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QTBIPoC-relevant Counselling&²Ô²ú²õ±è;• More Supports&²Ô²ú²õ±è;• Helplines
This page is designed to provide QTBIPoC-specific well-being resources. For general help with physical or mental well-being, please visit Student Wellness Services.
Vanessa Mensah, BIPoC Mental Health Therapist
(she/her)
Vanessa is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). She started her professional helping journey by obtaining a diploma in Social Service Work and a BASc Honours degree in Family and Children Social Services. She later built on that foundation by completing a Master of Business Administration (Social Enterprise Leadership) and certificates in Leadership and Inclusion. She is drawn to helping people through an intersectional lens. Her local and provincial experiences with communities, families and individuals spans over 15 years.
Vanessa has guided organizations and institutions in the public and private sectors towards systemic changes through reflective and reflexive practice. Her work as an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigenization advisor and facilitator with organizations like KEYS Employment and Newcomer Services, Ontario Children’s Aid Society and its members, the City of Kingston and United Way KFL&A informs her understanding of the complexity of people, systems, and the layers of oppression experienced.
To book an appointment with Vanessa, call Student Wellness Services 613-533-2506 (8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday) or email counselling.services@queensu.ca and ask to book with Vanessa by name.
You can learn more about Vanessa on .
Shannon Gendron, 2SLGBTQ+ Psychotherapist
(they/she)
As a lover of inner worlds and imagination, Shannon draws upon creativity, curiosity, and breath to explore and nourish the many dynamics of Self and befriend the nervous system. With background in Gender Studies, Shannon infuses their integrative Gender-Affirming care with trauma-informed Queer theory, social justice, and deep reverence for the glory of gender, sexual, and relational diversity. Shannon honours authenticity in herself, others, and the therapeutic relationship. With a first language in metaphor and a second language in laughter, Shannon is passionate about and devoted to creating a therapeutic space for self-compassion, meaning-making, and Queer Joy.
Shannon works closely to promote Queer Magic and community with Yellow House and is the co-founder and co-facilitator of the gender diverse support group Gender Splendor and meditation guide with Queer Your Mind, a mindfulness based drop-in group. When not in the office, Shannon enjoys rich friendships with snails, Buddhist philosophy, introspecting, and writing angry poems against the patriarchy under candlelight.
To book an appointment with Shannon, call Student Wellness Services 613-533-2506 (8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday) or email counselling.services@queensu.ca and ask to book with Shannon by name.
For general inquiries, email: shg1@queensu.ca.
Dr. Arunima Khanna, Psychologist, Cross Cultural
(she/her)
Dr. Arunima Khanna is a psychologist who provides counselling and therapy to racialised and international students as well as training and workshops on multicultural competencies, cultural humility, and issues relating to diversity, equity and anti-racism. Dr. Khanna also advises faculty, staff, student government and groups, and administrators on issues pertaining to the needs of students from diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, including international students.
Her services and work are grounded in a multicultural framework that clients’ issues are informed by the social and cultural contexts within which they live. To this end, she focuses on both individual and structural issues faced by clients, taking a strengths-based, social justice, and culturally-informed approach to her work.
To book an appointment with Dr. Arunima, call Student Wellness Services 613-533-2506 (8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday) or email counselling.services@queensu.ca and ask to book with Dr. Arunima by name.
For general inquiries, email: 7ak1@queensu.ca@queensu.ca.
Lisa Doxtator, Cultural Counsellor, Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre
(she/her)
Lisa Doxtator is the cultural counsellor at Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre. She provides individual and group counselling as well as wellness and cultural programming for Indigenous students. Her therapy follows an integrative approach that includes Indigenous and Western pedagogies, while acknowledging and validating Indigenous Student's lived experiences and histories.
To book a counselling session with Lisa, contact her directly via email: lmd9@queensu.ca.
Amber Fuentealba, Cultural Counsellor, Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre
(she/her)
Amber Fuentealba is an urban Indigenous woman from Saskatoon (Treaty 6) with Cree/settler roots. Her community is the Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan. She arrived in Kingston in the summer of 2023 from Calgary where she previously worked as a grief counsellor for Alberta Health Services. Prior to that, she worked for University of Saskatchewan as an Intake Counsellor for students.
Amber is happy and excited to belong to the team here at Four Directions and get to know the Queen's community.
To book a counselling session with Amber, contact her directly via email: amber.fuentealba@queensu.ca.
