Multicultural and Global Mental Health
Center FOR MULTICULTURAL AND GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH
Multicultural and Global Mental Health (CMGMH)
The Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health aims to be a preeminent academic, clinical training, and research center in promoting social justice and addressing mental health disparities among disenfranchised populations in the U.S. and abroad. Our mission and vision is to train, educate, mentor, and prepare a cadre of professionals to address mental health disparities, and serve culturally diverse individuals and communities locally and across the globe. To inspire and empower students, clinicians, educators, and other providers as agents of social justice with a passion for and commitment to serving historically marginalized populations.
CMGMH is comprised of academic programs at William James College that focus primarily on historically marginalized groups and underserved communities.
“Cultural perspective plays a greater role in psychological treatment than ever before, and the center is a testament to our school’s expansion toward progressive, innovative approaches to psychology education. In our globalized world, we as psychologists cannot afford to see the world through a narrow lens. This center will help to broaden our perspective as teachers, and as professionals.”
—Dr. Jill Betz Bloom, Director, Global Mental Health Concentration
Defining Diversity and Multiculturalism
The terms multiculturalism and diversity are used interchangeably to refer to the broad scope of dimensions of age, class status, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, language, nationality, race, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual orientation (APA Guidelines, 2002), and veteran/military status.
Program Components
Programs offered through the center incorporate the following five components:
1. Academics
Courses on disparities in mental health (e.g., impact of poverty, class, culture, and migration on psychosocial well-being), assessments and clinical interventions with culturally diverse groups, introduction to global mental health, and trauma and recovery among immigrant and refugee populations.
2. Field Training Experiences
Clinical field training opportunities in schools, clinics, hospitals, and community health centers that serve immigrant, refugee, and historically disadvantaged populations.
3. Research
Capstones and Doctoral Projects with a focus on ethnic minority, immigrant, and culturally diverse groups with a local and/or global perspective. Engagement in faculty research initiatives on multicultural and global mental health.
4. Cultural Immersion and Community Service
Participation in global mental health initiatives in low-resource countries and active engagement in community service at the local level.
5. Professional Development Activities
Didactic seminars, speakers’ series, workshops, colloquia, and conferences focusing on culturally diverse populations, immigrants and refugees.
Black Mental Health Graduate Academy
William James College's Black Mental Health Graduate Academy is an academic pipeline program designed to recruit, mentor, and support Black students in master's and doctoral degree programs for behavioral health, psychology, and leadership. Under the auspices of the Center for Multicultural & Global Mental Health, the Academy provides critical mentorship, career orientation, skill building, and professional enrichment to support academic excellence in graduate school.
Service Learning and Cultural Immersion Programs
Extending Learning Beyond Our Campus
As a student enrolled in one of our concentrations, you will have the opportunity to participate in global mental health initiatives in low-resource countries and active engagement in community service at the local level. Our students and faculty have traveled to Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, and Trinidad and Tobago. Between the connections made, the relationships built, and the hands-on learning, it's been one of the most rewarding experiences with a long-lasting life impact for our students.
Meet Our Students and Become a Part of the Experience
Read about past events, student and faculty accomplishments, and how we are making an impact in the community
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Building a Center of Gravity in Multicultural Education
Dr. Natalie Cort presented, If You Build It, They Will Come: Building a Center of Gravity in Multicultural Education Through Transformative and Inclusive Practices, at the University of Rochester Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds.Meet the CMGMH Team
Jill Betz Bloom, PhD
Director, Global Mental Health Concentration
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Natalie A. Cort, PhD
Director, Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health; Director, Black Mental Health Graduate Academy
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Mari Carmen Bennasar, PsyD
Director, Latino Mental Health Concentration
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Shani Turner, PhD
Director, African and Caribbean Mental Health Concentration
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Catherine Vuky, PhD
Director, Asian Mental Health Concentration
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