Mental health matters at Seneca  | MyNews | Seneca Students

Since May 2019, more than 200 students from the School of Public Safety and Behavioural Studies have completed training in the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) offered by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Students from the following five programs completed this training alongside their regular studies: 911 & Emergency Services Communications (ESC), Behavioural Sciences (BHS), the Honours Bachelors in Behavioural Psychology (BBP), the Honours Bachelor of Crime and Intelligence Analysis (CIA) and Police Foundations (LAW).

This training, which returned to an in-person model as of October 2022, is facilitated by Rodney Sine, a Seneca professor and a retired police officer with York Regional Police. In addition to training, Mr. Sine has shared insights from his career in law enforcement and his volunteer service with St. John Ambulance.

"This course is even more valuable today than it was when we started the training four years ago,” Mr. Sine said. “The effects of the pandemic on the mental health of our students and the community are major daily discussion topics. It is important that our students have the tools they need to recognize others experiencing crisis, as well as how to maintain their own mental health as public safety and community services professionals."