Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Publications Recovery Through The Lens Of Cultural Diversity

Nora Jacobson, Deqa Farah and Cultural Diversity Community of Practice

Recovery Through The Lens Of Cultural Diversity

Principal Organizations: Community Resource Connections of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Investigators: Nora Jacobson, Deqa Farah and Cultural Diversity Community of Practice

Participants: Mental health service users and family members in the Caribbean, Somali, and Tamil communities in Toronto

Research Methods: Focus groups

In the mental health field, the word “recovery” has gained popular currency but its exact meaning – and relevance – for different people and cultures has not always been clarified.  Equitable and responsive policies and services need to be informed by the diverse communities they serve in order to be effective.  This report describes what recovery means from the perspectives of three cultural groups: Caribbean, Somali and Tamil and, in so doing, suggests how a culturally-responsive model of recovery can help mental health organizations meet the needs of Toronto’s multicultural population.

Download Recovery Through The Lens Of Cultural Diversity

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.