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Â鶹AV.CA / Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry / Training / Summer Program in Social and Cultural Psychiatry / Previous Summer Programs

2023 Summer Program

29th Annual Summer Program

May 1 -ĚýJune 29, 2023

Image by Dr. Jaswant Guzder.

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PDF icon Download the 2023 Â鶹AV Summer School Program Booklet

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General information

Registration information

Courses and workshops

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Guest Faculty

Â鶹AV Faculty

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Also see Advanced Study Institute.

In 1995, the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Â鶹AV, inaugurated an annual summer school in social and cultural psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology. The program provides the conceptual background for research and clinical work in social and cultural psychiatry and will be of interest to:

  • postdoctoral trainees and researchers in psychiatry, psychology, and other mental health disciplines
  • graduate students in health and social sciences
  • physicians, psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals

The summer program forms part of the training activities of the Montréal WHO Collaborating Centre and is endorsed by the Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology.

General information

Director: Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD

Administrator: Paola Urbieta

Administrative Office:
Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry
Department of Psychiatry
Â鶹AV
1033 Pine Avenue West
Montréal (Québec) Canada H3A 1A1

Tel.: 514-398-7302
Fax: 514-398-3282
Email: tcpsych [at] mcgill.ca

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Registration Information

Courses may be taken for academic credit or for professional interest. Workshops and the Advanced Study Institute may only be taken for professional interest.

  • You will be asked to select the courses/workshops and submit your CV.
  • You will be contacted when your application has been processed.

If you have specific questions not answered on the website, you can contact the Division Summer Program Coordinator, Ms. Paola Urbieta atĚýtcpsych [at] mcgill.ca.

Enrolment for courses and workshops is limited and early application is strongly advised. Please note the application deadlines in order to submit your application.

Professional Interest

Canadian and International students and professionals applying to the Summer School for professional interest can do so through the Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry by following the instructions above in Registration Information.

On successful completion of the course or workshop, a certificate of attendance will be provided by the Division. This does not confer formal academic credit, for which a separate application is required (see below). Registration for professional interest is accepted as long as room is available in the course or workshop.

Academic credit

The following courses may be taken for academic credit by students enrolled in a graduate program at Â鶹AV or another university: Cultural Psychiatry (PSYT711); Psychiatric Epidemiology (PSYT713); and Research Methods in Social and Cultural Psychiatry (PSYT633).

All applicants for academic credit must submit their CV and Registration online as indicated aboveĚýto obtain permission to attend the course(s).

Â鶹AV Graduate Students
Please apply online as indicated above. After receiving permission to attend the course(s), Â鶹AV students should register on Minerva once the summer registration period for graduate students begins. Detailed registration information for students enrolled in a Â鶹AV graduate program will be available mid-March 2023 at . Students are billed by Â鶹AV Student Accounts.

Â鶹AV Double Program Students and Â鶹AV Psychiatry Residents
Please apply online as indicated above. After receiving permission to attend the course(s), double program students may go to the following link to register /students/records.ĚýAfter receiving permission from the coordinator of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry to attend the course(s), Psychiatry residents who want to take the courses for credit must obtain permission from the Graduate Program Director and from the Faculty of Medicine. Â鶹AV double program students and Â鶹AV psychiatry residents are billed by Â鶹AV Student Accounts. If you applied for professional interest, you will receive an e-mail confirming your application.

Visiting, Exchange and Special Students
Please apply online as indicated. After receiving permission to attend the courses, please visit the Â鶹AV Graduate Studies website () to verify what category of student applies to you. Please observe the application deadline: January 15 for international students; February 15, 2023 for Canadian students. Official notification of acceptance is issued by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Non-Â鶹AV, QuĂ©bec University Students
Please apply online as indicated. After receiving permission to attend the course(s) from your home University and from the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, you must initiate an online application to request the required authorizations at . Refer to your home university website for regulations on the number of credits allowed, as well as policies for transferring credits. Note: Once the QuĂ©bec Inter-University Transfer (IUT) application is approved by both the home and host universities, you remain responsible for registering in the course that was approved. At Â鶹AV, you must register on .

