Culturally Responsive Mental Health Care for Refugees. Spiritual and Cultural Care Conference

Responding to the mental health needs of refugees is a clinical, public health, and human rights priority. This workshop will address the challenges of providing culturally safe, competent and effective mental health services for refugees and others who have faced forced migration and resettlement. 

We will review research on migration, trauma, torture and adaptation to new environments, including risk and protective factors for mental disorders. Attention will be given to sources of strength and resilience and to specific problems related to migration and minority status, particularly prolonged uncertainty about one’s own status and the safety of family and loved ones, structural violence, marginalization and discrimination. Participants will learn about a variety of practical tools they can use in training, planning and organization of services, and clinical intervention, including: current frameworks for cultural safety and cultural competence; the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview; the Cultural Consultation Service model; and the cultural adaptation of treatment interventions. Although the focus will be on refugees, the approach presented will be useful to anyone teaching, planning or delivering culturally competent, person-centered mental health care to diverse communities.

Target Audience: Mental health practitioners, primary care providers, health and social service professionals, and others involved in refugee and migrant policy, services and support.

Presented by:  The Royal, in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa.

Facilitated by: Dr. Laurence Kirkmayer, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Mc Gill University.

To register, please visit: https://www.regonline.com/traumarefugees2016