A Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) graduate has been recognized for her work to make mental health care more accessible.
Kev Kokoska received the Outstanding Alumni Award at the morning graduation ceremony held at the KPU Newton Campus on Tuesday (June 11). He graduated from KPU in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
The award recognizes KPU graduates who have demonstrated lifetime achievement in one or more areas of professional achievement, entrepreneurship, innovation, service, exemplary resilience in the face of adversity, and significant contributions to the local, national and international communities.
KPU psychology lecturer Jocelyn Limburner nominated Kokoska for the award.
“Kev's most outstanding trait is his endless passion and ability to use his education and training to improve systems and create opportunities for others,” Lynburner said.
Kokoska is a counselor and social entrepreneur who works to provide mental health care to inmates and communities who typically don't have access to counseling services.
“My family has a history of incarceration and mental health issues,” Kokoska said in a KPU news release. “Prison is a highly masculine environment, and if we can see what mental health interventions work in the toughest environments, maybe they will have some value in other environments.”
Kokoska points out that the counselling market is uneven, with only the wealthy able to afford therapy.
He noticed that, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, more people were needing mental health support but lacking the resources to access it.
“What frustrates me is that some people just want information. They haven't yet learned how mental health care works or what the basic skills are,” he says. “It's unfair to charge people money to get therapy when they may not need it. We need to give people all the information and tools they need to take care of themselves first.”
As a result, he founded Otherside Health, which offers what he calls “experiential psychotherapy.”
“Otherside uses a three-phase contemporary psychodynamic process to provide relief for symptoms where traditional therapies have failed. The approach is relational, emotion-driven and experiential,” according to othersidehealth.com.
While pursuing his Masters in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia, he discovered his passion for acting, and he combined his new found passion for acting with his passion for mental health to create several one-man plays.
The play focused on self-awareness, aiming to educate people on the importance of mental health.
“He furthered his interest by studying documentary filmmaking while pursuing a doctorate in interdisciplinary mental health,” the KPU announcement said.
Now Kokoska is making educational short films about mental health and taking them to prisons “so that people can learn about it in a more engaging way,” she says.
