Monique Smith
MSW, RSW, Mental Health Skills Instructor, NWT Fly-In Communities School Counsellor, 2023 AWG’s NWT Wrestling Head Coach

Monique Smith is known for her creative counselling style and passion for teaching mental health skills. She specializes in child, youth, and young adult counselling. Monique has extensive experience working with Indigenous clients. She presently travels to northern fly-in communities in the role of school counsellor in the Tlicho region while maintaining her private practice in Calgary, Alberta.

In addition to counselling, Monique also works as a photographer, sports Chaplain (mentoring Elite Amateur athletes), and as an outdoor guide, (teaching cross-country skiing and canoeing). Monique has many passions including art, music, sports, home projects, travel and wilderness adventures, including the sport of paragliding! She is a former member of the University of Calgary varsity wrestling team. Monique integrates many of her passions into her counselling practice through storytelling, metaphors, and Experiential Learning.

In her presentation, Monique will discuss the mental health challenges facing youth in the NWT, in sport (or notably, lack of sport involvement) and beyond, including the role trauma, culture, geography and social media plays in adolescent mental health. Monique will provide some tangible tools to address some of these concerns.