Illustration of a woman sitting on the floor. She is bent over and holding her legs. A giant hand reaches out toward her.

How Can Settlement Teams Support a Newcomer’s Mental Health?

ByAds Up Canada Updated on

Newcomers arriving to Canada from PNG and Nauru have faced significant trauma during their period of prolonged detention. This is in addition to the traumas they may have experienced in their home countries that caused them to flee. We expect that everyone who arrives will need mental health and trauma supports made available, whether it is to deal with the effects of long-term detention, the stresses of adjusting to a new culture, or the grief and loss of leaving friends behind who are still in detention.

It is important to remember that members of settlement teams are NOT trained counsellors and are not expected to act in that capacity. Instead, teams should work with newcomers to find available professional supports and services.

While settlement agencies and local mental health providers may offer resources generalized to, for example, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression, it can be important for providers to understand the prolonged and debilitating nature of long-term detention. There are 3 organizations in Canada who, while not dealing specifically with the effects of long-term detention, work with newcomers who have experienced torture and other forms of organized violence. They are the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT) in Toronto, the Vancouver Association for the Survivors of Torture (VAST) and the Intervention Network for Persons Affected by Organized Violence (RIVO) in Montreal.

The Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre (MMHRC) has resources available for laypeople and providers, often in multiple languages. They also have a helpful section listing practitioners and organizations by province and territory.

LGBTQ2S newcomers may face additional challenges as they negotiate the effects of long-term detention but also issues around sexual and gender identity or gender expression. In Ontario, OCASI’s (Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants) “Positive Spaces Initiative” has links to counsellors across Ontario who serve LGBTQ2S newcomers. In B.C., MOSAIC hosts “I Belong”, a space to support and LGBTQ2S newcomers, including support groups and counselling.

Refugees, Mental Health and Sponsorship
Refugees, Mental Health & Sponsorship

Similar Posts

A white sign with black words spelling "self care" with a black heart. On a pink background.

Caring for the Carers: Mental healthcare for settlement volunteers

When signing on as a refugee settlement volunteer, the need for self-care is a critical part of what we do. Without it, we risk not fulfilling our reasons for becoming a refugee sponsor, and not fulfilling our obligation to the refugee newcomer. The challenge is to balance the needs of ourselves and those we are helping, especially when our pitchers are running low.

Illustration with side-on outline of head in white. Inside is a pink bubble with the words "Mental Health". A hand points to the pink bubble.

Where can newcomers to Canada find mental health support?

Every newcomer who arrives in Canada will find it challenging to adjust to their new lives. You may come here alone or you may come here with family or friends. You are thrilled to leave the uncertainty and trauma of detention, but you don’t know what waits for you. In addition to the things that most newcomers experience, refugees from PNG and Nauru have faced significant trauma during their period of prolonged detention. This is in addition to the traumas you may have experienced that caused you to flee in the first place.

Illustration of a person in a white shirt and black pants with their leg and arm raised.

Self-Determination and Power Dynamics

Self-determination is important for those arriving from Manus and Nauru, who have not been able to make their own decisions and control their own lives for over 8 years. Even though settlement teams will give them the best information possible to make decisions, ultimately it is their right to make their own choices regarding their bodies, their healthcare, their education, their work and every facet of their lives.