Multiculturalism – Communication Infrastructure – Mental Health Counseling and Support Services for Immigrants

This research is concerned with the ways in which the mental health counseling and support services providers in Vancouver are functioning. It aims to explore the possibilities of the implementation of a multicultural approach to mental health counselling and support services for the different immigrant groups in the Vancouver region. The specific questions that this research is concerned with are: (1) What mental health counselling and support services are available in Vancouver (primarily geared towards immigrant population)?; (2) How are the current services provided by these organizations working? Are there any blindspots and gaps in the services provided? If yes, how can they be best addressed?; and (3) What has to be changed in order for these organization (including the partner organization S.U.C.C.E.S.S.) to better adopt a multicultural model for counseling and support services? Though S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is not currently accredited for mental health counselling, it would like to explore the possibility of developing mental health counselling and support services for the multicultural population based on S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’s current capacity, experience and reputation in the community. This research will provide invaluable information to assess the feasibility of providing mental health counselling- externally by accessing service provision in the field and perception of professionals/ experts about service need/gap/market; and internally S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’s existing counselors’ readiness for accreditation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Catherine Murray

Student:

Daniel Ahadi

Partner:

S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Discipline:

Journalism / Media studies and communication

Sector:

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: