Integrating French second-language experiences into clinical psychology training to enhance retention of English-speaking trainees

This project addresses the need for culturally and linguistically sensitive mental health services, with a focus on supporting English-speaking clinical psychology trainees in Québec. Many trainees leave the province after graduation due to challenges related to French-language requirements and the difficulty of building a sustainable practice that includes Francophone clients, which contributes to a shortage of English-speaking mental health professionals.

The study examines a new initiative at Concordia University that integrates French-language training into clinical psychology education for English-speaking trainees. It aims to understand how this approach may improve training experiences and support long-term retention in the province.

The project combines a systematic review of international best practices in second-language training for mental health professionals with qualitative interviews. We will speak with 30 clinical psychology trainees, clinical supervisors, and community-based clinicians to better understand their experiences using French in clinical settings.

The findings will be used to produce a report outlining best practices for French-language training and assessment in clinical psychology, with implications for improving trainee retention and strengthening access to bilingual mental health services in Québec.

Outputs:

• Evidence synthesis: Following interviews with trainees and supervisors, the team conducted a global systematic review to identify best practices for second-language training of mental health clinicians, aligned with the study’s qualitative analysis.

• Final report (forthcoming): Will present theory- and evidence-based guidelines for integrating French second-language training into clinical psychology programs.

• Expected impact: Improved retention of English-speaking trainees in Québec and enhanced access to mental health services for English-speaking communities.

• Knowledge sharing: The final report will be disseminated to higher education institutions and Centres intégrés universitaires de santé et de services sociaux to support collaboration and strengthen health and social services for English-speaking populations.

Linguistically- and Culturally-Sensitive Psychotherapy: Improving Communications to Improve Outcomes

This project examines how language and cultural differences can affect the quality and effectiveness of psychotherapy, particularly for people experiencing anxiety or depression. When clients and therapists do not share the same linguistic or cultural background, misunderstandings can arise that may interfere with treatment.

Building on previous research supported by Dialogue McGill, the study aims to test strategies that help therapists better address these communication challenges. It will combine a review of existing research, an analysis of real therapeutic interactions, and an evaluation of interventions designed to improve communication and outcomes over time.

The study includes 12 participants from migrant or minority backgrounds who speak English as a second language and prefer another official language. Some will receive therapy in a matching language context, while others will experience a language mismatch, allowing for comparison of experiences and outcomes.

Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the project will explore how misunderstandings arise in therapy and how they can be reduced. The results are expected to improve mental health care for linguistically diverse populations in Quebec and inform training for therapists working in multicultural settings more broadly.

Outputs:

• Publications in progress: A peer-reviewed article is in preparation examining how linguistic and cultural barriers affect psychotherapy, how they can be addressed, and their impact on treatment outcomes (quantitative analysis completed).

• Knowledge tools: Development of the Acculturation Toolkit, an online resource to support second-language training for clinicians, building on tools refined through this project.

• Published outputs: Four encyclopedia entries on cultural-clinical psychology published in the SAGE Encyclopedia of Depression and Anxiety, incorporating findings from the team’s systematic review.

• Knowledge mobilization:

  • Participation in an expert workshop (June 2024) featuring research funded by Dialogue McGill.

  • Keynote presentation (September 2024) highlighting this project and related funded research.

• Next steps: A training and dissemination workshop, integrating materials from this and previous funded projects, is planned for Fall 2025.

Remotely-Delivered CBT for English-Speaking Psychiatric Outpatients across Quebec: An Evaluation of Treatment Effectiveness, Treatment Acceptability and Barriers to Accessing Care

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the ‘gold standard’ psychological intervention for most mental health problems, however, access to CBT is often challenging due to long clinic waitlists and limited availability of trained professionals in all communities. In Quebec, English-speaking Quebecers are faced with additional challenges in accessing care due to their status as a linguistic minority. One method of increasing access to CBT is using a model of remote service delivery whereby clinics that specialize in CBT can provide services in English to patients located anywhere in the province. Using a non-randomized design, we aim to examine whether providing remotely-delivered CBT to English-speaking Quebecers from across the province will lead to similar improvements in symptoms and functioning compared to patients receiving in-person treatment. We will also examine questionnaire results and identify themes in patients’ written feedback to assess their treatment satisfaction and to better understand their experiences of receiving remotely-delivered CBT. This study will be conducted in the Centre for CBT Research, Training and Intervention (Centre for CBT-RTI), a clinic located in the McGill University Health Centre. The Centre for CBT-RTI is a non-sectorized clinic staffed by bilingual mental health professionals with expertise in CBT who provide in person and remotely-delivered CBT for patients from across Quebec. The findings from this research are anticipated to increase awareness among mental health professionals and key stakeholders in government and hospital administration about the benefits of remote-delivered CBT and patient preferences for service-delivery.

