Sub-Saharan African migrants often experience unique mental health challenges
shaped by the complex interplay of migration, cultural identity, systemic barriers, and
historical trauma. These experiences are frequently misunderstood or overlooked within
dominant Western counselling frameworks. This project examines the mental health needs of
Sub-Saharan African migrants living in Canada through a culturally safe counselling lens.
Grounded in literature and critical theory, the project emphasizes the importance of culturally
responsive, anti-oppressive, and strengths-based approaches in therapeutic practice. The final
deliverable, a practitioner-focused handbook, provides guidance for counsellors seeking to
engage more effectively with Sub-Saharan African clients. The handbook includes culturally
grounded adapted Western therapeutic approaches, reflections on power and identity, and
tools for integrating spiritual, communal, and contextual elements into care, with the goal of
fostering more inclusive and affirming mental health support for sub-Saharan Africans in
Canada.
