My journey in learning about mental health started in 2013 with my admission into the Social Work program at Collège la Cité (Ottawa, ON). My foundation is rooted through my ancestor’s history and my clinical background. Using antiracist interventions, working with a holistic and spiritual point of view, all rooted in a relational approach, I have been passionate ever since about developing a secure and safe space where clients could come and start their healing process.
I hold a master’s degree in Psychotherapy, Counselling and Spirituality. I am currently a PhD student in the same program with Saint Paul University. Under the supervision of Dr Buuma Maisha, PhD, RP, CCC, the focus of my thesis research is on women’s sexual health, more specifically women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and who self-identify as being hypersexual. I am currently a part-time professor and clinical supervisor in the Psychotherapy, Counselling and Spirituality program at Saint Paul University. I also do research regarding Black Women’s Sexual Health in Canada with the Montfort Hospital (Ottawa, ON) under the supervision of Dr Marie-Hélène Chomienne and her team.
I am currently engaged in helping Ottawa’s Black Communities to regain their sense of wholeness by partnering with the Canadian Women of Color Leadership Network as the Wellness Director. Black women in our diverse communities are facing unique obstacles which increases overwhelming mental health symptoms.
Finding the right treatment and psychotherapist is already a challenge. Black women also have to fight against the “strong black women syndrome” which places inappropriate expectations of resilience on them. My goal is to help facilitate and provide for black women a space where they feel safe to share and care for one another, in the hope of creating a long-term community that will improve black women’s mental health.