Winners of the 2023 Mindset Awards for mental health reporting received their awards from retired reporter and network anchor Kevin Newman at a Forum lunch and discussion during the CAJ National Conference in Toronto on May 31, 2024.

First Prize Winners, 2023

Laura Lynch, with Rachel Sanders and Catherine Rolfsen, won first prize for reporting on the mental health of young people, for "Emily's story: one activist's journey through climate anxiety" broadcast on CBC Radio's What on Earth on June 25.

Jeremy Hainsworth won first prize for reporting on mental health in the workplace, for his five-part series "Existential crisis: There's a mental health problem in B.C.'s courts" published by Vancouver Is Awesome from October 29 to November 2.

Honourable Mentions, 2023

Jana Pruden with Kasia Mychajlowycz won an Honourable Mention in the workplace category, for Helen in Hell, episode 2 of a Globe & Mail podcast series In Her Defence, released October 10.

Kenyon Wallace won an Honourable Mention for reporting on the mental health of young people, for Minds Lost in the Maze" in the Toronto Star on October 30, 2023.

Photos: Sophie Bouquillon

Listen to a podcast of the event including discussion of the winning work led by Kevin Newman:

The Mindset and En-Tête Awards for reporting on the mental health of young people are sponsored by the Canadian Mental Health Association.The Mindset and En-Tête Awards for reporting on mental health in the workplace are sponsored by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, courtesy of Canada Life. We greatly appreciate their support. The Forum appoints juries in each category and language independent of the sponsors. We welcome further appropriate sponsorship offers to help us expand the prize categories. The Mindset Awards are presented in partnership with CAJ at its national convention.

Mindset and En-Tête, now in their third editions, are Canada’s only journalist-to-journalist guides to mental health reporting, written and published by the Forum with initial support from the Mental Health Commission of Canada and CBC News. The Forum retains editorial control of the guides, which are currently made available in booklet form without charge to journalists, news organizations and journalism schools across Canada while stocks last. The guides can also be downloaded as PDFs from the Mindset and En-Tête websites.

Scroll down to see the previous year’s Mindset Award winners

Winners of the 2022 Mindset Awards for reporting on the mental health of young people and for workplace mental health reporting were celebrated at a Forum lunch at the CAJ National Conference in Vancouver on April 14, 2023.

First Prize Winners

Carly Weeks, winner of the Mindset Award for Reporting on Workplace Mental Health, for:

As COVID-19 misinformation spreads, threats at home and burnout at work take toll on health care workers

The Globe and Mail

Freelance writer, reporter and photographer Leyland Cecco, winner of the Mindset Award for reporting on the mental health of Young People, for:

How a Tourette’s Diagnosis Helped Me Understand Who I Am 

The Walrus

Listen to a podcast of the event including discussion of the winning work with host Kathryn Gretsinger :

Honourable Mentions

Freelancer Christina Frangou (left) won an Honourable Mention in the Workplace category for:

Distress Call - Canada’s emergency medical services are understaffed and overloaded. Who is checking on the paramedics? 

Maclean’s

Erin Anderssen of The Globe and Mail also won an Honourable Mention in the Workplace category for:

How Mental Health Training for Regular Citizens is Helping to Fill Canada’s Therapy Gap

Erin could not be present. (Photo: The Globe and Mail)

Rachel Collier (right) and Paul MacNeill won an Honourable Mention in the Young People category for: Through the CRACKS part of a year-long investigation into systemic failures in mental health and addiction care in Prince Edward Island.

The Eastern Graphic

Photos: Michelle Meiklejohn