By: Kenisse Trotman, Dalhousie Health Promotion student

In November, the Atlantic Association of Black Aspiring Physicians (AABAP) and the Health Association of African Canadians- Student Organization (HAAC-SO) collaborated to present our first lunch and learn “Your Mental Health Matters”. AABAP and the HAAC-SO are two student groups of aspiring healthcare workers from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Science whose focus is to facilitate learning and understanding about critical health issues, career development and community engagement among Nova Scotia’s black population.

The organizers were excited to see a diverse group of about 40 attendees assembled in the Collaborative Health building to hear our guest speaker Lisa Dennis, MscOT present on the topic “Transgenerational Trauma within the Black Canadian Community. Her research focuses on Neurofeedback as a cognitive rehabilitation therapy for clients with brain-based disorders, and she outlined the effectiveness of a rehabilitation intervention that focuses on a major event or root cause, rather than symptoms. The topic was an interesting and important discourse for the African Nova Scotian community where the ramifications of slavery and racism are cited as root causes of many negative health outcomes.

The atmosphere of the event was respectful, welcoming and empowering, and several participants gave positive feedback for the opportunity to learn and reflect on the ongoing impacts of century old events on life today. Many people also mentioned that they would love to attend other AABAP and HAAC-SO events in the future. Keep an eye out for future lunch and learn dates, as well as the second annual Black Research Symposium on March 6 and 7, 2020. It will be hosted in collaboration with the Community of Black Nurses, PLANS, Imhotep’s Legacy Academy and the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute.

We were very pleased that we were able to treat everyone to lunch provided by Brawta Jamaican Jerk Joint as a small bit of thanks for your presence.

Thanks also to Lisa for her wonderful presentation. If you would like more information about Lisa’s work, visit Lisasholisticrehab.com.