Outputs:

• Project completion: Data collection and analysis finalized. Results shared with mental health professionals locally at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre, and nationally through the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies. An additional submission was made to the Douglas Research Centre / McGill Psychiatry Research Day.

• Conference presentations:

  • April 2025 – Poster at the 3rd Annual MUHC Mental Health Mission Research Day (Montréal).

  • May 2025 – Poster at the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies 15th Annual Conference (Banff).

  • Submitted – Poster to the Annual Research Day of the Douglas Research Centre and McGill Department of Psychiatry.

• Student training and outputs: MSc student is preparing a master’s thesis (submission planned August 2025), including a manuscript to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in Fall 2025.

Sustainable Human Resource Management of Healthcare Personnel Working in a Minority Linguistic context – Comparative Phase in Border Regions

Title: GRH durable du personnel du milieu de la santé œuvrant en contexte linguistique minoritaire – phase comparative en régions frontières

(Title in the study’s original language)

This project aims to address strategic human resources management (HRM) issues faced by the part of the healthcare system serving the English-speaking population and other cultural minorities in regions of Quebec outside the Montreal metropolitan area. Its initial phase took place in the Quebec City region at Jeffery Hale - Saint Brigid's Hospital (JHSB), grouped as part of CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, and then has proceeded to a comparative analysis of recruitment processes between CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and CISSS des Laurentides. The present project aims to conduct further comparative analysis between these two establishments and regions of Quebec bordering the English-speaking provinces: Outaouais, Montérégie-Ouest and Côte-Nord. The first objective of the project is to report on the current bilingual staffing process (recruitment, selection, on-boarding and integration) for four job categories in high demand in the Quebec healthcare system, in designated English-speaking facilities. Its aim is to establish the degree of adequacy between published language requirements, initial assessment of candidates and upgrading measures offered to newcomers. Secondly, the project aims to identify HRM practices that can help retain staff working in a bilingual healthcare context. The entire non-agreement-based HRM process will be covered (staff appraisal, skills development, non-monetary recognition), while investigating the potential strategic contribution of the surrounding English-speaking community in this respect.

Outputs:

• 3 scientific presentations delivered: one at an international conference in Europe (late 2024) on workplace diversity; one at ACFAS 2024 (the largest Francophone scientific conference in Canada), within a symposium on health and social service delivery in official language minority communities (OLMCs), co-organized by Consortium national de formation en santé and Groupe de recherche sur la formation et les pratiques en santé et service social en contexte francophone minoritaire; and one at a national conference hosted by a pan-Canadian association focused, among other topics, on current human resource management issues.

• 1 conference proceeding and 1 scientific book chapter (in press) resulting from the international conference; the book is expected to be widely distributed across the Francophonie.

• 2 posters: one presented at a 2024 symposium organized by Health Canada, and another for a research event organized by CISSS de l’Outaouais (abstract accepted, event scheduled for June).

• 3 research reports submitted to CISSS de l’Outaouais, CISSS de la Côte-Nord, and CISSS de la Gaspésie (the latter currently undergoing local validation). Along with a fourth report from CISSS des Laurentides, these outputs stem from a study funded by Dialogue McGill and will be disseminated via the Centre d’expertise ACESS website to support improved access and adaptation of health and social services for English-speaking communities in Eastern Québec.

• 4 presentations of comparative results delivered to the Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s steering committee; selected materials may be published on the Centre d’expertise ACESS website following approval.

• 1 invited presentation at the ACESS Symposium Improving Access Through Knowledge, held in Québec City in 2025 and funded by the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise.

