Virtual Mental Health Services for Women At-Risk for Homelessness: Accessible and Free Psychotherapy

Women who have experienced homelessness encounter several barriers to escaping poverty. These women often experience limited economic independence and accompanying mental health issues that contribute to perpetuating their experiences of poverty. While psychotherapy could contribute significantly to this population’s wellbeing, marginalized women often have significant difficulty accessing psychological care despite their increased need for support. Barriers to access include lack of funding to pay for services and difficulty physically accessing services. Providing mental health care virtually, can reduce these barriers by making services more accessible and affordable. This project seeks to address these accessibility challenges by providing access to free virtual therapy to women who have experienced homelessness, through trusted organizations that already provide valuable services to them. In completing this project, we will evaluate the benefit of treatment for those who access it and with our research partners, assess the potential for scale-up of this treatment program to other settings.

Faculty Supervisor:

Alissa Pencer;Shannon Johnson

Student:

Partner:

Mental Health Research Canada;Green Shield Canada

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: