Mental health within Black communities in Canada: profiles of advocates (and bonus resources!)

Mental health advocate, entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, documentary filmmaker, actress and podcaster. 

Psychology Professor at the University of Ottawa, Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health, and Director V-TRAC Lab, Dr. Cénat’s research explores the effects of vulnerability, trauma, resilience; disparities in mental health and social services; and, global mental health. 

Spoken Word poet, educator, speaker, and coach who believes that creative wiring and poetry are the therapy of a lifetime. 

Project manager, actor, advocate for Black mental health, and cofounder of SOS Congo — a not-for-profit organization advocating for Calgary’s Congolese community. 

Social Work Clinician and consultant with the African Nova Scotian community on the of race-based trauma and on issues of parenting, substance use and mental health and prevention based initiatives affecting the lives of adolescence and their families and communities. 

Assistant Professor in Health Education and Promotion with the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough. 

CEO of the Wellesley Institute, practicing psychiatrist, Psychiatry Professor at the University of Toronto, Director of Health Equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and international expert on the social causes of illness and the development of effective, equitable social policy and health systems.

Author, spoken word poet, actor, multimedia artist and teacher who works closely with her community as a mental health advocate. 

Artist, community organizer, and founder and director of the Vancouver Black Therapy & Advocacy Foundation. 

Artist and rapper who denounces not only gender inequality and racial injustice, but also the challenge of living with intimate demons like addiction.

Registered Psychotherapist, Trauma Consultant, and Founding Chair for the Section on Black Psychology of the Canadian Psychological Association who is passionate about promoting positive mental health across communities. 

Abstract artist, disability writer, and curator known for her work within the mediums of installation, painting, performance, and photography to challenge systemic oppression against Black women and Trans people, mental health, ageism and intergenerational trauma.

Founder and Director of Pour 3 Points, an organization that trains school coaches in the skills they need to guide the next generation of not only athletes, but activists and system-changers.

Social Worker and Sociologist whose 31-year career has spanned the fields of education, child welfare, forensic mental health, trauma, sexual violence, and cultural competence. 

Retired social worker and TV show host and producer who is interested in culturally sensitive health care delivery, policy and program development. She served over 35 years in government and non-government organizations and is a recipient of the “Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award”.