Congratulations Dr. Michelle Sraha-Yeboah!
Winner of the CSN Prize - Best PhD Dissertation in Canadian Studies

From Palliative Practice to Transformative Praxis: A Black Feminist Psychology Framework on Black Canadians' Mental Healthcare Service Delivery

The jury unanimously valued the excellent interdisciplinary approach exploring mental healthcare access for Black Canadians of Michelle Sraha-Yeboah’s PhD dissertation “From Palliative Practice to Transformative Praxis: A Black Feminist Psychology Framework on Black Canadians' Mental Healthcare Service Delivery,” defended in 2024 at York University. At the crossroads of psychology, literary analysis, and socio-cultural perspectives on religion and spirituality, this study interrogates the effects of colonialism, neoliberalism, and theism to propose strengthened modes of service delivery for Black Canadians and advance a socially just mental health praxis. Methodologically complex, the dissertation seamlessly blends data from interviews with parish ministers and psychotherapists, literary analysis of thematically resonant novels, and other qualitative research methods to challenge standard approaches to the underuse of mental healthcare in the Black community. The jury saw in the boldness, originality, and creativity of Sraha-Yeboah’s approach a concrete example of what the new field of Canadian Studies can offer: a dynamic praxis in which different pods of disciplinary literature to speak to each other to bring forth practical solutions for pressing social issues.

The CSN warmly thanks the committee members for this prize.