Sask Mental Health

04/27/2026

Angellah Brayshaw and I had the distinct privilege of donating a full day to the brilliant First Responder Peer Support Team from Medavie Health Services.🚑 🚑 🚑

Grateful to Russell Grant & Davis Roach for the big part they played in getting us there 🙏

This wasn't just a training session; it was a collaborative deep-dive into the why of trauma-informed, and neuro-sensitive peer support. The energy and commitment this group brought to the table were truly inspiring.

Every day, this team gives full excellence—they are the first to arrive at a health crisis, the last to care for a patient before admission in the ER, and they navigate immense pressures and repetitive calls.

Their physical, cognitive, and psychological output include the massive balance of the needs of suffering families and the psychological safety of their teammate Responders.

The tally of their load includes the cycle of repeat clients who are struggling to find a way out of a health-crisis spiral.

Our Medics give it all... and this Peer Support Team is carrying the ball to provide support so they can all get some of it back. 🚑

This team is always seeking to improve themselves so they can be part of improving humans.

Angellah and I love and respect this Crew of Peer Supporters and are grateful for the fantastic day we spent together.

Below are some of their kind thoughts on our recent training:

✅ 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the training was a good use of their time.

✅ 100% said they learned practical and applicable tools. ✅ 100% would recommend this training to others.

It is an incredibly rewarding experience to provide practical tools that will support those supporting our community heroes.

A massive thank you to the Medavie Peer Support Team for their vulnerability, insight, and tireless service.

04/25/2026

You're going to want to listen in folks to hear from@Saskpeersupport about how much value there is in peers supporting each other. In the workplace, in communities, and in life 🌞🙏

Honoured to be joining The Evan Bray Show this Monday morning at 10:00 am to talk about peer support across Saskatchewan.

04/10/2026

Ever feel like your internal "Stress Potency Gauge" is running on high? 📈
It’s so important to take a moment and honestly assess where you’re at on that dial. Persistent high stress keeps our system charged, affecting everything from our body systems to our central nervous system. We deserve to feel a sense of calm and nudge ourselves out of alarm mode.
Check in with yourself today. Where is your needle pointing? Take one micro- step now to move it back toward "Moderate" or "Total Chill." And then pause...no pressure to do anything more for now🙏

03/26/2026

𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.😮‍💨

I recently had the incredible opportunity to "meet minds" with the File Hills Community Health Services Teams, representing several regional Bands.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜—𝐒𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬—𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞. In fact, keeping the tone "light" and human is the only way we normalize these interactions and realize that support is always within reach.
𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞-𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬:
🔢𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲
🔢𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🔢𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🔢𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

The logic is simple: 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.
And when people feel safe enough to find the warmth of vulnerable instead of the burn they often expect, we build safer communities, stronger families, and deeper friendships.
Over the last two decades, I have had the honor of walking innumerable leaders, groups, and individuals through these exact concepts. The goal is always to turn fear into understanding and shift the perspective from "crisis management" to "community resilience.
" 𝐏𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 '𝐈' 𝐚𝐧𝐝 '𝐌𝐞' 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐖𝐞"

Leaders never regret bringing this to their team: This session was a keynote designed to inspire and shift mindsets, but it also is the foundation for a deep-dive half-day workshop on Prevention, Intervention, and Awareness.

If you’re ready to "step towards resilience" in your own organization or community, let’s start the conversation.
📩 DM me here on LinkedIn
🌐 Visit: www.jimbrayshaw.com
or
www.saskmentalhealth.ca
Sharidy Desnomie, Jodi Robson, SnowDove Stonechild

03/08/2026

'We'-Topia
🌍Creating the World We All Deserve🌍

When we Improve Humans, we Improve Everything.
And designing a psychologically "safer" world improves all of us. ❤️

Welcome to 'We'-Topia, a podcast powered by the Sask Mental Health Co-founders- Jim & Angellah Brayshaw.
Angellah, a Mental & Behavioral Health Educator & Certified Somatic Breathing Behavior Therapist, and Jim, a retired Fire Captain and Neuroscience Coach, will get you up close to the "Edge of We." 🏠
Merging the "Ancient Future" with neurobiology, they promise to move past revolution to spark a RE-evolution. 🏡

Creating a safer world starts with our launch series that dives deep into Psychological Health and Safety for families and relationships. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♂️
Hit play to join the Re-evolution:) 🙏

See you on Spotify-🙌

03/01/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVUSImFAVs8/

02/23/2026

Email from Saskatchewan Public Works Association Register Now!!!   SPWA CONFERENCE AGENDA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DELEGATE INVITE PACKAGE KEYNOTE SPEAKER JIM BRAYSHAW "The Boundless Effects of Good Bo

02/22/2026

""𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓!!!" 🗣️🛡️

Whether in corporate leadership, Keynote events, my Fire Service career, or Sask Mental Health, this is the reaction I hear most to declarative statements that are hard to hear without getting AMPED UP.

