Issued on: May 12, 2017
Hong Fook hosted the 5th Diversity and Equity in Mental Health and Addictions Conference, in partnership with Across Boundaries, Canadian Mental Health Association, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, LOFT, Mount Sinai Hospital, University Health Network. This year, the theme focused on trauma, which is a continuation of the theme from last conference where the concepts of recovery, resilience, and post-traumatic growth were explored through the diversity lens. Over 170 participants attended this biennial conference at Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Toronto.
We were especially excited this year to have two great keynote speakers. Dr. Jaswant Guzder, Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University, shared her work in Jamaica, the Dream a World Cultural Therapy Project, and discussed the process of community engagement in response to collective trauma. Ms. Camille Orridge, Former CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network and Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre, guided us to look at the needs and resilience of service providers in the context of providing care and experiencing vicarious trauma. Further, we had 10 outstanding workshops covering trauma from a variety of perspectives for different populations.
