Indigenous Stream

The state of mental health care amongst most Indigenous Peoples and communities is unacceptable in Canada. The Department of Psychiatry at University of Toronto strives to provide the best care to today’s patients and to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illness and addiction for the patients of tomorrow. We have endeavored to develop a collaborative Indigenous stream training program in partnership with Indigenous Communities, educators, learners, Knowledge Keepers and Elders, for Indigenous learners in the field of psychiatry that meets national accreditation standards while providing appropriate, relevant, diverse and culturally safe mental health care to Indigenous peoples and communities in Ontario, and enriching the lives of community members, patients and students.

The curriculum offers training in both Western medicine, as well as cultural safety with respect to traditional approaches to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing - the traditional approaches must be validated, delivered, and developed by traditional medicine knowledge keepers and was developed to address priority mental health and wellness needs of Indigenous communities (as defined by those communities) e.g. trauma informed care, intergenerational trauma, etc.

The curriculum contains elements of advocacy at the levels of both individual and systems.  Additionally, the curriculum offers ongoing education and reflection that incorporates principles of culturally safe care, anti-racism, and decolonization.                

We are building the future of psychiatry: we collaborate with our hospital partners to create capacity and improve access to care; we ensure quality care; we promote brain health and social inclusion of people with mental illnesses and their families.

Our unique breadth and depth allow us to provide sound clinical care, create novel knowledge, translate research discoveries and train the future generations of psychiatry clinicians, educators and researchers.

For more information, contact Dr. Samantha Wallenius, Assistant Program Director, Indigenous Stream at samantha.wallenius@alumni.utoronto.ca