Since 1996, Dan has practiced as a mental health educator, counsellor and advocate offering common sense solution focused treatment to assist with recovery from depression, anger, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia and of course marital breakdown. Believing that recovery happens more often than most people are aware, clients are encouraged to embrace their potential and achieve balance in their lives. As a registered social worker and teacher, Dan emphasizes three underlying themes in his group and individual practice. 1) Self-care for the caregivers 2) Understanding the symptoms and 3) Navigating the health care system to get the best services available for you and your family. Early in his career Dan worked with homeless mentally ill adults on the streets, in the Niagara Detention Centre, local crisis services and developed the curricula for several group programs. Aside from clinical work, Dan brings experience from his years as Executive Director of Gateway Residential and Community Support Services, Manager of Housing Operations for social housing at the Niagara Region and facilitator for the Family Mental Health Support Network of Niagara. With degrees in social work, management and education, Dan blends the clinical with common sense as he and his clients explore and discover solutions to develop individual and family recovery plans. By way of providing education to larger groups, Dan brings experience with a variety of audiences. As a provincial board member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers, coordination of the annual conferences in Niagara was his responsibility. As Executive Director of Gateway and Operations Manager of Regional Housing, he was responsible for the planning and delivery of quarterly training meetings to fifty or more staff. As a facilitator of family mental health education groups, he has been tailoring public talks to increasingly sophisticated audiences, necessitating that he remain ahead of the curve on issues and trends. Dan’s Personal Statement My choice to specialize in working only with individuals and families affected by mental health issues is very personal. In 1973, my brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and in 1993 he died. As a child I saw his pain and that of my parents, two other brothers and extended family. At that time the mental health system was poorly equipped to help Jonathan while offering nothing to the families. There are no magic fixes but I offer practical solution-focused approaches to improve your advocacy skills, knowledge of the health care system and heighten your own self-care skills. I am a passionate advocate offering integrity of character and hope. People do recover from mental illness more often than believed. Dan Silver, Registered Social Worker & Master of Science in Education