It’s not about facts. It’s about Identity Signaling and a craving for certainty. In an uncertain world, extreme views offer a seductive illusion of absolute clarity. We don't just see Homophily (similarity); we see Acrophily: the drive to affiliate with those holding more extreme views than our own.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝... but you can navigate it. I use the 𝐈𝐃-𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 to step through these interactions without losing my mind:
✅ I - IDENTIFY the Signal: Recognize the defense mechanism.
✅ D - DE-ESCALATE: Validate the feeling to drop the shield.
✅ M - INTRODUCE 'MESSINESS': Complexity is the kryptonite to extremism.
✅ E - ESTABLISH Boundaries & EXIT: Protect your peace.

Stop 💚 trying 💚 to 💚 out-argue 💚 a 💚 survival 💚 mechanism.

Bring this Keynote to your next event! Visit my site here: www.jimbrayshaw.com

01/29/2026

𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲. It’s a habit we build, not a trait we find.

🧠 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 are evolutionarily wired to scan for danger. It’s why our default reaction to invalidation is often defensive.

When we invalidate others, the "Threat Response" goes into alarm and calls out to warn that a person is “𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄!” We protect ourselves, we shut down, or we possibly even go into 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄 and lash out.

But intentional 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎-𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 will build a better program.

By consistently practicing validation, we physically rewire how we process interaction. We move from a state of protection to a state of connection.

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘.

When you can validate your own emotions without judgment, you deactivate your internal threat response. You create safety within your own mind. 🛡️

Only then can we truly extend that safety to others. When two people prioritize shared understanding over being "right," the dynamic shifts.
𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒. The neural pathways for connection are strengthened. 'WE' benefit instantly, and 'THEY' benefit now and after the interaction.

The most emotionally intelligent among us don't just "decide" to be compassionate; they practice it until it becomes the new baseline program...so 𝐖𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 — 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 = 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘

12/30/2025

12/24/2025

We so hope you enjoy the richness of Your People, Your Pets, Your Friends, and Your Family Over the Holidays & for The New Year.
Thank you to the audiences at our keynotes, and the participants in the many workshops, for your continued kindness and for sharing the meaningful things that improve each of us.

Warmest Always,
Angellah & Jim Brayshaw

12/22/2025

The 2025 "Uncertainty Tax" bill is due. In 2026, let’s go Tax-Free.

The workplace is not a vacuum. We’ve spent the last year watching our teams get battered by the whirlwinds of inconsistency. We’ve seen the cost—not just in dollars, but in the erosion of psychological safety, ongoing stress, with staff, leaders, and employees wanting to leave their company and workplace..

It is called the "Uncertainty Tax".
It is a heavy levy collected by unpredictable and inconsistent leaders. It’s paid in stress, in hesitation, and in the quiet withdrawal of your best people. When leaders are questionable communicators, unpredictable, and inconsistent, staff pay the price with their peace of mind.

We can REPEAL The UNCERTAINTY TAX for 2026!!!📢
We don't need more "management strategies." We need to dignify our people by providing stable, predictable leadership that lowers the cost of showing up. We need to offer the Tax-Free I’s:
✅ Intuitive Interactions: Connection that feels human, not transactional.
✅ Insightful Information: Transparent, clear communication that kills ambiguity.
✅ Intentional Influence with Integrity: Leading with a steady hand that builds trust, rather than anxiety.
No one ever regrets dignifying others in the workplace. When we prioritize emotional safety, we aren't just "being nice"—we are stopping the drain on our collective performance.

Let’s leave the Uncertainty Tax in 2025. This year, lead with consistency.
Let's get together to strategize on where and how you can soften the force of Uncertainty. Strengthening your team's psychological agility, and skillfully developing robust adaptation capacity for your people…

Get in touch to discuss the steps to a Tax Free 2026.