Students from University of Toronto and University of British Columbia
Please apply online as indicated. After receiving permission to attend the course(s) from your home university and from the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, students must submit a Graduate Exchange Agreement form (available from your home institution website) to your home university and to the Division program coordinator at Â鶹AV: graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca. and to the Division coordinator: tcpsych [at] mcgill.ca.

Students from other Universities in Canada (Inter University Credit Transfer)
Please apply online as indicated. After receiving permission to attend the course(s) from your home University and from the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, please verify the registration procedure that you should follow: Visiting, Exchange or special Student by visiting the following link: . The application fee cannot be applied towards course/workshop fees. Official notification of acceptance as a “Visiting Student” or a “Special Student” is issued by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Students obtain a Â鶹AV student identity number when applying and use this to register for the course(s) on Minerva. Transfer of academic credits should be arranged with the applicant’s own university.

International Students
Please apply online as indicated. If you are applying for academic credit, after receiving permission to attend the course(s) by the Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry and your own university, you must apply for formal “Exchange Student” status at Â鶹AV by January 15, 2023: . Official notification of acceptance as a Special Student is issued by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Students obtain a Â鶹AV student identity number when applying and use this to register for the course(s) on Minerva. Transfer of academic credits should be arranged with the applicant’s own university.

M.Sc. & PhD Program in Mental Health
Students who wish to apply for the MSc or PhD program in the Department of Psychiatry (with concentration in Social and Transcultural Psychiatry) should direct inquiries to:

Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Psychiatry
Â鶹AV
1033 Pine Avenue West, Room 107
Montréal (Québec) Canada H3A 1A1

Tel.: 514-398-4176
Email:Ěýgraduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca
Website:

The deadlines for applications to the MSc orĚýPhD programĚýfor International or Canadian students are:

MSc in Psychiatry

  • September 10: entry inĚýJanuary for all students
  • February 3:Ěýentry in May or September for students who have applied for a Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master's (CGSM)
  • March 15: entry in September entry for all other students
  • April 1: entry in May for Canadian students only

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PhD in Mental Health

  • September 10: entry in January for all students
  • March 15:Ěýentry in September
  • April 1: entry in May for Canadian students only

For more information please visit:Ěý

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Courses and workshop

Courses

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PSYT711 Cultural Psychiatry
L. Kirmayer & Faculty (3 academic credits)

This course surveys recent theory and research on the interaction of culture and psychiatric disorders. Topics to be covered include: history of cultural psychiatry; cross-national epidemiological and ethnographic research on major and minor psychiatric disorders; culture-bound syndromes and idioms of distress; culture, emotion and social interaction; somatization and dissociation; psychosis; ritual and symbolic healing and psychotherapy; mental health of indigenous peoples; mental health of immigrants and refugees; psychiatric theory and practice as cultural constructions; methods of cross-cultural research; models of mental health care for multicultural societies; globalization and the future of cultural psychiatry.Ěý

Prerequisites: Courses in abnormal psychology, psychiatry or medical anthropology, and permission of the instructor.
Text: Course readings will be available in paper form and onlineĚýat the Â鶹AV Bookstore.
Date: May 2-25, 2023 (4 weeks) T•Th  13:00-17:00

PSYT713 Psychiatric Epidemiology
X. Meng & Faculty (3 academic credits)

This course provides an overview of the use of epidemiology to study mental health broadly defined—including positive mental health as well as mental disorders and substance use disorders. Topics include contributions of mental disorders and substance use disorders to global disease burden; major population-based studies of mental disorders; measurement of psychopathology; roles of biological, psychological, and social determinants of mental disorders; and mental health services research. The format includes pre-recorded and live lectures, workshops, and discussions of readings by faculty and students.