• 1 lunchtime discussion session planned for Fall 2025 with Équipe de recherche en partenariat sur la Diversité culturelle et l’Immigration dans les régions du Québec, a funded research network involving regional partners including Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s.

A review of migration patterns of English — speaking healthcare workers in Québec and existing French-language supports

In 2022, PERT published a report titled “French-language support for Québec’s English-speaking professionals.” This report examined the role of French language policies in professional orders and the language supports available to English-speaking prospective and current members of professional orders. We concluded that there is no comprehensive framework for supporting individuals who need to improve their French. Additionally, we found that most institutional stakeholders were not mandated nor had adequate capacity to provide French-language support to English-speaking health professionals. Since the publication of this report, the situation for English speakers within Québec’s healthcare system has become more complex. There are acute shortages of healthcare professionals, concerns about reduced access for English speakers, outmigration of healthcare workers, and the implementation of new French-language policies that may impact the hiring and retention of English-speaking healthcare workers.

In this project, we will expand on the findings of the report. The objectives are to:

• Understand the immigration and out-migration of English-speaking healthcare professionals in order to identify the impacts of outmigration and immigration and analyze the existing capacity of English-speaking workers to fill existing labour shortages and healthcare needs

• Identify the government-funded French-language training programs targeted at healthcare professionals in Québec

• Formulate policy recommendations to support English speakers’ entry into and retention in Québec’s healthcare industry

This will be accomplished in two ways: an inventory of existing government-funded French-language training for healthcare workers, and analysis of education and migration patterns of English-speaking healthcare professionals through 2016 and 2021 census data.

Outputs:

• March 14, 2025 – Webinar: Building Healthy Systems: Mobilizing the Potential of English Speakers to Enhance Québec’s Healthcare Sector. Organized and hosted by PERT (online); 64 participants. Delivered in partnership with the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN), disseminating knowledge and laying the groundwork for future collaborations to address healthcare employment among English-speaking Quebecers.

Health outcomes of Anglophones after pregnancy: differences in access compared with Francophones in Québec

In Québec, Anglophones are more likely to have pregnancy complications than Francophones. Our research has shown that Anglophones are at risk of outcomes such as preterm birth, stillbirth, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes. These pregnancy complications have been associated with the onset of medical problems later in life, including mental illness and type 2 diabetes. This proposal aims to examine if Anglophone women are more likely to require care for mental illness and type 2 diabetes than Francophones in the long-term period after pregnancy.

During the previous funding cycle, we built a longitudinal cohort that allows us to study the long-term health of Anglophones after pregnancy. The cohort contains demographic and health information for all Anglophones and Francophones who were pregnant in Québec between 2006 and 2022. In the present study, we will examine two outcomes that led to hospitalization anytime after pregnancy: mental illness and type 2 diabetes. We will assess the association between maternal language and the risk of having a mental illness or diabetes admission up to 17 years after pregnancy, comparing Anglophones with Francophones. We will also study whether characteristics such as socioeconomic deprivation and education modify the long-term risk of each outcome. Our results will provide much needed information on the health of Anglophones in the years after pregnancy, and help identify groups that could benefit from better access to mental health and medical services.

Outcomes:

• Presentation of findings at the “Building Together 2026” conference organized by CHSSN.

• Presentation of the findings at the “Dialogue McGill 2026: Growing Capacity and Retaining Talent in Health Care and Social Services” conference.

Digital cognitive assessments for Quebec English-speaking older adults and patients on the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum

About 1 in 9 people above 65 years old has Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Timely and precise diagnosis, along with comprehensive cognitive assessment, play crucial roles in managing this disease effectively. A precise evaluation of cognition is essential for making accurate diagnoses, including the identification of the prodromal phase of AD known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, conventional cognitive tests come with significant limitations, especially for the English-speaking population in Quebec. These issues encompass the absence of tests tailored to English speakers in Canada or Quebec, outdated norms exceeding 20 years, a lack of contemporary digital assessment tools, and the failure to consider social determinants of health (SDOH) in normative data. Our project has two primary goals:

1. to validate and standardize a cognitive battery incorporating digital adaptive tests for English-speaking older adults in Quebec, while accounting for SDOH;

2. to compare the diagnostic accuracy of a traditional paper-pencil cognitive battery with a digital counterpart for MCI. Our study will involve 150 cognitively unimpaired older adults and 20 MCI patients, who will undergo both traditional and novel digital cognitive assessments.

