Mental health support for Ukrainian war refugees in Montreal
Even though Ukrainian refugees arriving in Montreal have escaped their war-torn country, many still face considerable challenges - not the least of which are mental health issues. "Refugees in war experience enormous amounts of psychological trauma that impacts their acculturation outcomes negatively. Often it prevents them from adjusting well in a new country," says Prof. Nate Fuks, a native of Kharkiv, Ukraine, and the Director of McGill's Douglas Centre for Clinical Psychology. He is spearheading a unique initiative that provides free mental health services to Ukrainian refugees through McGill's Ukrainian Aid Initiative. Some 200 volunteers - psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, counsellors, psychiatrists, and nurses - began seeing 60 refugees at the beginning of October. "We are working mostly with women and children, because most men aren't allowed to leave the country," says Fuks. The program offers free support groups, individual and group psychotherapy, and community-based activities in partnership with McGill University, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and the RIVO Network. The program received over $143,000 in funding from the UNF Foundation and the Joyce Foundation.
Supporting caregivers of people with dementia
As a former caregiver to her late mother, Claire Webster has firsthand experience in dealing with the overwhelming emotional and physical impact that dementia places on the individual and family members. She is the driving force and co-founder behind the McGill Dementia Education Program, along with geriatrician Dr. José Morais, and neurologist Dr. Serge Gauthier. For National Caregivers Week (Nov. 6 to 12) the Program has created a ton of free resources to support care partners of people with dementia, all freely available online.
Teaching children to tell the truth
Teaching children how to be honest can potentially be as easy as teaching them to tie their shoelaces according to Victoria Talwar, from McGill's Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. She has spent over 20 years doing research in the field, and says, in her new book, The Truth about Lying, that teaching children to tell the truth is a skill like any other and can be taught. The teaching comes down to 3 main things: talking with children about honesty, recognizing and acknowledging children's honesty, and modelling honesty. The researcher believes that the way that parents talk to their children about honesty can foster their moral reasoning, as well as consideration of other people's feelings and perspectives.
