Event

Intersecting Realities: Gender-Based Violence, LGBTQ+ Identities, in the Context of Forced Migration

WHEN:
April 15, 2026 10:00 am

April 15th, 2026

Join CCPA For “The Anatomy of Betrayal: Understanding the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Refugees in Exile”

Register Now

Workshop Description:

This webinar introduces CAF-affiliated mental health professionals, social workers, and clinicians to the complex realities faced by LGBTQ+ refugees and newcomers in Canada, particularly those impacted by gender-based violence-cutting (GBV). These individuals may be part of military-connected families, supported by military resettlement programs, or engaged through CAF peacekeeping and humanitarian missions abroad.

The session explores the compounded impact of identity-based trauma, forced migration, and systemic barriers to care, with a focus on how sexual orientation and gender identity intersect with GBV in pre- and post-migration phases. It considers the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ newcomers—such as family rejection, persecution, legal precarity, and community isolation—and their mental health impacts.

Participants will be invited to reflect on their roles in clinical and military social service settings, understand the nuances of betrayal trauma in migration and immigration contexts, and examine how to offer relational safety through culturally-attuned, non-pathologizing practices. The session will also introduce Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) as a trauma-informed approach relevant to military clinicians and community mental health workers.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  1. Recognize the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ refugees impacted by GBV, and how these may intersect with military programs or services.
  2. Understand the mental health impacts of gender-based and identity-based violence within refugee and resettlement contexts.
  3. Identify the role of military clinicians and social workers in addressing intersecting identities (e.g., SOGIE, race, disability, legal status) in care provision.
  4. Apply strategies for trauma-informed, culturally safe, and refugee-centred clinical work in military settings.
  5. Describe the principles of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and how it can support healing in refugee and newcomer clients served by CAF or MFS staff.

This is a private event and open to CAF members only

Join CCPA For “The Anatomy of Betrayal: Understanding the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Refugees in Exile”

Register Now
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Mego Nerses

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About MEGO NERSES

I am an Ottawa-based Registered Psychotherapist and have a full-time private practice. In the past, I worked in social service agencies for many years. I offer individual, relationship, and sex therapy in English, Arabic, and Armenian to adults 18+, and I do not work with minors.

In 2011, I earned a master’s degree in Counselling from the University of Ottawa. I am a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario (CRPO#001132) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. In addition, I am a Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA#3058). My clinical training focuses on relationship and sex therapy and trauma/PTSD. Since 2013, I have been at Algonquin College as a seasonal professor, teaching courses in mental health and addiction.

I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to publish peer-reviewed articles and contribute chapters concerning Counselling, coming out, and trauma related explicitly to LGBTQ+ refugees and newcomers to Canada. I have presented numerous workshops and continue to offer trainings nationally and internationally on the mental health of LGBTQI+ and SOGIE refugees and asylum seekers.

 

Professional Work

Early in my professional career, I specialized in individual therapy and served clients with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and grief. Since then, I have taken my clinical work to a higher level and gained more experience in four areas: PTSD and Trauma, Sexuality and Gender Identity, Sex and Relationship Therapy, and Refugee mental health issues. I have received various trainings in these areas since choosing to specialize. As an example, I received training from Division 56, Trauma Psychology, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Global Institute of Forensic Research in writing immigration evaluations for immigration courts. Furthermore, I have completed multiple trainings in trauma/PTSD therapy and relationship therapy (Poly. Kink). I have participated in numerous training opportunities in the field of sex therapy, sexuality, and gender identity. 

I am a LGBTQI+/poly/kink/CNM supportive and informed therapist.

Therapeutic approaches
In addition to Narrative Exposure Therapy for PTSD (NET), I have also been trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD and Experiential Therapy and Focusing. I integrate social justice and rights-based principles into my work as a trauma-informed therapist.

Awards
In recognition of my dedication to helping LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers in Canada, I received the 2017 Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).

AffiliationsI have an international affiliate membership with Division 56, Trauma Psychology, the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Global Institute of Forensic Research.

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Facts about Psychotherapy

  • Psychotherapy is a collaborative process. The therapist and the client must work together to reach the desired outcomes.
  • Research indicates that the quality of the therapeutic relationship between therapists and clients is the highest contributor to change, almost 40%. Therapy modality or approach contributes only 15% to change.
  • The quality of the client-therapist alliance is a reliable predictor of positive clinical outcomes independent of psychotherapeutic techniques and outcome measures (Ardito & Rabellino, 2011).
  • Psychotherapy has been shown to reduce the use of medications, consultations with primary-care physicians, length of inpatient stays, and general health care expenditures by 60% to 90% (Chiles, Lambert, & Hatch, 1999; Kraft, Puschner, Lambert, & Kordy, 2006).
  • Psychotherapy in conjunction with pharmaceutical treatment has been shown to be more enduring and effective in the long term than medication alone.
  • There are more than 100 psychotherapy approaches. Always make sure your therapist is using evidence-based psychotherapy.