Glück

    • When Things Fall Apart – Pema Chödrön

    • The Artist's Way – Julia Cameron

    • The Courage to Create – Rollo May

    • Free Play – Stephen Nachmanovitch

    • The Science and Art of Dreaming – Mark Blagrove & Julia Lockheart

    • The Spirituality of Dreaming – Kelly Bulkeley

    • Man and His Symbols – Carl Jung

    • Escape from Freedom – Erich Fromm

    • Regarding the Pain of Others – Susan Sontag

    • The Wretched of the Earth – Frantz Fanon

    • Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freire

    • Orientalism – Edward Said

    • In the Name of Identity – Amin Maalouf

    • The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion

    • Out of Place – Edward Said

    • Teta, Mother and Me – Jean Said Makdisi

    • I Was Born There, I Was Born Here – Mourid Barghouti

    • Educated – Tara Westover

    • My Childhood – Maxim Gorky

crisis & support lines

GENERAL

  • Canada-wide, 24/7 support for anyone dealing with thoughts of suicide or worried about someone else. Call or text 988.

  • Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, text-based mental health support and crisis intervention. Text HOME to 741741.

  • 24/7 support to those experiencing emotional distress or needing crisis intervention and/or suicide prevention. TDC also provides face-to-face support and counselling to people dealing with the effects of suicide and homicide.

  • TRCC provides 24/7 support to survivors of sexual violence, of all genders and identities. Call 416-597-8808.

  • 24/7 support for seniors in Ontario who have experienced any type of abuse or neglect. Call 1-866-299-1011.

  • Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call (877) 330-6366 (1 - 9 PM EST).

YOUTH & KIDS

  • 24/7 e-mental health service offering free, multilingual and confidential support to young people. Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868.

  •  Black Youth Helpline serves all youth and specifically responds to the need for a Black youth specific service. Call 1-833-294-8650 (9AM–10PM).

  • YouthLine provides Ontario-wide 2SLGBTQ+ peer-support HelpLine. Call 1-800-268-9688 or text 647-694-4275 (4:00 pm - 9:30 pm).

  • We Matter is an Indigenous youth-led and nationally registered organization dedicated to Indigenous youth support, hope and life promotion.

BIPOC

  • Across Boundaries provides mental health and addiction services for racialized people across the GTA. Languages include African, Central & South Asian languages, and Caribbean Dialects.

  • The Hope for Wellness Helpline is available 24/7 to all Indigenous people across Canada. Call 1-855-242-3310.

  • Naseeha is a 24/7 confidential mental health helpline offering culturally and spiritually informed support, primarily for Muslims but open to all. Languages include Urdu, Farsi, Arabic, Somali, Turkish, and French. Call 1-866-627-3342.

  • 24/7 support for Métis individuals. Call 1‑877‑767‑7572.

MEN

  • CCMF provides therapy and counselling, peer support, a legal clinic, fathering programs, mentorship, and support services for male victims of trauma and violence.

  • HeadsUpGuys offers practical self-care tips, screening tools, self-guided courses, and guidance on how to support the men in our lives.

  • Men & provides mental health support, education, and resources for men across Canada through a 24/7 helpline, self-guided tools, and community-based programs that promote emotional well-being, healthy relationships, and violence prevention.

WOMEN

  • AWHL is a free, anonymous, and confidential 24-hour telephone and TTY crisis telephone line to all women in the province of Ontario who have experienced any form of abuse. Call 1-866-863-7868.

  • Nisa Foundation provides culturally responsive shelters for women of color, Muslim women, immigrants, refugees, and those without status, as well as a confidential helpline and educational programs.

  • RIWC is a Toronto-based charity that supports racialized, immigrant, and refugee women through anti-violence, settlement, and employment programs.

  • ONSADVTC delivers immediate and long-term trauma-specific medical, forensic, and psychosocial care to survivors of sexual and domestic violence response across Ontario.

  • Domestic Shelters offers a searchable shelter directory and educational and healing resources to survivors of domestic violence.

feeling creatively stuck?

Sometimes, creativity retreats under pressure, perfectionism, or the endless demand to be useful in our present-day capitalist society.

Download this free reflective guide to reconnect with your creative self. 

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”

— Henry David Thoreau

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