Prerequisites: introductory courses in epidemiology and biostatistics, and permission of the instructor.
Text: Course readings will be available online; presentations will be available online.
Date: May 1 - 26, 2023 (4 weeks) M•W•F  9:30-12:30

PSYT633 ResearchĚýMethods in Social and Cultural Psychiatry
R. Whitley & Faculty

This workshop will introduce participants to research methods in cultural and social psychiatry in a stepwise manner. The course consists of three modules: (1) introduction to qualitative research; (2) introduction to quantitative research; and (3) introduction to mixed-methods studies. Modules 1 and 2 will focus on methodologies, study design, execution, analysis and dissemination. In Module 3, students will learn how and when to integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches in a mixed-method study. Ample time will be given for questions and discussion of participants’ projects.

Text: Course readings will be available online.
Date: May 1-26, 2023 (4 weeks)ĚýM•W•FĚý 13:30-17:00

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Workshops

Working with Culture: Clinical Methods in Cultural Psychiatry
C. Rousseau & J. Guzder

This workshop for mental health practitioners provides an overview of clinical models, methods and approaches in cultural psychiatry. Invited lecturers will frame the basic issues of clinical intervention with individuals, families and communities through sessions focused on: Cultural formulation; families and systemic approaches; working with interpreters and culture brokers; cultural safety, cultural humility, structural competency and institutional racism; trauma-informed care with refugees and racialized groups; working with Indigenous communities; intercultural work with multidisciplinary teams and health care institutions; integrating advocacy in mental health care.

Text: Course readings will be available online.
Date: May 2-25, 2023 (16 hours) T•Th  9:00-12:00

The Â鶹AV Illness Narrative Interview (MINI)
D. Groleau

This workshop will provide an introduction to the Â鶹AV Illness Narrative Interview (MINI), a semi-structured protocol for eliciting information about illness experience that has been widely used in psychiatry, medicine and global health research. This workshop will present the theoretical basis of the MINI as a tool for qualitative health research. We will also cover the potential links with the concepts and values of Person-Centered Medicine. The workshop will discuss ways to adapt the MINI to study issues involving health behavior, bodily practices, illness, diseases, somatic and emotional symptoms. Participants will practice the MINI in one-on-one interviews and learn ways to code and analyze qualitative data produced with the MINI.

Text: Course readings will be available online.
Begins: June 12-14, 2023 (18 hours) M•T•W  9:00-17:00

Art and Healing
J. Guzder & Guest Faculty

This workshop will focus on clinical, theoretical, research, and community engagement issues on the use of art in transcultural psychiatry. Invited faculty will elaborate on clinically relevant theory, creative arts practice and experiential learning on topics including: historical intersections of the arts and psychiatry; poiesis, improvisation and healing; theatre, music and embodiment; the psycho-historiographic group therapy approach; research methods and ethics; project development in global health contexts. Presentations will promote reflection on arts—including theatre, visual arts, music, and dance—as applied and emerging aspects of healing both historically and in contemporary contexts relevant to clinical practice and research in social and cultural psychiatry and global mental health. Faculty will include an international roster of clinicians from Brazil, Canada, India, Jamaica and the U.S., working with people with severe mental illness, youth at risk, immigrant and refugee groups, as well as Indigenous communities.

Text: Readings will be available online.
Date: May 29-June 2, 2023 (30Ěýhours) M•T•W•Th•FĚý 9:00-17:00

