Interview and Student Highlight with Factor and Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto
“I studied cell biology and disease mechanisms such as cancer or neurodegenerative diseases at the molecular level for the past decade and am aware of the very complex interactions that go on in our brain,” Tekirdag-Kosar says. “Knowing the importance of neurobiology, neuroplasticity and the ability to rewire our brains with psychotherapy and mindfulness empowers my clinical practice. It means we can heal and our brains can change, which is such an important message for everyone, especially trauma survivors and the populations that I work with.”
Read more of my personal story of career change, from cell biology to social work below:
Our latest research article is out!
This study is led by Dr Toula Kourgiantakis, PhD, RSW, CCFT and I had the privilege to be part of this exciting research from the very beginning during my MSW at University of Toronto
“This study aimed to understand Ontario service providers’ perceptions, practices, and recommendations on youth cannabis use.
Regarding perceptions, 60% of survey participants agreed with legalization, 26% had a strong understanding of medical versus recreational cannabis, 84% believed that cannabis has physical and mental health risks, and 49% perceived stigmatization. Less than half of the survey participants reported screening or assessing cannabis use, 16% stated they are highly familiar with treating cannabis use, and 67% reported that they rarely work with families. Subthemes identified in the focus groups under perceptions included normalization and stigmatization, harms for youth, and stigma, racism, and discrimination. Subthemes under practice included cannabis not being the primary focus, challenges with screening, assessment, and intervention, and referral to specialized services.
Both the survey and focus group participants recommended increasing public education, enhancing service provider training, improving regulation and policies, reducing stigma and minimization, improving service access, and providing more culturally responsive services.”
Kourgiantakis, T., Lee, E., Tekirdag, K. A., Tait, C., Lau, C. K., McNeil, S., Craig, S. L., Ashcroft, R., Williams, C. C., Goldstein, A. L., Chandrasekera, U., Sur, D., & Henderson, J. (2023). Youth cannabis use in Canada post-legalization: service providers’ perceptions, practices, and recommendations. Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-023-00550-1
https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13011-023-00550-1
Listen to my podcast with Ozgun Unver, PhD Mind Your Own Revision on migration, mental health and career change
“Kumsal Tekirdag-Kosar is a scientist, parent, migrant, and social worker based in Toronto, Canada. She has lived experience with mental health challenges and now, her mission is to become a Mental Health Practitioner in Canada herself to give back and support the mental wellbeing of vulnerable communities.
In this episode, we talked about:
- Mental health during PhD and post-doc
- Migration for academic career
- Isolation that comes with migration
- Career change and “starting over”
- Social work and therapy in North America
- Talking about burnout in the workplace
- Discrimination that migrants face
and so much more…”
Find out more about Kumsal at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aysekumsaltekirdag/
Watch this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ce2W0CkIv38
Check out my highlight post with Mothers in Science
“I welcomed my daughter into my life and it changed everything for me.” Read more below:
https://www.mothersinscience.com/journeys/kumsal-tekirdag-kosar
My blog posts on mental health and my experience of being a mother scientist
What is Mental Health: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mental-health-series-what-how-improve-a-kumsal-tekirdag-kosar-ph-d-/
Being a Mother Scientist: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/being-mother-a-kumsal-tekirdag-kosar-ph-d-/
