Event

Trauma and Violence-Informed Care (TVIC) in Services for 2SLGBTQ+ Communities

WHEN:
May 27, 2026 10:00 am

May 27th, 2026

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

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Hosted by:

The city of Ottawa

Description of the Training:

This 2-hour training supports frontline workers in integrating trauma- and Violence-Informed Care (TVIC) principles into everyday interactions with 2SLGBTQ+ communities. It emphasizes that safety and trust are shaped not only by past events but also by ongoing systemic realities, including colonialism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and institutional barriers. Rather than viewing TVIC as a checklist, participants will explore how to co-create safer environments that affirm dignity and foster relational trust. A focused section addresses work with LGBTQ+ refugee claimants and asylum seekers, recognizing the migration journey and post-migration challenges they face while navigating displacement and systemic barriers. Participants will work through practical scenarios to identify ways to integrate TVIC into their work, ensuring that service interactions support client autonomy, informed choice, privacy, and self-determination. The session concludes by outlining a multi-pronged approach to preventing burnout and vicarious trauma, including team supports and workplace policies designed to mitigate risk over time.

Training Objectives (Learning Outcomes) By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Integrate TVIC within 2SLGBTQ+ service interactions: Translate TVIC principles into relational micro-practices that foster safer spaces and affirm dignity in frontline work.
  2. Apply TVIC with LGBTQ+ refugee claimants/asylum seekers: Recognize how displacement and legal status can impact agency and perceived risk.
  3. Identify sustainability strategies across levels: Identify feasible strategies from personal practices to team norms and workplace-policy options that collectively reduce vicarious trauma and burnout.

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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IMPORTANT NOTICE

For the time being, we will be conducting appointments exclusively through virtual means.

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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.