Global Mental Health Research
L.J. Kirmayer & Guest Faculty

This workshop introduces key issues in global mental health (GMH) research with special reference to low and middle-income countries. We will explore the tensions between a vertical public health approach, grounded in a biomedical frame and current evidence-based practices, and a horizontal community-based approach, that emphasizes local taxonomies and priorities, empowerment of local resources and endogenous solutions. This seminar will build a cultural critique of GMH and raise basic issues for discussion: (a) current priorities in GMH research have been largely framed by mental health professionals and their institutional partners based in Northern countries, reflecting the dominant interests of psychiatry and paying insufficient attention to Southern partners and local priorities; (b) the assumption in GMH that major psychiatric disorders are biologically determined and therefore universal; (c) the focus on existing evidence-based treatments, and the assumption that Western standard treatments can be readily applied across cultures with minimal adaptation; (d) the emphasis on GMH interventions that may marginalize indigenous forms of healing and coping which may contribute to positive outcomes and recovery; and (e) the challenges and opportunities that result from different understandings of ethics stances and frameworks when conducting GMH research in the context of North-South collaborations. We will also consider issues that arise in forging and maintaining partnerships and self-care in GMH research. The workshop aims to provide a balanced critical perspective on GMH as a new field of enquiry and practice that acknowledges the importance of the socioeconomic and geopolitical determinants of mental health and the interplay between the social and the cultural with the biological dimensions of mental health. The format includes pre-recorded and live lectures, panel presentations, case studies and plenary discussions of readings by faculty and students.

Text: Readings will be available online.
Date: June 5-June 9,Ěý2023 (30 hours) M•T•W•Th•FĚýĚý09:00-17:00

Culture, Mind and Brain
S. Choudhury, L. Kirmayer & Guest Faculty

Co-sponsored by the Foundation for Psychocultural Research () and the Â鶹AV Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives Program (). This workshop will provide an overview of core topics and recent developments in social, and cultural neuroscience research in order to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration in global mental health. After an introduction to cognitive, social, and cultural neuroscience, the workshop will focus on the potential and limits of methods that can be used to measure epigenetic, neuroendocrine, and neurocognitive processes in laboratory and field settings. We will discuss the inter-relationships of these processes and how to map them onto phenomenological, ethnographic, and ecological variables to capture health-relevant aspects of sociocultural contexts in situ. Participants will have the opportunity to present their own research projects for discussion with faculty.

Text: Kirmayer, L.J., Worthman, C., Kitayama, S., Lemelson, R. & Cummings, C. (Eds.) (2020). Culture, Mind and Brain: Emerging Concepts, Methods & Applications. Cambridge University Press.
Date: June 19-June 21,Ěý2023 (21 hours) M•T•W Ěý10:00-17:00Ěý+ Video lectures

Contemplative Studies
M. Lifshitz, E. Solomonova & Guest Faculty

This workshop will survey recent developments in the interdisciplinary field of contemplative studies, with a focus on meditative practices and related techniques such as yoga, visualization, and prayer. We will address emerging themes in this field by discussing the complex relationships between individual self-regulation and social structuring, embodied awareness and creative imagination, and the dissolution and consolidation of self-patterns. We will also explore the promise and potential pitfalls of secularizing contemplative practices. We will ask what might be gained or lost in the process of distilling these techniques from their traditional cultural frameworks and belief systems. Through this inquiry we will address methodological issues in contemplative studies, especially concerning the relationship between neuroscientific research and more qualitative approaches centered on culture, history, and lived experience.

Date: June 22 & 23, 2023 (12 hours) Th•F 10:00 -17:00.

Indigenous Mental Health Research
L. KirmayerĚý& Guest Faculty

This workshop will survey recent work on the social determinants of mental health and discuss issues in the design and implementation of culturally appropriate mixed-methods research with Indigenous communities and populations. The emphasis will be on conceptual issues and the development of research methodology to address both common and severe mental health problems and interventions. Specific topics will include: ethical issues in Indigenous health research; social, historical and transgenerational determinants of mental health; the role of indigenous identity in mental health, resilience and well-being; suicide prevention and mental health promotion; participatory research methods; evaluation of community-based mental health services; culturally-adapted interventions; and indigenous approaches to wellness and healing.

