Black Mental Health in Canada: Overcoming Obstacles, Bridging Gaps

Since 2020, debates on anti-Black racism and other social determinants of Black mental health have intensified in Canadian society. However, despite the efforts made, the feeling that social disparities and interpersonal, institutional and systemic racism have remained the same is very strong in Black communities.

While research into the challenges and barriers they face remains in its infancy, this first book devoted entirely to their mental health brings together innovative studies and provides the keys needed to: understand the social determinants and racial issues affecting their well-being and mental health; promote and mobilize Black communities on the prevention of mental illness; and propose culturally appropriate and anti-racist innovations, interventions and care.

Comprising 13 chapters, this book offers a contemporary and timely discussion of Black mental health from both an integrated and decentered perspective. Written by a collective of over 30 researchers and professionals from different fields related to mental health (psychology, psychiatry, social work, psychotherapy, law), this book offers readers a rich understanding and invites them to participate in the work of unravelling and liberating society from racism and the ills it causes.

Jude Mary Cénat (Editor) Jude Mary Cénat, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and is 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 global mental health. He conducts research in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Dr. Cénat leads a major project on the mental health of Black communities in Canada that has allowed for the development of an online training (via the bilingual platform https: //santementalpourtous.ca / https: //mentalhealthforveryone.ca) which aims to equip mental health professionals with the knowledge to provide culturally appropriate and anti-racist care.