Mental Health Support for Yazidi Survivors in Canada: Programs and Gaps

This encyclopedia entry surveys the current state of mental‑health support for Yazidi survivors of the Daesh genocide who have been resettled in Canada. Drawing on parliamentary reports, academic research, and health‑clinic data, it outlines existing programs, identifies systemic gaps, and highlights scholarly debates.

Yazidi mental‑health support in Canada (Kurdish Kurmanji: piştgirîya tenduristiya mêjûyî ya Êzdiyan li Kanadayê) refers to the range of clinical, community‑based, and culturally‑informed services aimed at addressing trauma, depression, and anxiety among Yazidi refugees living in Canada.

Pronunciation & orthography

Kurmanji spelling: piştgirîya tenduristiya mêjûyî ya Êzdiyan. Arabic‑script variant: پشتگیری تندرستی تاریخی ایزدیان. Cyrillic (used by some diaspora communities): пиштгирија тендуристија меџуји ја Ездијан. IPA: /pɪʃtɡiˈriːja tɛnduˈriːsti.ja ˈmɛːdʒuːji ja ˈeːzdiːjan/. Common English misspellings include “Yazidi mental health support” and “Yezidi mental‑health services.”

Main exposition

Government‑funded settlement services

Following the 2014 Daesh attacks on Sinjar, Canada admitted approximately 1,200 Yazidi refugees between 2017 and 2018 (see Table 2). The federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) program provides a Settlement Services Agreement that includes mental‑health screening, language training, and referrals to community health centres (Oliphant 2025). In Alberta, the Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic (MRHC) has become the primary point of entry for medical and psychological assessment (Hassan 2021).

Community‑based and faith‑based interventions

Yazidi community organisations, such as the Yazidi National Union of Canada, partner with local NGOs to deliver culturally‑sensitive counselling, group‑talk therapy, and traditional healing rituals (e.g., prayer circles, qewl recitations). A 2025 qualitative study highlighted that participants valued “spiritual coping” alongside professional care, yet reported limited access to interpreters trained in Yazidi cultural nuances (Bethel 2025).

Specialized programs for women and survivors of sexual‑gender‑based violence (SGBV)

Women who experienced enslavement or sexual violence face compounding barriers. Bhattacharyya 2021 documented that SGBV survivors often encounter stigma within both their own community and the broader settlement system, leading to delayed help‑seeking. Targeted shelters and trauma‑informed counselling units have been established in Winnipeg and Calgary, but capacity remains insufficient (¹).

Identified gaps

Despite these initiatives, significant gaps persist:

• Language and cultural competence: Over 60 % of interviewees in the 2025 Frontiers study reported that mental‑health providers lacked Kurdish‑Kurmanji fluency, reducing therapeutic alliance (²).
• Trauma‑informed training: Clinicians often rely on generic PTSD protocols without accounting for collective trauma and religious symbolism that are central to Yazidi healing (³).
• Gender‑specific services: SGBV survivors experience longer wait times and fewer female counsellors, exacerbating re‑traumatization (⁴).
• Continuity of care: Many refugees relocate after initial settlement, disrupting ongoing therapy and medication management (⁵).

Policy recommendations

Researchers advocate for a three‑pronged approach: (1) expand Kurdish‑Kurmanji interpreter pools; (2) embed Yazidi spiritual leaders within multidisciplinary teams; and (3) allocate dedicated funding for women‑focused trauma units (Oliphant 2018; Bethel 2025).

In the oral tradition

Yazidi oral literature emphasizes communal resilience. The qewl “Qewlê Xwedê” (the Song of God) repeatedly invokes the metaphor of “the wounded bird returning to the nest,” symbolising the journey from trauma to healing. Community elders recount that reciting these verses alongside therapeutic dialogue can restore a sense of identity and belonging (Oliphant 2018).

“When the bird lands, the nest is ready; the song heals the wound.” – traditional qewl cited in the parliamentary report.⁶

Scholarly disagreement

Bethel Abraham argues that integrating traditional prayer into clinical settings yields better outcomes for Yazidi patients, contending that “spiritual congruence is a core component of trauma recovery” (Bethel 2025). Conversely, Hassan et al. caution that over‑reliance on religious practices may obscure the need for evidence‑based psychopharmacology, emphasizing a “balanced biomedical‑cultural model” (Hassan 2021).

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

Yazidi refugees from Sinjar’s rural districts often retain stronger ties to traditional healers, whereas those from urban Sheikhan are more accustomed to biomedical services. Syrian Yazidis, who arrived later, report heightened language barriers due to dialectal differences. In the Canadian diaspora, settlement patterns concentrate in Alberta (≈45 %), Ontario (≈30 %), and Quebec (≈15 %), each province offering distinct health‑system navigation tools (Oliphant 2018).

Timeline

Data table