Anti-Black Racism
Anti-Black Racism Task Force
In July 2020, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences commissioned the Anti-Black Racism Task Force to provide leadership to initiate and support activities that increase opportunities for students, administrative staff and faculty who self-identify as Black within the department and the broader McMaster community.
The Task Force members will use their influence to promote and champion equity, diversity and inclusion principles within academia, including research, education and clinical work. The Task Force is currently involved in the following initiatives: mentorship of Black, Indigenous, people of colour (BIPOC) students, staff and faculty, supporting educational curriculum updates, expanding research capacity involving Black racialized communities, cultural sensitivity and competency training and recruitment and retention of Black faculty and students.
The Task Force members have put together this reference library as a starting point for education around anti-Black racism topics.
Anti-Black Racism Course
Please visit the McMaster Continuing Education website for more information or to register.
Indigenous Mental Health
Understanding the truth of the Indigenous experience, current and historic is the first step toward reconciliation. This is happening through meetings with members of local Indigenous communities, visits to the former Mohawk Residential School (Woodland Cultural Centre) and the participation of our faculty, staff and learners in the San’yas Cultural Safety Training.
We are building partnerships with local Indigenous communities to engage, learn and understand before identifying possible areas of collaboration and potential projects.
We are also partnering with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Toronto in the development of a general psychiatry residency stream for Indigenous residents.
Global Mental Health
As part of our commitment to the department’s strategic direction of equity, innovation and partnerships, we have entered into an educational partnership with Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Western Uganda, as of 2014. The partnership, referred to as McMUST, was initiated with the goal of supporting the delivery of teaching and training at MUST, as well as providing unique learning opportunities for psychiatry learners from different systems of care.
McMUST is led by Godfrey Rukundo at Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Sheila Harms at McMaster University, along with strong resident involvement from both universities and a dedicated Hamilton steering committee. This institution-to-institution partnership is based on an invitation from psychiatry leadership at MUST to educational leaders within our department.
The following values act as a guiding framework within the collaboration: relationships built on trust, respect, mutual engagement and benefit, equity, sensitivity, justice, humility, compassion, sustainability, innovation, reciprocity, sharing of resources, excellence in education and patient care, decolonizing approaches to learning, as well as effectiveness (i.e., doing what works).
Routine annual trips are taken to Uganda by McMaster University faculty who are paired with residents. Each of these dyad opportunities allow for McMaster University psychiatry participants to join the MUST residents and faculty in their setting to learn about psychiatry, global mental health and education, within this context. Specifically, the McMaster faculty provide formal and informal education sessions, as well as direct observation of clinical skills, for the Ugandan and McMaster trainees. McMaster residents engage in the set curriculum in a way that mirrors the MUST residents as part of their learning. This typically involves both resident groups preparing and delivering small group teaching sessions topically reflected in the core curriculum. The Ugandan trainees and interprofessional staff provide a rich, reciprocal learning environment for McMaster faculty and trainees.
PRISM
PRISM (formerly the 2SLGBTQIA+ working group) is a collaboration between St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) and McMaster University’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, to address the mental health disparities experienced by sexual, gender and intersectional minorities. The working group, which consists of faculty, staff and students, seeks to advance clinical training and practice, research initiatives and community collaboration relevant to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Mandate
To facilitate the advancement of SJHH and McMaster University as leaders in mental health disparities. The committee aims to expand knowledge of the unique challenges and experiences of sexual and gender minorities, as well as improving inclusivity of research initiatives to advance our understanding of 2SLGBTQIA+ across mental health and addictions research programs. PRISM makes recommendations to the department chair regarding 2SLBBTQIA+ priorities, recruitment of faculty and the development of infrastructure concerning inclusivity in realms of both clinical practice and research initiatives.