MH Family Service finding creative ways to boost mental health

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on April 7, 2026.

Activity is picking up at Medicine Hat Family Service, and the team behind the programs is just as hard at work exploring new opportunities for Hatters to help with mental health.

Many existing programs are gaining serious traction, says group facilitator Krista Waddle, with the continuation of March’s Understanding Estrangement course and a new book club based on Mel Robbins’ “Let Them Theory,” both selling out well before the date of the workshop.

“Both of them ended up getting completely booked up before we could even get the advertising out on our end. People saw them on the library website and hopped on it. A great problem to have, really,” said Waddle.

She says MHFS may offer additional events on these topics in the future, seeing the obvious enthusiasm from the community.

New this month was a support group for those grieving loss of a pet, which ran Apr. 2. This group, in partnership with Cypress View Veterinary Clinic, is planned to be an ongoing series on the first Thursday of every month going forward.

“A lot of people have a hard time discussing that with others, especially if the people aren’t really animal lovers,” said Waddle. “It can make their grieving process even lonelier than what it would normally feel like. Not everybody quite gets it on the pet level. Unless you’ve had a pet, you don’t know how precious they really are. We wanted to honour that and hold a space for that.”

Also recurring is the Caregiver Connections support group, which offers a space to decompress and speak with others in a similar situation of caring for a loved one with mental or physical illness.

Waddle stressed the importance of ensuring someone’s own mental wellness before trying to help others, in order to prevent burnout and ensure they can continue to be there for the person in need.

The group will meet Friday from 10-11:30 a.m. and then again Apr. 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., offering options to best accommodate caregiver schedules.

Also upcoming is the delightfully dubbed “Squirrel Mode” on Apr. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon, which will tackle managing adult life while having ADHD.

“We talk about ADHD in children quite a bit, but you know, when you’re talking about adulting with ADHD, it’s not a topic that gets covered a lot, so I can see that being a really, really helpful resource for the community,” said Waddle.

Full lists of groups, events and classes are available at mhfamilyservice.com and https://recoverycollegemedicinehat.ca/