What is the MMHRC?

Dr. Laurence Kirmayer discusses launch of the Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre on January 18, 2021.

The Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre (MMHRC) seeks to improve the quality and availability of mental health services for people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including immigrants, refugees, and members of established ethnocultural communities. Addressing issues of language, culture, religion and other aspects of cultural diversity can promote greater equity in mental health care.

This website presents resources designed for laypeople, patients and their families, community organizations, health professionals, and policy makers, planners and administrators:

For laypeople, patients and consumers: multilingual information on mental health problems and treatments as well as information about how to find culturally-appropriate mental health services.

For family members and caregivers: information about resources and ways to help family members maintain their well-being.

For health care professionals: information on cultural-assessment tools and methods, access to interpreters and culture brokers, and recommendations for culturally-adapted treatment interventions.

For community organizations: materials for education about support programs for people living with mental health problems, and advocacy and stigma reduction.

For policy makers, planners, and administrators: information on health disparities, recommendations to improve cultural competence in the organization, and models of mental health services and interventions to address diversity.

In this video, Dr. Laurence Kirmayer describes the goals of the MMHRC.

Introduction to the MMHRC from MMHRC on Vimeo.

The MMHRC was developed with support from two grants:

  • “Ensuring Equity by Respecting Difference: Development and Evaluation of Resources for Multicultural Mental Health” funded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada
  • “Improving Access to Clinical and Community Resources for Multicultural Mental Health Care” funded by a Knowledge-to-Action grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Aboriginal resources were developed in collaboration with the Network for Aboriginal Mental Health Research.

The MMHRC is associated with the Culture and Mental Health Research Unit and the Cultural Consultation Service of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Educational and training activities of the MMHRC are conducted through the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry of McGill University.

The MMHRC has received generous support from the Bell Let’s Talk initiative.

Monday, January 18, 2021

McGill researchers launch Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre

Bell Let’s Talk, McGill University, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) and the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital are pleased to announce the official launch of the Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre (MMHRC). This unique online resource seeks to improve the quality and availability of mental health services for people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including new Canadians, refugees and members of established ethnocultural communities. With these populations disproportionally affected by the global pandemic, the MMHRC will provide a timely and critical new resource.

Click here to access the full press release.