Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy
Areas of Expertise
- Mental Health
- Social Work Practice and Theory
- Youth Justice and At-Risk Youth
Biography
I have more than 15 years of social work practice experience in New York, British Columbia and Ontario. I have worked with individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness and HIV/AIDS, adolescent sex offenders, youth in conflict with the law and community based mental health. I have taught the following courses at Laurier: Research Methods; Diversity, Marginalization and Oppression (DMO); Community Interventions; and Health and Mental Health.
My research interests include global mental health. My funded projects examine serious mental illness and stigma among immigrant communities. I am also interested in post-colonial and critical race theories, social justice and anti-oppressive practice.
I received my PhD in Social Work from the University of Toronto in 2010 and my Maters degree in Social Work from Columbia University in New York in 1998.
Prior to joining Laurier, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health’s Social Aetiology of Mental Illness (SAMI) program at the University of Toronto (2010-2011).
The main focus of my research is exploring the intersection between mental illness and stigma and its impact on immigrant communities. Also, the effectiveness of treatment options for individuals with serious mental illness in the community.
I am currently involved in multiple collaborative projects at Laurier’s faculty of social work and the department of social work at the University of Ghana.
- Study to increase understanding of clients’ and staff perspectives on the use of community treatment orders for clients of the Guelph Assertive Community Treatment Team.
- West African ideals of family.
- Stigma and serious mental illness in the Waterloo region.
- Media’s portrayal of mental illness in Ghana.