About this webinar
Date: February 20, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitator: Amy Gajaria, MD, FRCPC.
CE hours: 6
This training is suitable for:
- Mental Health Professionals: psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers.
- Medical Professionals: nurses, psychiatrists, pediatricians, family doctors.
- Direct Service Workers: drop in workers, shelter and hostel workers, child and youth workers, youth justice workers.
- First Responders: police, firefighters, paramedics.
Client age category: For professionals who work with clients aged 12 years to adulthood.
Description: Strengthen access, trust, and engagement in mental health care for racialized young people.
This training gives professionals guidance on providing culturally competent mental health care and services to diverse young people and their families.
The training will explore various ways that young people and their families may have felt unheard or uncomfortable in mental health settings due to their racial and/or ethnic identity and will discuss approaches that practitioners can use to help decrease barriers to care for young people and their families.
We will discuss oppression, racism and structural oppressions experienced by these populations. While the goal is to help all participants have greater comfort in dealing with these issues, participants should come willing to acknowledge the role these factors play in the lives of young people.
Learning objectives:
- Gain a greater understanding of the barriers to mental health care faced by racialized young people and their families.
- Acquire strategies to engage racialized young people and their families in mental health care.
- Identify specific struggles that racialized and underserved children and youth may face in Canada and how these might affect their mental health.
Register now to enhance your skills, deepen your understanding of systemic challenges, and make a meaningful impact in your practice.
Continuing Education (CE) Information: SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) to offer continuing education (CE) hours. Full-day programs equal six CE hours; half-day programs equal three CE hours; for less than half-day programs, one hour of programming equals one CE hour. SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute maintains responsibility for the programs.
Other licensing boards and professional organizations will grant continuing education credits for attendance at their own discretion; participants will need to submit the course outline and Certificate of Participation for their consideration.
Registration closes
If registration has closed and you're still interested in joining this course, please contact Mary Anne at mvanrooyen@sickkidscmhlearning.ca
What our learners have to say about this course
"Dr. Gajaria is extremely kind and engaging. She creates a safe environment that allows for people to feel comfortable sharing about difficult topics..."
"Dr. Gajaria was very good at ensuring that all of us felt seen and she ensured that she was understanding our points."
"I appreciated the ongoing opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with all participants throughout the seminar"
Attendees, Supporting the mental health needs of racialized young people, facilitated by Dr. Amy Gajaria, Winter 2026.
Accessibility
We strive to ensure our online learning programs are easy for everyone, everywhere. If you have any accessibility requirements (automatic transcripts, closed-captioning, ASL interpreters, advanced access to program materials), please email Mary Anne Van Rooyen at mvanrooyen@sickkidscmhlearning.ca to let us know how we can best support your learning experience.
Photography is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the content is a model, except where indicated.