Collaborative mental healthcare has many meanings; it is important to consider things on systemic, institutional, cultural, clinical and individual levels. During my BA in psychology at the University of British Columbia I completed a 4-month internship in Gugulethu, South Africa with the NGO Education without Borders. After graduating I returned to South Africa to continue program development, from there I travelled to South Korea to teach ESL.

 

Once back in the classroom at McGill I realized how isolated the different fields of mental health are. Doing research on the healthcare system and shadowing different healthcare professionals I saw that this divide is often reflected in clinical settings. A great deal of thinking led me to the idea and development of CMH.

 

I plan to incorporate psychotherapy skills that I am developing through my internship training at MedEgo as I pursue a career in cultural psychiatry. My research focuses on culture brokers in the clinical setting and competencies for working with trans clients from a social justice perspective. I have been involved with and inspired by the work at the Cultural Consultation Service at the Jewish General Hospital and the cultural psychiatry team at McGill.