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.

Upcoming Webinars:

Trauma and resilience in refugees – a clinical approach

With Dr. Clare Pain, 

Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto (UofT); psychoanalyst; Staff psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023: 1:30 - 2:30 EST

Register for this webinar

Description:

Most refugees experience difficult and traumatic events in their pre migration context and their response to these trauma may vary. However, as service providers we often assume that any and all distress a refugee faces in Canada stems from the trauma that led them to flee their home country. In fact, most refugees report that settling and building a new life here is even more difficult and stressful than past events. Learning to recognize and decode these complex communications of suffering, capacity and need, is especially difficult when we have no understanding of the refugee’s geopolitical and culture context. This talk will think beyond post traumatic stress disorder to address the need to more accurately understand the causes and mitigation of individual refugee’s distress. Underpinning these ideas is the recognition that refugees are extraordinarily resilient. We will explore how to recognize this clinically and optimize and enhance service delivery as a result, noting the importance of cultural competence and cultural humility, on an individual and systemic level.

About the presenter:

Clare Pain MD, MSc., FRCPC., D.Sc (Hons) Addis Ababa University (AAU), Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto (UofT), and psychoanalyst. Staff psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto.

She is founder and senior strategist of the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration, an educational partnership between AAU and the UofT working to strengthen educational capacity and sustainability in graduate training at AAU. In 2014 she was awarded an honorary doctorate for assisting the development of psychiatry in Ethiopia.

Her clinical focus is the assessment and treatment of individuals including refugees, who continue to suffer from the complex effects of psychological trauma. She has lectured and taught on various aspects of psychological trauma and global mental health. She has published a number of articles and three books.

Register for this webinar

Recorded Webinars

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.