In early 2001,the Hong Fook Mental Health Association received three-year funding from the Ontario Women ’s Health Council (OWHC)to launch a demonstration project,“Promoting Mental Health Among East and Southeast Asian (E &SEA)Immigrant/Refugee Women in Ontario.”The target population of the project was immigrant/refugee women from the Cambodian,Hong Kong Chinese,Korean,Mainland Chinese,Taiwanese,and Vietnamese communities in Metro Toronto,York Region/Markham and Mississauga/Peel Region.This Project Report documents how the project integrated research and practice using mental health promotion and empowerment framework to provide culturally appropriate mental health services.There is also detailed discussion of the different project compo-nents --research findings from the community assessment regarding East and Southeast Asian immigrant/refugeewomen ’s mental health,empowerment education (social marketing,peer leadership training and peer to peeroutreach),as well as the project evaluation using the program logic model.

This is an easy-to-use training manual designed for Health Educators & Trainers/Social Workers/Community Workers who are interested in empowerment education and capacity building. The manual contains training plans for 9 sessions; each session builds on one another and aims at training women in the community to promote holistic health to their peers within their own social life and at the community level. It covers topics that are pertinent to immigrant women & refugees living in Canada, for examples: exploration on what makes us healthy, how issues related to migration and settlement impact on health, the concept of SELF, effective communication, health relationships and the link between emotions and health. The manual has been designed to facilitate the incorporation of research findings and specific community needs that are unique and relevant to each cultural specific community in Canada. Training activities are developed with the framework of individual and collective empowerment.

This peer leadership workshop manual is a companion manual to the Women ’s Holistic Health Peer Leadership Training Manual designed for use by women peer leaders who have been trained to do outreach and holistic/mental health promotion activities with their peers,friends,families and women in their communities.This 3-ssession easy-to-use manual supports the women peer leaders to conduct workshops and community discussion groups in the areas of healthy relationships,understanding stress,emotions and health,and effective communication.The activities can be adapted to meet the needs of different communities. This manual is available in Cambodian, English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

The idea of this Holistic Health Book began with a dream -a dream of weaving together the voices and stories of immigrant women of all diverse background into a tapestry of strengths,resilience,collective empowerment,and hope.This book is the collective effort of the peer leaders and the project staff of the Hong Fook Holistic HealthPeer Leadership Training Program held in 2002.Aiming at increasing access to culturally appropriate information and resources on mental health,and supporting women from these communities to make informed choices regarding mental health services and/or treatments for themselves and/or their family members,this project served six communities, including the Cambodian,Hong Kong Chinese,Korean,Mainland Chinese,Taiwanese,and Vietnamese communities in Toronto and its adjacent areas.The purpose of this book is about the peer leaders ’ health tips and recipe as much asabout their stories of resilience and aspirations in maintaining their spirit and well-being despite the hardships migrationhas brought them.The peer leaders who contribute their stories and health tips or recipes to this book are of diverseethnic,age,education,and class background.They have various creative ways to express themselves and share theirstories,painting the book with a kaleidoscope of colors.Together,the peer leaders show their unyielding commitment tomaking a difference for themselves,their family,their community and the Canadian society as their new home.

Mental Health Peer Leadership Training Manual

This training manual is a continuation of the holistic health peer leadership training manual published in March 2002.  It consists of 8 lesson plans which cover topics on understanding mental health; mental illness; suicide; recovery, treatment & rehabilitation; providing support through effective communication and information on community resources. The manual is in English and is designed for health educators & trainers, social workers and community workers who are interested in conducting training on mental illness and mental health related issues with empowerment and capacity building as the underlying principles. The content of the manual is designed specifically for training that emphasizes on the active participation of the learners. It consists of practical and useful information as well as group exercises on the topics covered.

$25 CDN per copy

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Currents and Undercurrents: Traversing the paths of mental health Forum Proceedings.

Held in 2003, "Currents and Undercurrents: Traversing the paths of mental health" was a conference forum which aimed at bridging policy, research, and practice in cross-cultural mental health. The forum brought together different stakeholders – service providers, researchers, funders and policy makers – to discuss the challenges and opportunities in integrating research and practice in promoting immigrant women’s mental health and in providing mental health services for immigrant communities. This proceeding recorded presentations and discussions of the three panels in the forum, namely: 1) Critical issues in methods and measurements in cross-cultural research; 2) Re-conceptualization of mental health; and 3) Funding practices: Leadership and strategies.

Please click here to download the Proceedings! 

Journey to Promote Mental Health Manual

Continuing along the theme of holistic health and following the publication of the first manual, Embracing Our Body, Mind & Spirit: Holistic Health Promotion for Women, Journey to Promote Mental Health is the second of the two training manuals. It is available in the following language versions: Korean, simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese. The manual provides a health promotion tool for Peer Leaders to lead community workshops or discussion groups.

Journey to Promote Mental Health promotes the understanding of different mental health topics with more focus on mental health and mental illness than its predecessor. It aims to decrease misconception and stigma about mental illness in the community and increase acceptance and comfort in talking about mental health issues. Communication skills are another important component of the manual. Effective communication has an important impact on mental health as it affects interpersonal relationships. As such, participants will learn how to ask thoughtful questions and how to listen actively to other perspectives. Increased knowledge about stress management, community resources, recovery concept and suicide are additional benefits of the manual.

$15 CDN per copy

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Understanding, Support and Self-Care - A Resource Manual for Family Members and Caregivers

This resource manual is designed for family members, caregivers and friends of individuals with mental illness who are interested in learning about issues related to mental health and mental illness. It shares information on recovery, the mental health system and available resources, ideas on coping strategies and self care. With the support of family members in the development of this manual, there is also a section on voices and stories shared by family members as they go through the journey of supporting their loved ones in recovery. The manual is available in Chinese (simplified & traditional versions), Korean and Vietnamese.

$10 CDN per copy

Please click here to download the Manual (English version)!
Please click here to download the Manual (Simplified Chinese version)!
Please click here to download the Manual (Traditional Chinese version)!
Please click here to download the Manual (Korean version)!

Please click here to download the Manual (Vietnamese version)!