Check out our webinar from May 31 on children’s mental health with panelists Agnes Chen (Starlings Community); Christine Gervais (Université du Québec en Outaouais); and Prudence Caldairou-Bessette (McGill University & Université du Québec à Montréal)
We know that the pandemic exacerbated mental health concerns for children and families who were already vulnerable/at-risk. Early data from the pandemic shows that with reduced services, and disrupted access to education, health care, and peer networks, children have not been able to fully realize their rights. In this webinar, we hear from experts in their fields about the various challenges related to mental health faced by children post-pandemic, including families harmed by substance-use stigma, and immigrant/refugee/structurally vulnerable children who face many challenges.
Biographies of panelists:
Agnes Chen is a Registered Nurse, social justice advocate, and the founder of Starlings Community, a not-for-profit whose mission is to protect the health and promote the healing of youth exposed to parental substance use. Leading a national movement that recognizes the harm that substance use stigma imposes on the health and well-being of Canadian youth, Agnes is empowering a Canada that addresses the systemic barriers that contribute to intergenerational cycles of stress and trauma in families.
Dr Prudence Caldairou-Bessette is a clinical psychologist and an FQRSC-funded Postdoctoral fellow at both the Department of Integrated studies in Education and the Department of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University, under the supervision of Dr Claudia Mitchell and Dr Lucie Nadeau. She is also an adjunct professor of humanistic psychology at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Her Postdoctoral research is entitled, “Including Children in Transcultural Mental Heath Research,” aims to develop methods to listen to children in different contexts, especially through arts-based participatory methods.
Christine Gervais is a professor in the nursing department at the St-Jérôme campus of the UQO. Christine Gervais is a nurse and holds a doctorate in psychology. She is also a researcher at the Sherpa University Institute, focused on Immigration, Diversity and Health and in the Paternity, Family and Society team. Her work focuses on the health of families. She is particularly interested in family relationships, child welfare and migration transition.
Slides from Dr. Gervais’s presentation
Dr. Gervais’ slides