This project has hosted webinars since 2012 to promote learning, information sharing and to stimulate conversation on topics that we hope are relevant to your practice. Many of the archived webinars are part of the former project, the Refugee Mental Health Project. Since September 2017, webinars have encompassed the expanded scope of newly-arrived immigrants and/or refugees.
Our webinars are one-hour sessions that include a 30-minute presentation by professionals in the settlement, social or health services sectors followed by a 30-minute question and answer session where we encourage you to ask questions, pose scenarios and to generally discuss your practice with these experts in the field.
Dr. Nancy Clark, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Victoria, British Columbia)
Alejandro Argüelles Bullón, GMBPsS MRSPH, Graduate Mental Health Researcher and PhD Student, Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Frontline providers know this reality well. Refugees don’t arrive with “mental health needs” neatly separated from housing, income, language, family reunification, or immigration stress. Yet our systems are still organized as if those needs exist in isolation. The result? Clients fall through gaps, staff burn out trying to hold systems together, and meaningful integration remains the exception rather than the norm.
This engaging and practice-focused webinar shares findings from a British Columbia based realist study that asked: what actually makes integrated mental health care for refugees work, and what causes it to fail?
The session will resonate deeply with frontline staff who regularly “stretch” their roles to support clients, as well as leaders grappling with system pressures and sustainability.
About the presenters:
Dr Nancy Clark is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Her research focuses on social and structural inequities experienced by underserved populations, including groups negatively affected by displacement (i.e., refugees and other groups that experience displacement and structural vulnerabilities due to war, environmental change, and political persecution). She examines how age, sex/gender, ethnicity/race, class/poverty, and other social identity categories shape and are shaped by structural determinants of mental health, and how health and social systems respond to build resilience and adapt to the needs of these population groups.
Alejandro Argüelles Bullón, GMBPsS MRSPH, is a mental health researcher and PhD candidate in Mental Health at Lancaster University, where he received the Dean’s Ben Booth Award for Outstanding Contribution. His research focuses on a wide range of mental health topics, using realist approaches to understand what works, for whom, and why across different contexts and populations. He places a strong emphasis on inclusion, lived-experience roles, and health system responsiveness. He is currently affiliated with Lancaster University, the University of York and the University of Victoria as a mental health researcher.
Monica Sesma-Vázquez, PhD, RSW, RMFT-SM (She/Her/Ella). Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
Nathanael Hammond, PhD(c), Economics, University of Calgary
Monica Abdelkader, Director of Settlement and Community Services, Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association.
Thursday, May 14, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
About the webinar:
Canada’s immigration system relies on the commitment and capacity of frontline settlement workers, yet their wellbeing is often strained by systemic pressures, vicarious trauma, and the invisible burden of cultural labor. This webinar introduces the CIWA-UCalgary Practitioner Wellbeing Framework, developed through a partnership between the Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work. Grounded in lived organizational experience and academic research, the framework shifts the focus from individual resilience to structural responsibility, offering practical, evidence-informed strategies to embed equity, accountability, and trauma-informed leadership within organizations.
Archive:
Note that webinar recordings contain the presentation of the topic only; the question and answer session is not recorded.
Specific populations and issues
These webinars highlight strategies for supporting particular immigrant and refugee groups, or highlight specific issues in supporting immigrant and refugee mental health.
Support and treatment considerations
These webinars will focus on specific considerations for providing effective treatment to recent immigrants and refugees.
Successful or promising practices
These webinars outline innovative and unique approaches/programs for supporting the mental health of newly-arrived immigrants and refugees.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the webinars are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project, CAMH, our funders or partners. Information provided in the webinars is for professional development and educational purposes only.
Community of Practice
Available for course participants, the Community of Practice (CoP) is a virtual community where service providers who support immigrant and refugee mental health can stay up-to-date on new events and resources.
