1. Who is eligible to take the course?

The Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health online course is open to front-line service providers across Canada* who are working with newly-arrived immigrants and refugees. It is offered in two separate course streams: (1) settlement and social service stream and (2) health care provider stream.

* The course is not available to Quebec residents.

2. Why is the course not offered to Quebec residents?

The Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project’s online course is only offered to Canadian service providers outside of Quebec, as Quebec is responsible for its own settlement services, resettlement services and administration. Immigration, Diversité et Inclusion is the Quebec provincial government ministry that is dedicated to supporting immigrants, refugees and the settlement sector and can better meet your unique needs. We encourage you to visit their website for more information: www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca.

We have a number of online resources that are free and available to everyone. You can access the resources on our website: irmhp-psmir.camhx.ca

3. Which stream should I take?

The settlement and social service stream is designed for settlement workers and social service providers in Canada, who conduct needs assessments, provide settlement/social service information, and facilitate referrals. Participants in this stream may include service providers such as settlement workers in schools (SWIS), community outreach facilitators, housing support workers, employment facilitators, or family support workers.

This health care provider stream is designed for health service providers in Canada, who are comfortable with basic clinical language and conduct mental health screenings/assessments, diagnoses, or treatment/therapy. Participants in this stream may include service providers such as physicians, nurse practitioners, or psychologists/psychiatrists.

Social workers, among other professionals, may benefit from each stream. However, you should choose the stream that is most relevant to your individual trainings, roles and responsibilities.

4. What topics are covered in the course?

The material will differ depending on whether you are a settlement or social service providers or a health care provider.

In general, the courses will cover these topics:

• Immigration trends
• the determinants of immigrant and refugee mental health,
• Mental disorders in sub-populations (women, children, older adults, survivors of torture, LGBTQ and persons living with disabilities),
• Evidence-based treatments and supports,
• Service delivery and interpretation,
• Mental health promotion and partnerships, and
• Self-care and cultural competence.
• See the syllabus of each course:
• Settlement and Social Service Providers course syllabus
• Health Service Providers course syllabus

5. When are the course offerings available?

In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, we will run four English course offerings, starting: May 2023 (English only, July 2023 (English only, October 2023 (French and English) and January 2024 (French and English).

Each session is six weeks long. During enrolment in your session, you will be able to access the course online 24 hours a day, seven days a week to complete readings and learning activities.

6. How do I register for the course?

Registration opens approximately one month prior to the course start date. Visit the course page to access the registration survey. If registration is full or unavailable, you can sign up for our email list to be notified when registration opens for future course offerings.

7. How much does it cost?

This course is funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Service providers from across Canada (excluding Quebec) may register for free.

To receive a letter of completion, participants are required to pay a $20 fee at the end of the course. This fee covers accreditation costs.

8. How do I log in?

One week before the course begins, you will receive a ''welcome'' email with information about the course. On the first day of the course, you will receive an automated email with a link to activate your account for the course.

If you do not receive the activation email, please check your "Junk Mail" or "Spam" folder.

Once you have your username and password, you will be able to access the course system here.

9. How many hours will it take to complete a course?

Each course session is six weeks long. During this time, you will have access to the course seven days a week, 24 hours a day, from any computer or tablet with internet access to complete the course modules at your own pace. Please note that there are no in-person sessions or any scheduled online lectures that you are required to attend.

While time required to complete all course content can vary widely as there are videos, learning activities and other features available to optimize your learning experience, it is estimated to take about 25 hours to complete. There are seven modules that take approximately three to five hours each to complete. We recommend also taking advantage of the Community of Practice discussion board – where you have access to peers and experts across Canada.

In total, we suggest setting aside 5 hours a week to complete the course in the 6-week period. Please note that no extensions will be granted.

10. Can I pause and resume the course?

You may log out and log back in to the online course at any time. There are tools in the learning environment system that will help you bookmark a course topic page for later reading.

11. Can I download the course content after the course is completed? Is it accessible after my course session has ended?

During enrolment in your session, you will be able to access the course online 24 hours a day, seven days a week to complete readings and learning activities. The course content cannot be downloaded and is not available once your six-week course session has ended. However, we welcome you to visit the Toolkit at any point during the course or afterwards to access resources from each module within the course. Once the course has ended, you’ll also have continued access to the Community of Practice (CoP) discussion board, where we encourage you to continue to engage with your peers and our experts.

Please contact the IRMHP team should you require additional accessibility accommodations.

12. Are there any exams involved in this course?

There is no formal testing to complete the course. However, there are non-graded knowledge assessments throughout the course. While these quizzes must be completed to receive the letter of completion, you do not need to achieve a particular grade level. The grades are for course evaluation purposes only; they assist in understanding the degree of learning you and other participants gain from this course.

13. What do I get at the end of the course?

All participants who complete course requirements are eligible to receive a letter of completion. This letter will indicate the course title and any accreditation information.

Course completion requirements include:

• course pre-test and course post-test
• all pre-module and post-module quizzes

Health care professionals are eligible for continuing education credits:

• The College of Family Physicians of Canada - up to 25.0 Mainpro+ credits
• Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada - up to 25.0 Section 1 hours

As a course alumni, you have continued access to the Community of Practice (CoP) discussion board – we encourage you to continue to engage with your peers and our experts. We also welcome you to take a look at our website to see the other project components and continue your learning.

14. How do I obtain my letter of completion?

One week after the end of the course session, participants who have completed all course requirements (see above) will automatically receive an email to inform them that they are eligible for a letter of completion. The email will provide instructions for making the $20 payment required to obtain with the letter. The payment is made by credit card through a secure online system.

Letters of completion will be sent by email to participants who have made the payment within two months after the course finishes, at the email registered for the course.

15. What are the operating system and software requirements?

To enable proper course functionality and to view all course content, including videos, you will need a computer with the specifications outlined below.

• Internet explorer browser - Internet Explorer version 9 or higher
• Mozilla firefox browser - Mozilla Firefox version 25.0 or higher
• Safari browser - Safari 6 or higher
• Chrome browser - Google Chrome version 30.0 or higher

16. Who do I contact if I have any questions?

For the course in English, please contact:
Jewel Bailey, at [email protected]

For the course in French, please contact: Sophia Mangala, at [email protected]