This project holds immense significance for clinical practice and Quebec's English-speaking communities, as it will provide novel open-access digital tools for researchers and clinicians. These tools will offer a more accurate, efficient and engaging experience for patients and clinicians.

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Severe Anxiety Disorders: Effectiveness and Acceptability in English-Speaking Quebeckers

Exposure therapy consists in approaching one’s fears without avoidance. It is known to be the best psychological intervention for anxiety disorders, which are some of the most common, debilitating mental health problems in Quebec. Recently, virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been developed to address some of the accessibility and acceptability concerns of traditional exposure therapy conducted in “real life”—one of these being the need for consistently clear communication between therapists and patients. Through computer-generated, language-free environments, VRET helps individuals confront the virtual counterparts of their fears, without extensive therapeutic discussions. VRET’s potential to increase access to a first-line anxiety treatment for English-speaking Quebec residents is thus promising. Although the efficacy of VRET has been shown to be comparable to traditional exposure therapy, most of this research has been conducted in well-controlled laboratories focusing on subclinical anxiety. This project aims to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of VRET for severe symptoms of anxiety disorders in a non-sectorized mental health clinic, accessible to all Quebec residents. English-speaking Quebeckers with an anxiety disorder will receive twelve sessions of VRET and will complete symptom measures pre- and post-intervention. Results will be compared to symptoms of individuals who have already undergone traditional exposure therapy at the clinic. Demonstrating that VRET is as effective as traditional exposure therapy in a real-life and language minority context will help increase access to a gold standard intervention, using approachable, language-free technology. Lastly, themes will be extracted from participants’ feedback to compare the treatments’ perceived accessibility and acceptability

Outputs

• Pilot and early results dissemination: Pilot data (2 participants) and preliminary analyses (8 participants) were presented at the McGill University Health Centre Research Days (2023 and 2025) as part of research dissemination and recruitment efforts.

• Conference presentations: The project was presented at the First Annual Conference in Digital Mental Health (Québec), showcasing the technology and its clinical applications to researchers and healthcare professionals.

• Future outputs planned: In line with the original proposal, the project is expected to produce two peer-reviewed publications, two out-of-province conference presentations, and one clinical workshop on integrating virtual reality into exposure therapy practice.

• Knowledge mobilization and media coverage: The project has been featured in multiple media outlets, including La Presse, 98.5 FM Radio Textos, CBC Radio Noon Quebec, CBC Daybreak Montreal, and Y’a du monde à messe (Télé-Québec) (broadcast scheduled June 6, 2025).

Increasing access to pediatric sleep care for youths in the English-speaking community in Quebec.

Abundant evidence indicates that the negative impacts of sleep disorders can be significantly reduced by effective treatment. However, interventional opportunities that would improve the sleep and overall health of children and adolescents in the English-speaking community in Quebec are currently being missed because healthcare providers serving this community are either unaware of the tools available or do not know how to use the tools effectively. Significant progress towards increasing access to pediatric sleep services could be made if healthcare professionals serving the English-speaking community in Quebec be provided with knowledge and skills in pediatric sleep medicine. Thus, the objective of the proposed activities is to disseminate pediatric sleep training to healthcare professionals who treat youths in the English-speaking community. This is important as it is expected to facilitate increased access to pediatric sleep care for youths with sleep problems and disorders in the English-speaking community in Quebec.

Catalyzing Capacity Building in Rehabilitation Post-Solid Organ Transplant

Solid organ transplant (SOT) patients have low levels of physical activity before and after transplantation which has a negative impact on their health and survival. Despite this, in Quebec, there is limited availability of rehabilitation and physical activity programming for transplant candidates and recipients. Importantly, many healthcare professionals do not feel confident in counselling SOT recipients about physical activity that is appropriate for them due to lack of specific education about transplantation in their training.

Our objective is to develop a free online continuing education course on exercise prescription in SOT recipients for English-speaking exercise professionals in Quebec that will include interactive lectures, case studies and evaluation materials. This will ultimately improve the confidence of exercise professionals when they deal with SOT recipients and the quality of rehabilitation that they are able to offer.

