Professional Services

Mego Nerses Psychotherapy

Settlement Workers & Organizations Training

Welcome to Mego Nerses's Professional Services

Empowering Settlement Workers & Organizations with Refugee Mental Health Expertise

Welcome! I am Mego Nerses a psychotherapist specializing in refugee mental health. My mission is to equip settlement workers and organizations with the necessary skills to support refugees and newcomers effectively. My approach is rooted in dignity-first, trauma-informed, and intersectional principles, ensuring that all interventions center the voices and agency of refugees and newcomers. While I have extensive expertise in working with LGBTQ+ refugees, my training and workshops address the broader mental health needs of all refugee populations.

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Settlement Workers & Organizations Training

Our Unique Approach

Dignity-First, Trauma-Informed, and Intersectional

My approach is innovative and deeply introspective, designed to create transformative learning experiences. By fostering deep reflection and professional growth, I help organizations enhance their services while ensuring culturally responsive and ethical practices.

Empowering Settlement Workers

Settlement workers play a crucial role in the well-being of refugees and newcomers. My workshops provide practical tools to identify mental health challenges, engage in trauma-informed care, and navigate systemic barriers that impact refugee populations, including LGBTQ+ refugees and other marginalized groups.
Mego Nerses Psychotherapy

Training & Workshop Offerings

Below are some of the specialized workshops I offer:

1.

Trauma-Informed Care for Settlement Workers

  • Learn how to recognize trauma symptoms and support highly traumatized individuals while preventing burnout.
  • Gain practical tools for engaging with refugees and newcomers in a safe, ethical, and culturally responsive way.

2.

Understanding the Mental Health of Refugees, with a Focus on LGBTQ+ Experiences

  • Deep dive into the unique mental health challenges refugees face at different stages (pre-migration, journey, post-migration).
  • Explore systemic barriers, discrimination, and institutional injustices impacting mental health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on LGBTQ+ refugee experiences.

3.

Boundary Setting & Power Dynamics in Refugee Support Work

  • Learn to navigate ethical dilemmas, workplace boundaries, and issues of consent.
  • Understand the fine line between boundary crossings and boundary violations.

4.

Trauma-Responsive Referral Training

  • Practical skills on making safe and sound referrals, especially when resources are limited.
  • Learn how to apply the “Referral Buddy System” and warm hand-off techniques.

5.

Implicit Bias, Intersectionality, and the Impact on Refugee Settlement Work

  • Explore how implicit biases shape interactions with refugees and impact service delivery.
  • Understand intersectionality and how multiple identities (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status) affect refugee experiences.
  • Learn strategies to mitigate bias and create more inclusive, equitable, and effective support systems.

These are just a few of the customized training options available.

Contact me for tailored sessions that meet your organization's needs.
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Previous Workshops & Success Stories

I have worked with non-profit organizations, government agencies, and frontline workers across various sectors to enhance mental health literacy and trauma-informed practices.

Success Stories & Testimonials:

    This workshop transformed the way we work with refugees. It was eye-opening and incredibly practical!

      I feel much more confident in supporting refugees without overstepping ethical boundaries.

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      Explore My Past Workshops

      I have facilitated trainings on:

      • Refugee mental health across diverse populations
      • Unconscious bias of settlement workers
      • Ethical challenges in mental health support
      • Sexual harassment in the context of refugee services
      • Workplace boundaries and trauma-informed interventions

      Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

      Settlement Workers & Organizations Training

      Book a Consultation

      Interested in learning more or booking a workshop? Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to discuss how I can support your team.

      Let’s take the next step in building a more inclusive and effective therapeutic practice.

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      Mego Nerses Trauma Psychotherapist

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      Land acknowledgement and reconciliation: I am an immigrant settler who lives and works on the unceded territory of the Anishinabewaki and Algonquin nations, the traditional stewards of these lands who were unfairly an unjustly affected by the Crawford Purchase of 1783. In the spirit of reconciliation, I recognize the historical and ongoing oppression of these lands and cultures, and honour the commitments to self-determination and sovereignty made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples. I commit to work toward reconciliation and abide by the Indigenous Peoples, Communities & Contexts section of CCPA’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

      IMPORTANT NOTICE

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

      Thank you for your understanding.

      Experience You Can Count On

      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.