Text: Kirmayer, L. J., & Valaskakis, G. G. (2009). Healing traditions: The mental healthĚýof Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press. Course readings will be available online.
Date: August 21-25, 2023 (30Ěýhours) M•T•W•Th•F  10:00-17:00

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Guest Faculty

Axel Constant, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex

Bhargavi Davar, PhD, Founding Director, Bapu Trust, Pune, India

Marina M. Doucerain, PhD, Associate Professor, Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal

Guillaume Dumas, PhD, Associate Professor of Computational Psychiatry, Université de Montreal

SannekeĚýde Haan, PhD, Socrates Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Christopher Fletcher, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval

Sarah Fraser, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal

Gilah Yelin Hirsch, MFA, Painter, Writer, Filmmaker, Multidisciplinary Artist, Professor of Art, Emerita, California State University, Los Angeles

Miriam Kyselo, PhD, Associate Professor, Northern Norway University of Science and Technology

Vitor Pordeus, MD, Founder of DyoNises Theater, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Maxwell Ramstead, PhD, Director, VERSES Research Lab, Los Angeles, Honorary Fellow, Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London

Matthew Ratcliffe, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, University of York

MĂłnica Ruiz-Casares, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, Toronto Metropolitan University

Andrew Ryder, PhD, Associate Professor & Director, Culture and Personality Laboratory, Concordia University

Geoffrey Walcott, MB, Bs, DM Psychiatry, Clinical Director, Psychotherapy Associates, & CARIMENSA, University of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica

Maya A. Yampolsky, PhD, Associate Professor, Département de psychologie, Université Laval

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Â鶹AV Faculty

Please see our Faculty web page for more information.

Anne Andermann, MD, DPhil, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine

VĂ©ronique Bohbot, PhD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Research, Douglas Research Centre

Lara Braitstein, PhD, Associate Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, School of Religious Studies

Alain Brunet, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Researcher, Psychosocial Research Division, Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Jacob Burack, PhD, Professor, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Eduardo Chachamovich, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry; Researcher, Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Suparna Choudhury, PhD, Assistant Professor, Co-Director, Culture, Mind & Brain Program, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry

Myriam Denov, PhD, Professor & Canada Research Chair in Canada Research Chair in Youth, Gender and Armed Conflict, School of Social Work

Nicole D’souza, PhD, Research Associate, Culture & Mental Health Research Unit & Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry

Kia Faridi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Ian Gold, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Psychiatry

Ana GĂłmez-Carillo, MD, Lecturer, Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry

Danielle Groleau, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry; Research Associate, Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital

Jaswant Guzder, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry and Division of Child Psychiatry

Matthew Hunt, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Occupational Therapy

Srividya Iyer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry

G. Eric Jarvis, MD, MSc, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Director, Cultural Consultation Service, Jewish General Hospital

Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC, James Â鶹AV Professor; Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry; Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Jewish General Hospital

Rachel Kronick, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Division of Children Psychiatry & Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry

Marc Laporta, MD, Director, Montreal WHO-PAHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Douglas University Institute and Â鶹AV Health Center

Myrna Lashley, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Researcher, Culture & Mental Health Research Unit, Lady Davis Institute

Raphael Lencucha, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

Michael Lifshitz, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry

Karl Looper, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Jewish General Hospital

Jonas Mago, MSc, Doctoral student, Integrative Neuroscience Program

Toby Measham, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry

Xiangfei Meng, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psyhciatry; Director, Division of Mental Health & Society, Douglas Research Centre

Lucie Nadeau, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry

Melissa Park, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

Soham Rej, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

CĂ©cile Rousseau, MD, MSc, Professor, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry; Canada Research Chair in Preventing Violent Radicalization

Leslie Sabiston, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology

Jai Shah, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Program for Prevention and Early Intervention in Psychosis, Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Elizaveta Solomonova, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy

Constantin Tranulis, MD, MSc, Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Zoua Vang, PhD, Associate Professor, William Dawson Scholar, Department of Sociology

Samuel Veissière, PhD, Assistant Professor, Co-Director, Culture, Mind & Brain Program, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry

Ashley Wazana, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital

Denis Wendt, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Robert Whitley, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute

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