The development of the course will involve 4 steps:

1. A scientific committee, including both professionals and patient partners, will participate in a video conference call to define the learning objectives and the most relevant content (theory, case studies, evaluations) to be included in the course.

2. The Co-PIs, the coordinator, a trainee, patient partners, Maria Sedeno (RESPIPLUS) and Becky Zucco (Wilkin) will draft the first version of the online course including the learning objectives, content, case studies, evaluation materials as well as visual aspects and interactive components of the module.

3. Feedback from the scientific committee will be sought via email. At least two rounds of revision are planned.

4. Feedback will be integrated into the module. This initiative was made possible through a financial contribution by Health Canada. 7 By providing English-speaking exercise professionals in Quebec with the knowledge and tools to effectively prescribe exercise to SOT recipients, the availability of rehabilitation services and physical activity programming for SOT recipients in Quebec may increase.

Linguistically- and Culturally-Sensitive Psychotherapy: Training and Retaining Migrant & Minority Therapists

Mental health care in multicultural communities is enhanced when local therapists represent the population and when these therapists are trained in linguistically- and culturally-sensitive psychotherapy. Unfortunately, many trainees do not feel well-prepared for diversity and migrants/minorities face barriers to building a career in Québec.

We will: (1) use qualitative inquiry to study perceived training deficits and career barriers in psychologists trained at anglophone institutions; (2) use quantitative techniques to establish a consensus model of the changes needed to retain multicultural expertise in Québec. 

Participants will be 40 clinical psychology trainees and 40 licensed clinical psychologists. This project will use a cultural consensus design, a mixed methods approach with four sequential steps: (1) qualitative interviews (in this case, analysis of previously collected interviews); (2) free listing responses to open-ended questions; (3) sorting the most common responses while thinking aloud; and (4) survey design based on the consensual sorts.

The qualitative interview and think-aloud transcripts will be studied using qualitative inquiry, specifically thematic analysis. The free listing, sorting, and survey components will be studied using quantitative analysis; frequency analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cultural-consensus analysis, respectively.

We anticipate this project will improve training of mental health professionals and will yield steps to boost retention of migrant/minority psychologists in Québec. We will develop recommendations for the two anglophone training programs, and for the professional order. Our results will be relevant to other cultural settings characterized by linguistic and cultural complexity.

---

Outputs:

• Zhao, Y., Segalowitz, N., Voloshyn, A., Chamoux, E., & Ryder, A. G. (2021). Language Barriers to Healthcare for Linguistic Minorities: The Case of Second Language-specific Health Communication Anxiety. Health communication, 36(3), 334–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1692488

• Ryder, A. G., Doucerain, M. M., Dere, J., Jurick, T., Zhou, B., & Zhou, X. (2021). On dynamic contexts and unstable categories: Steps towards a cultural-clinical psychology. In M. Gelfand, C.-Y. Chiu, & Y.-Y. Hong (Eds), Advances in culture and psychology, volume 8 (pp. 195-245). OUP.

• Voloshyn, A., Dussault, È., Segalowitz, N., Ryder, A. G. (2022, September). A qualitative study of clinical psychologists’ reflections on their work with linguistically- and culturally-diverse clients [Paper session]. Presentation at the 6th World Congress of the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Thinking social: Examining the efficacy of a social skills training group for young adults on the autism spectrum

Social skills are challenging for individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Such deficits make everyday living difficult, and can lead to mental health difficulties, most notably anxiety and depression. Social skills training programs have been shown to improve social abilities adolescents and adults on the AS. However, little is known regarding their efficacy to improve mental health issues.

In Québec, few programs aimed at improving social skills in young adults are offered within the public healthcare system, and even fewer are offered to English speakers. Additionally, clinicians rarely receive training to intervene with ASD young adults.

Thus, this study aims to a) assess the efficacy of a program aimed at improving social skills young adults on the AS, b) examine whether increased social abilities and connection with peers lead to improved mental health in these adults, c) increase the availability of English-language intervention for adults on the AS within the public healthcare system and d) increase clinical capacity of English-speaking clinicians in Québec to deliver social skills interventions.

