This module begins with a brief overview of Canada's mental health system, including the prevalence of mental illness, its effects and the legislation that affects clients. This module also introduces information on mental illness among the general population compared to that of immigrants and refugees, and examines the effects of social determinants of health and migration on newcomer populations.
When considering mental health problems and illnesses among immigrant and refugee populations, providers should always employ more than one approach and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Immigrants and refugees are not all the same; many factors contribute to creating unique situations that can influence their mental health, including their histories before coming to Canada, their journeys here and their experiences after arriving (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2016). Providers should have a grasp of these factors to better understand their clients and how to meet their needs.
Understanding mental health in Canada
Understanding immigration in Canada
Mental health of immigrants and refugees
Persons born outside of Canada who have been granted the right to live in Canada permanently
People who are unable to safely remain in their own country, or are outside their country, on account of a fear of persecution due to their ethnicity, nationality, religion or social or political affiliations.
People who have moved across international borders or within a country/state but away from their normal place of residence. For example, someone who moves from Ontario to Alberta would also be considered a migrant. For the purposes of the course, migrant refers to international migrants.
In the public realm, the terms immigrant, migrant and refugee are often used interchangeably; in the academic literature, the distinctions can similarly be unclear. There are times when the term “immigrants” is included in the “refugee” classification and vice versa. In this course, where possible, an effort has been made to clarify the above when referencing literature.
In this course, the phrase immigrant and refugee may be used interchangeably with the term newcomer, and both will refer to immigrants and refugees who have been in Canada for less than five years.
This course uses "client" instead of “patient”, “consumer” or other terms that denote healthcare recipients.
These terms refer to the full range of behaviours, thinking and emotions that bring about levels of distress, suffering and impairment in individuals. Mental disorder(s) is used to refer specifically to diagnosed illnesses.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission describes people as racialized persons or racialized groups instead of the terms “racial minority,” “visible minority,” “person of colour” or “non-White.” “Racialized” expresses race as a social construct rather than as a description based on perceived biological traits (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2005). The term racialized is used in this course, except when referring to sources that use different terminology (e.g., visible minority, South Asian, etc.). In those cases, the original terms from the literature are used.
This term is generally used by the Government of Canada to refer to the ethnic or cultural origins of a person's ancestors. Ethnic origin does not refer to citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth (Statistics Canada, 2017a).
This term refers to “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour” (Statistics Canada, 2017b). This term is used by some researchers, however, the term racialized will be used throughout this course.