Black Mental Health: Rooted in Legacy, Rising in Justice

In recent years, a long-overlooked reality has come to light: the mental health of Black people in Canada is deeply impacted by a combination of social, historical, economic, and racial dynamics that reinforce one another. Research conducted across the country—including the Mental Health of Black Communities in Canada (BeCoMHeal)—has shown that psychological distress among Black individuals is not only common but strongly shaped by experiences of racism, microaggressions, institutional racism, and internalized racism.

Recent studies (Cénat et al., 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025; Darius et al., 2024; Kogan et al., 2022; Williams et al., 2025) have revealed alarming rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, alcohol and substance use, and suicidal ideation in Black communities across Canada. These outcomes are directly linked to experiences of everyday racial discrimination, racial trauma. One of the most concerning findings is that individuals reporting the highest levels of daily racial discrimination are up to 36 times more likely to experience severe depression compared to those reporting lower levels of discrimination (Cénat et al., 2021). Furthermore, recent work has established clear connections between racism, traumatic events, suicidal ideation, and substance use.

At the same time, research on perceptions of care (Cénat, Manoni-Millar et al., 2025a; 2025b) shows that current mental health services—designed with a color-blind approach—are widely inadequate for the needs of Black people. A lack of training (both initial and ongoing) for mental health professionals in recognizing the impacts of racism, combined with the absence of antiracist care approaches and persistent discrimination within Canadian health services contributes to the underuse of mental health services by Black communities.

This third edition of the National Conference on Black Mental Health in Canada marks a crucial step forward. We chose the theme “Rooted in Legacy, Rising in Justice” to remember accumulated experience and affirm the strength of Black identities and cultures, while also underscoring the urgent need for an antiracist and equitable approach to mental health. This theme emphasizes that Black communities—firmly rooted in Canada’s history and society—deserve full recognition of their rights, including access to just, culturally safe, adapted, and antiracist mental health care. It also expresses a demand for justice, calling on public health authorities and practitioners to act concretely against the inequalities that continue to harm Black mental health.

This conference continues the research and advocacy efforts launched during the first edition in 2022, with a renewed ambition: to provide a rigorous, action-oriented scientific vision. It will offer a unique space to discuss current issues in mental health, share innovations in care, and reflect collectively on what is needed to ensure true social and racial justice in mental health.

Learning objectives

1. Present the scientific advances on Black mental health in Canada, highlighting the impacts of racism, microaggressions, complex racial trauma, and social determinants.
2. Analyze the persistent barriers to care access, including discrimination in services, lack of adapted care, and insufficient training of professionals.
3. Showcase promising practices and initiatives that have demonstrated concrete success in improving Black mental health, including programs targeting youth, women, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, men, and community-based groups.
4. Promote the dissemination of antiracist and culturally adapted practices in care, community interventions, and professional training.
5. Highlight the specific realities of the most vulnerable subgroups: youth, Black women, 2SLGBTQI+ Black individuals, recent immigrants, and Black public servants.
6. Create an interdisciplinary space for dialogue, bringing together researchers, clinicians, community leaders, and people with lived experience to explore tangible solutions.

A conference driven by data, guided by justice

We invite researchers, practitioners, health professionals, managers, policymakers, and members of Black communities to take part in this conference—an important milestone in the movement to transform mental health practices in Canada.

Because Black mental health can’t wait any longer.
Because it’s time to move from reflection to action.

Submit an abstract now (deadline: October 31st, 2025)!