For this project, 12 young adults on the AS will participate in a 24-week social skills training program. Each participant will be paired with a peer social coach who will be recruited from clinical departments at McGill University (psychology, SCSD, etc.). Participants will undergo testing to assess social skills and mental health at baseline (T0), immediately after completing the program (T1), and six-month post-treatment (T2). ANCOVAs will be used to compare test scores at T0 to those at, T1 and T2.

---

Outputs:

• Beauchamp, M. L. H., Amorim, K., Wunderlich, S. N., Lai, J., Scorah, J., & Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services for minority-language speakers with neurodevelopmental disorders: A scoping review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 915999. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915999

• Beauchamp, M. L. H., Rezzonico, S., Bennett, T., Duku, E., Georgiades, S., Kerns, C., Mirenda, P., Richard, A., Smith, I. M., Szatmari, P., Vaillancourt, T., Waddell, C., Zaidman-Zait, A., Zwaigenbaum, L., & Elsabbagh, M. (2023). The Influence of Bilingual Language Exposure on the Narrative, Social and Pragmatic Abilities of School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 53(12), 4577–4590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05678-w

• Beauchamp MLH, Rezzonico S, Elsabbagh M, Mirenda P, Bennett T, Duku E, Georgiades S, Kerns CM, Smith IM, Szatmari P, Ungar WJ, Vaillancourt T, Zaidman-Zait A, Zwaigenbaum L. (May 11-14, 2022). Examining the Influence of Bilingualism on the Narrative, Social and Pragmatic Abilities of School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum. International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Conference, Austin, USA, hybrid format,

• Beauchamp MLH, Rezzonico S, Smith I, Duku E, Georgiades S, Kerns C, Mirenda P, Richard A, Szatmari P, Vaillancourt T, Waddell C, Zwaigenbaum L, Zaidman-Zait A, Elsabbagh M. (Nov 17–19, 2022). Narrative, Social and Pragmatic Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention 2022, New Orleans USA.

• Beauchamp, M. L. H., Blanco Gomez, G., Rezzonico, S.,...Elsabbagh, M (2023). The Validity of the Narrative Scoring Scheme in School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum. International Society for Autism Research.

• Scorah, J; Beauchamp, M. L. H.; Amorim, K; Elsabbagh, M. (2022). Examining the Characteristics of Clinicians in an ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) Autism Program

• Beauchamp, M. L. H., Amorim, K., Wunderlich, S. N., Lai, J., Scorah, J., Elsabbagh, M. (2022, submitted). Identifying Barriers to Healthcare Access and Use for Minority-Language Speakers with Neurodevelopment Disorder

• Beauchamp, M. L. H., Blanco Gomez, G., Rezzonico, S.,...Elsabbagh, M (2023, submitted). The Narrative Scoring Scheme’s Validity with Bilingual and Monolingual Children on the Autism Spectrum

A Synthesis of Evidence of The Unique Psychosocial Challenges Faced By Quebec’s English Speaking Black Communities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The McGill Human Motivation Lab and the Black Community Resource Center (BCRC) have collaborated on 8 research studies over the last two years to examine the resilience of Quebec English-speaking Black communities in the face of the greatest public health crisis in a century. Our results uncovered numerous important themes, such as how involvement in the BLM movement allowed Black young adults to recover from the social isolation imposed by the pandemic, how it was particularly Black women who assumed leadership roles despite having been especially burdened by the pandemic, and how social support from both family and friends were importantly related to young adults’ psychological adjustment. More recently, with funding provided by the Health Care Access for Linguistic Minorities Network, we conducted studies that compared members of Quebec’s English and French-speaking Black communities and found significant group differences in important real-life outcomes such as experiences of discrimination, barriers to physical and mental health care, and hesitancy regarding vaccination for the COVID-19 virus.

Across all studies, English-speaking Black communities struggled more than French-speaking Black communities. We propose to synthesize these findings into a single cohesive knowledge translation effort that can be used to prepare workshops, presentations, technical reports, publications, web-based tools, school curricula, and webinars. Our partnership with the BCRC will support the development of these educational and community-building events. Highlighting the unique challenges of English-speaking Black communities is critically important as this community faces a Quebec government that intends to use the not-withstanding clause to pass laws that will restrict English language rights in many spheres of Quebec life. Such language restrictions are likely to have devastating impacts on the health and vitality of English-speaking Black communities. These laws will also weaken the natural alliance that exists between the English and French-speaking Black communities. The purpose of this knowledge translation will be to increase community awareness of unique barriers of accessing health care and social services faced by Quebec’s English-speaking Black communities. It will contribute to improving access to resources and evidence-based information on the status and needs of the English-speaking Black communities.