Erin Burns, Interfaith Chaplain and Director, Faith and Spiritual Life
(she/her)
Erin returned to Queen’s in her current role in January of 2022. Ordained in the United Church of Canada, Erin spent 15 years in congregational ministry with a focus on intergenerational connections, programming for Spiritual But Not Religious members, and education for herself and her community on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, settler colonialism, and anti-Black racism, particularly around the role institutions have played in creating harm and upholding harmful systems.
Erin has always focused on community and connection. She enjoys working with students to explore how faith and spirituality adapt and change, and wrestling with how traditions and practices with ancient roots can hold relevancy and importance in modern times. In her work at Queen’s, she supports students in areas of meaning-making, the spiritual dimensions of mental health, identity, grief, relationships, family dynamics and vocation.
This year, you can find Erin engaging in Yellow House programming and supporting students through office hours, a textile circle, and responsive community events, where she is happy to chat about anything and everything from exam stress to faith and spirituality and share her love of knitting.
To book a session with Erin, contact her directly via email: chaplain@queensu.ca.
More Supports
BIPoC Supports
. Sessions for BIPoC-indentifying individuals conducted by BIPoC-identifying volunteers who are trained to confidentially, non-judgementally, and empathetically listen to students and recommend appropriate resources. A branch of the Peer Support Centre (PSC) of AMS.
. A directory of BIPoC therapists across Canada who are committed to supporting BIPoC-identifying persons.
. An online space dedicated to encouraging the mental well-being of Black women and girls. Offers a therapist directory, a podcast, a blog, and more.
. A directory and search engine for Black therapists in Canada.
. A platform for resources, information and action steps to support diversity of Black, Indigenous and Women of Colour (BIWoC) in the health and wellness space. Includes a directory of BIWoC-identifying therapists.
. Equitable, inclusive and holistic mental health and addiction services for racialized people across the Greater Toronto Area.
. An online resource that provides key tools for dealing with racial trauma.
2SLGBTQ+ Supports
. A safe space for 2SLGBTQ+ Queen’s undergraduate students. Offers events and peer counselling. A branch of the Peer Support Centre (PSC) of AMS.
. Therapeutic management, hormone therapy, surgical planning visits, community resource navigation, social transition support, counselling. Call 613-542-2949, press 4 for the clinic.
. Information and support for young LGBTQ people 24/7, all year round.
. A general resource for 2SLGBTQ+ students in Ontario. Includes resources related to physical and mental health as well as Queer experiences person in Canada. Call 416-324-4100 or email info@rainbowhealthontario.ca.
. Compassionate care for 2SLGBTQ+ folx provided by Queer- and Trans-identifiying mental health support workers. Employs a sliding scale fees to pro bono (no charge) services. Call 647-687-6543 or email info@umhn.ca.
Helplines
Good2Talk
24/7 free, confidential support.
Call 1-866-925-5454 to speak with a professional counsellor or text GOOD2TALKON to 686868 to chat with a volunteer crisis responder.
More resources and information available .
Call Blackline (QTBIPoC)
Peer support, counseling, reporting of mistreatment, witnessing and affirming the lived experiences for folx who are most impacted by systematic oppression with an LGBTQ+ Black Femme Lens with a focus on BIPoC persons.
Call 1-800-604-5841 or email at info@callblackline.org.
More information available .
Black Youth Helpline
Specifically responds to the need for a Black youth specific service, positioned and resourced to promote access to professional, culturally appropriate support for youth, families and schools.
Call 416-285-9944, toll free 1-833-294-8650, or email at info@blackyouth.ca. Open 9am-10pm.
More information available .
Hope for Wellness Helpline
Experienced and culturally competent counsellors for Indigenous people across Canada.
Service available in English and French available 24/7, service in Cree, Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin, and Inuktitut during limited hours.
Call 1-855-242-3310 or use the virtual chat .
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Support Line
24/7 independent, national, toll-free support call line is available to provide support for anyone who requires assistance.
Call 1-844-413-6649.
Talk 4 Healing
24/7 help, support, and resources for Indigenous women, by Indigenous women, all across Ontario.
Services available in English, Oji-Cree, Cree, Algonquin, Inuktitut, Mohawk, Oneida, Odawa, Potawatomi, Mi'kmaq, Blackfoot, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), Moose Cree, and Swampy Cree.
Call or text 1-855-554-HEAL(4325) or use the live chat .
Trans Lifeline
24/7 peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers.
Call 1-877-330-6366. Oprime el 2 para ayuda en español.
More information available .
LGBT Youthline
Confidential and non-judgmental peer support through our telephone, text and chat services.
Call 1-800-268-9688, text 647-694-4275, chat , or email at askus@youthline.ca.
Open Sunday-Friday, 4:00pm-9:30pm EST.