BeCoMHeal

What?

A project on the mental health of youth from Black communities

Where?

Canada, National Capital Region (Ottawa and Gatineau)

To achieve 3 objectives

Understand the role that individual, social, and cultural factors (e.g., ethno-cultural background, racial discrimination) play in the mental health of Black youth
Educate, mobilize, and raise awareness on mental health in Black communities
Create and use culturally adapted clinical tools for youth in Black communities

How do we intend to achieve these 3 objectives?

For a BetterUnderstanding

Collect information on the mental health of youth from Black communities through an online questionnaire
Interview Black youth, families, and community leaders about their experiences with mental health issues and mental health care services
Interview mental health workers and professionals to assess their needs for access to culturally adapted information and tools on the mental health of youth from Black communities

To Mobilize, Educate, and Raise Awareness

Conduct the Knowing to Prevent campaign which aims to educate, mobilize, and raise awareness in Black communities (through community associations and organizations, hospitals, schools, universities, churches, mosques, etc.) on mental health issues
Conduct the Chatting in the City campaign to support the capacity of youth, families, and community leaders and associations to build resilience and adapted coping strategies among youth in Black communities
Train community leaders (members of associations, pastors, imams, coaches, groups of mothers, etc.) on topics related to the mental health of youth

To Create Adapted Tools

Create culturally adapted, evidence-based assessment and intervention tools with the help of a panel of mental health researcher-clinicians (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, etc.)
Train mental health professionals to use the developed tools
Train mental health professionals to understand the challenges faced by youth dealing with mental health problems in Black communities
Use the developed tools within institutions caring for youth from the Black communities
Evaluate the effectiveness of the developed tools with youth from Black communities

Our Team

Jude Mary Cénat

Jude Mary Cénat

Assistant Professor / Director of the Vulnerability, Trauma, Resilience & Culture Laboratory
Psychology
University of Ottawa

Dr. Jude Mary Cénat is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology and the Director of the Vulnerability, Trauma, Resilience & Culture (V-TRaC) Research Laboratory at the University of Ottawa. His research program explores factors associated with vulnerability, trauma, and resilience, with a particular interest in the role of cultural factors. Dr. Cénat conducts research on racial disparities in mental health and social services, the impact of natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks on mental health, interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma, and overall mental health. He conducts research in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Assumpta Ndengeyingoma

Assumpta Ndengeyingoma

Professor
Nursing Sciences
University of Quebec in Outaouais

Dr. Assumpta Ndengeyingoma is a professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of Quebec in Outaouais (UQO). Her research program explores the psychosocial health of immigrant youth and their families, the psychosocial aspects of chronicity in youth and their families, and educational health intervention. She is a regular researcher at the Institut universitaire en déficience intellectuelle et en troubles du spectre de l'autisme and at the Centre for Studies and Research on Family Health Intervention (CERIF).

Cary Kogan

Cary Kogan

Full professor / Director of the Centre for Psychological Services and Research
Psychology
University of Ottawa

Cary Kogan is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa where he also serves as Director of the Centre for Psychological Services and Research, a community-based mental health training centre. Dr. Kogan teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels including courses on psychopathology and psychopharmacology. His research interests include classification of psychopathology and translational neuroscience with a special focus on neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Kogan is a consultant to the World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, for the revision of the Mental, Behavioural and Neurodevelopmental Disorders chapter of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). He has contributed to the development, testing, and international implementation of the clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines for mental health professionals.