---

Outcomes:

• Lafreniere, B., Audet, É. C., Kachanoff, F., Christophe, N. K., Holding, A. C., Janusauskas, L., & Koestner, R. (2023). Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults. Journal of community psychology, 51(7), 2741–2757. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23043

• Nweze, N., Davids, J., Fang, X., Holding, A., & Koestner, R. (2023). The Impact of Language on the Mental Health of Black Quebecers. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 10(5), 2327–2337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01412-5

• Audet, É. C., Thai, H., Holding, A. C., Davids, J., Fang, X., & Koestner, R. (2023). The depth of stories: How Black young adults' disclosure of high arousal negative affect in narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM protests improved adjustment over the year 2020. Journal of community psychology, 51(4), 1504–1517. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22929

CKOL: Documentation on Health and Social Services in English-Speaking Quebec

The Community Knowledge Open Library (CKOL), created by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN), Concordia University, is a growing online repository of documents from groups and stakeholders serving and working with English-speaking communities in Quebec. The objective of the current project for which we are seeking funding is to add material related to health and social services in English-speaking Quebec to the existing CKOL database.

This material will be gathered from existing project partners, and we will establish new partnerships with members of the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN), from whom we will also start obtaining CKOL material. Integrating new documents into this user-friendly one-stop database will increase access to knowledge through an enriched CKOL database. This will make it easier for stakeholders to meet the health care and social service needs of English speakers in Quebec.

Culturally Adapted Education Materials for Families of English-Speaking Minority Patients with Early Psychosis

Psychosis is a serious mental illness that usually begins in adolescence or young adulthood and is characterized by distressing symptoms like hallucinations and paranoia. Psychosis ranks in the top 3 most disabling conditions worldwide. Educating the families of affected individuals is known to make patients feel better, yet many family members of minority patients don’t participate in the education sessions that are offered. Reasons for the lack of participation include not trusting medical authorities and not feeling comfortable to bring up cultural issues like religion, spirituality, and racism. There have been no early psychosis programs that have addressed these problems, so the current study is doing just that.

Over the last two years, researchers have met with leaders and members of English-speaking minority communities, families of English-speaking minority patients with psychosis, patients, and clinicians to understand what changes are needed to make family education about psychosis more acceptable and helpful to people of diverse backgrounds. While it is true that research efforts to date have produced a large and growing body of data, these findings and results need to be prepared for presentation to communities and families. Our knowledge translation activities will include writing plain language summaries of meetings with community and family members to explain what kinds of topics and discussions will facilitate effective care for their loved ones with early psychosis and better collaboration with the clinical team. We will also present statistical findings in a non-threatening and easy-to-access format that will be easy for everyone to understand.

The potential impact of these activities will give community and family members a greater understanding of psychosis, will improve their participation in education seminars, and will contribute to healthier and happier lives of young people with early psychosis.

---

Outputs:

• Jarvis, E. G., Desmarais, C., Lang, E., Zimanyi, L., & Leroux-Goyet, S. (March 2023). Family Psychoeducation series [Virtual workshop].

• Khan, S. (March 2023). Looking after our and our Youth's Mental Health. A presentation on caring for our mind, body, and spirit [Presentation]. Amal Center for Women, Montreal, Canada.

• Paquin, V., Pow, R. (March 2023). Training of workers on first episode psychosis L’Annexe is a community organization engaged in the socialization of multicultural young adults with intersectional vulnerabilities [Presentation]. L’Annexe – Ometz Drop-in centre for young adults 16-35, Montreal, Canada.

• Unknown. (Februrary 2023). Exploring the Mental Health Stigma Within the Black Community [Virtual event].

Disseminate, promote, mobilize: Planning of knowledge transfer activities for English speakers in long-term care facilities.

