Mental Health
Mental health issues are among the most common vulnerabilities we face: in our communities, in our families, in ourselves. My professional work focuses on mental health in a variety of ways, and the articles in this section reflect the diversity of that work. I specialize in the confluence of mental illness, addictions, and trauma – which, for most people who struggle with these issues, are all aspects of one thing and not three different things. I emphasize current research and the many ways we can build resilience and wellbeing both for ourselves and our communities.
The Jasper Queen
An Ancient Face Reminds Us of Our Humanity
June 18, 2021
The indomitable spirit cannot be diminished — by negligence, by war, by time spun farther than the grasp of memory. This occurs to me on September ninth, 2001, in the Egyptian gallery of New York’s...
Object Lessons
Trauma-Informed Practices in Museum Settings
June 18, 2021
The oil lamp is small and fragile, worn down by almost two thousand years of accumulated grit, corrosion, darkness, and time. It was shaped by hand, with unfired clay, by a refugee fleeing Roman pe...
Big Problems: Small Wonder
Wandering, Wonder, and Creative Pathways
June 18, 2021
Got a minute? Try this small but illuminating experiment. Above is an image of the Milky Way Galaxy. Focus your attention on this image for one minute. Don’t do anything other than look at the imag...
Mental Health and the Creative Encounter
A Conversation with the Vancouver Art Gallery
June 30, 2020
Art objects have always offered a point for departure to explore emotions, perspectives, and the imagination. How are object interactions impactful in our current moment...
Canada’s Inaugural National Conference on PTSD
On Healing Trauma in Canada
June 18, 2021
I was invited to present at Canada’s inaugural Conference on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The conference was focused on ways that new legislation might support those with PTSD, provide pathways ...
Inaugural First Responders’ Mental Health Conference
Trauma, Healing, and Pathways Forward
June 18, 2021
Firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement officers experience traumas and stressors on the job that are unlike those seen in most other occupations. It’s not surprising, therefore, that recent ...
Mental Health Considerations for Museums
An Emerging Field of Practice and Discovery
June 23, 2021
For information about workshops and training offered by Ross Laird, please visit this page or contact Ross directly. There is a growing trend in museum practice to evo...
Working with Grief, Trauma, and Related Challenges
Museums Offer Much Potential for Healing Work — But Safety Must be a Primary Concern
June 24, 2021
Adapted from Museum Objects, Health and Healing , by Brenda Cowan, Ross Laird, and Jason McKeown. New and powerful museum exhibition trends include a greater focus on emotional engagemen...
Therapeutic Objects at the 9/11 Museum and Beyond
The Meaning and Use of Personal Objects in Complex Trauma
June 24, 2021
Tragedy strikes New York on September 11, 2001. Afterwards, survivors, first responders and victims’ relatives experience the healing impact of donating personal objects to what will become the 9/1...
Resilience and Well-being in Turbulent Times
A presentation for the Ontario Museums Association
June 30, 2021
During a time of turbulence and stress, how can we stay emotionally healthy and connected to ourselves and those around us? What kinds of coping are normal and helpful? ...
Trauma-Informed Practices
Skill development for those who work with trauma
June 30, 2021
Those who work in public safety, medical and health fields — and, increasingly, the cultural sector — often experience direct or vicarious traumas and stressors on the j...
Essentials of Trauma-informed Practice
Considerations for recovery, healing, and well-being
Nov. 9, 2024
Trauma is an experience that exceeds our ability to manage stress. Clinically, it disrupts containment: we lose our capacity for self-regulation, become drawn into instinctive coping, and often rem...