Concordia Minority Students' Mental Health Research Project

 

Madinah completed her thesis at the Culture, Health, and Personality Lab, exploring beliefs about
depression in Levantine-Canadian communities. Currently, she is in the first year of her Master’s in Counselling Psychology at the University of Ottawa.
Madinah joined this project, specifically the Hijabi Muslim women group, because she is passionate about amplifying the voices of minority groups and learning directly from their lived experiences. As a Hijabi herself, she understands the unique challenges faced by Muslim women and hopes to help identify how Concordia can better support these communities.

 

Outside her academic and professional life, Madinah enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, and exploring new recipes!

Hala is currently doing research in Dr. Chapman's lab, studying how dopamine affects specific brain regions in rats. She’s is volunteering in the Culture, Health, and Personality Lab, driven by her own experiences as a hijabi Muslim woman in Canada. Being part of an underrepresented group has shaped her perspective, and she hopes to give back to her community by contributing to research that amplifies diverse voices.

 

Other than that, she loves walking, crocheting, and advocating for her home country, Syria.

​Rana is a recent psychology graduate from Concordia University, currently interning at Welcome Haven, where she works with refugee claimants, helping them navigate resources and adjust to their new environments. Alongside her team she also supports their psychological well-being through art-based therapy workshops, creating a space for self-expression and healing. Previously, she conducted her undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr. Momoka in Dr. Ryder’s Cultural & Health Psychology (CHP) Lab. Her thesis; Unveiling Protective Factors: Exploring Religiosity, Social Support and Perceived Discrimination in Relation to Psychological Distress among Muslim Students in Quebec, deepened her interest in mental health within marginalized communities, leading her to take on a leadership role in the underrepresented student mental health project at Concordia’s Culture Lab as a facilitator for the Hijabi Focus Group. When Momoka introduced the opportunity, Rana saw it as a natural extension of her commitment to advocating for minority mental health and fostering inclusive research practices. Her interests lie in counseling, clinical work, and community-based mental health initiatives. She is passionate about bridging research and real-world impact, ensuring that mental health support is accessible, culturally sensitive, and community-driven.

 

In her free time, she likes learning new languages and trying new recipes.