As part of an action research process initiated with our partner, the CHSLD St Brigid's Home (SBH), a workshop was organized on November 30 and December 1, 2021, and about forty participants from the residential center (i.e., users and their representatives, caregivers, employees, managers) actively participated. This workshop, brought together all stakeholders to reflect on innovative models of long-term care that could promote the sustainable health of workers, residents and their families. This initiative was a great success and laid a solid foundation for the continuation of the research activities planned with our partner. Following this workshop, a written summary (in French) will be made available, as well as the content of the four conferences held during the first half-day (also in French).

As this activity was held in French, through this funding application, we aim to reach the English-speaking population through knowledge transfer and appropriation initiatives. Given the mission and values of Jeffery Hale Saint Brigid's Hospital, we believe it is essential to reach out to English-speaking participants at SBH, as well as to the English-speaking community served in Quebec City and more broadly in Quebec. This will ensure that the language preferences of the end-users are respected, but more importantly, that they are truly involved in the entire process.

More specifically, the funds from this program will be used to translate the workshop summary from French to English, to prepare written summaries of the four conferences presented the first day, and to accommodate a complementary "world café" type of activity in which English-speaking people will be able to participate more actively, thanks to live interpretation services. This will allow, in the end, to enrich the synthesis already written and produce a new version of it. The results thus disseminated in both official languages will facilitate a greater appropriation of knowledge by all stakeholders in this field, regardless of the language in which they express themselves.

---

Outputs:

• Feillou, I., Jauvin, N. (January, 2023). Sustainable Health Development in CHSLDs, an action-research initiative in partnership with CHSLD St Brigid's Home and Jefferey Hale Partners [Invited presentation]. CHSSN, Québec, Canada.

• Feillou, I. (December, 2023). CHSLD: milieu de travail, milieu de vie, milieu de soins. Comment favoriser la santé durable des travailleurs, des résidents et de leurs proches? [Webinaire]. ASSTSAS.

• For more information on this project and to view some of its outcomes, please visit: https://centreexpertiseacess.com/en/sustainable-health-project/

Project extension | Assessment and Implementation of the MedComm Online Interpretation Platform into the Clinical Setting

One-year project extension for a previously funded project. See here.

---

Outcomes:

• Unknown. (March, 2023). Role of Medical Students as Interpreters in Bridging Language Barriers in Healthcare Centers: A Scoping Review [Poster presentation]. 19th Annual Crossroads Interdisciplinary Health Research Conference.

Project extension | Making the switch to remote interpreting

One-year project extension for a previously funded project.

Project Extension | Language minorities and the risk of depression among individuals suffering from a chronic disease: a retrospective study of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

One-year project extension for a previously funded project. See here.

---

Outcomes:

• Farid, D., Li, P., Dasgupta, K., & Rahme, E. (2022). Determinants of loss to follow-up in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 76(12), 1011–1018. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219307

• Farid, D., Li, P., Dasgupta, K., & Rahme, E. (2022). Determinants of loss to follow-up in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 76(12), 1011–1018. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219307

• Farid, D., Li, P., Da Costa, D., Afif, W., Szabo, J., Dasgupta, K., & Rahme, E. (2020). Undiagnosed depression, persistent depressive symptoms and seeking mental health care: analysis of immigrant and non-immigrant participants of the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 29, e158. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796020000670

Project Extension | Are language and motivational barriers limiting healthcare access for Black young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic?

One-year extension of a previously funded project. See here.

---

Outcomes:

• Lafreniere, B., Audet, É. C., Kachanoff, F., Christophe, N. K., Holding, A. C., Janusauskas, L., & Koestner, R. (2023). Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults. Journal of community psychology, 51(7), 2741–2757. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23043

• Nweze, N., Davids, J., Fang, X., Holding, A., & Koestner, R. (2023). The Impact of Language on the Mental Health of Black Quebecers. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 10(5), 2327–2337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01412-5

• Audet, É.C., Leboeuf, J., Holding, A.C. et al. Better Together: Family and Peer Support for Black Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Trends in Psychology. 1-18, 688–705 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-022-00157-8

• Audet, É. C., Thai, H., Holding, A. C., Davids, J., Fang, X., & Koestner, R. (2023). The depth of stories: How Black young adults' disclosure of high arousal negative affect in narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic and the BLM protests improved adjustment over the year 2020. Journal of community psychology, 51(4), 1504–1517. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22929