We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
I am a registered social worker and PhD Candidate with 16 years of practice experience in shelters, health care, addiction rehabilitation, crisis intervention, prisons, Indigenous community services, and outpatient mental health settings. I completed my MSW in 2010 at the University of British Columbia, BSW in 2008 at Carleton University, and a Certificate in Trauma Counselling in 2015 from the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre. I have training in CBT, DBT, suicide intervention, SFBT, and other therapeutic modalities. My clinical focus is on supporting people with experiences of trauma, addiction, psychosis, suicide or self-harm risk, and complex mental health concerns.
The main focus of my doctoral research is understanding cannabis use and the social relationships of youth who have experienced psychosis. I am also interested in police-partnered mobile crisis intervention programs, as well as other forms of substance use, harm reduction, trauma, complex mental illness, recovery, psychosocial assessment/therapy, and group interventions.
- 2020 – 2024 SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship
- 2021 Hilary M. Weston Social Work Scholarship
- 2019 Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- 2019 TD Bank Financial Group Academic Development Fund
- 2018 CAMH Dr. Ivan Silver Innovation in Teaching Award
Ghelani, A. (2021). Knowledge and Skills for Social workers on Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams. Clinical Social Work Journal. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10615-021-00823-x
Ghelani, A, Armstrong, G, Haywood, A. (2021). Motivations for cannabis use in youth with first episode psychosis: A scoping review. Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17522439.2021.1986123
Ghelani, A. (2021). Cannabis use among mental health professionals: Perceptions of cannabis-related risk. Journal of Drug Issues, 51(4). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220426211032558
Ghelani, A, Haywood, A, Ye, A. (2021). Listening to voices: Helping clients examine the meanings behind auditory verbal hallucinations. Health and Social Work, 46(1), 75-78. DOI: https://academic.oup.com/hsw/article/46/1/75/6209445
Ghelani, A., Haywood, A., English, M. (2021). Integrating Anti-Oppressive Practice and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy: A Social Work Imperative to Address the Coronavirus Crisis. Social Work Today (Spring 2021)
Ghelani, A. (2020). Motives for recreational cannabis use among mental health professionals. Journal of Substance Use, 25(6). DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659891.2020.1812124
Ghelani, Amar (2020). Deconstructing the Racialized Cannabis User: Cannabis Criminalization and Intersections with the Social Work Profession. The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 47(3), 5-28. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/
Ghelani, A. (2019). Offering group mental health programs in a maximum-security correctional facility: Observations, outcomes and recommendations. International Journal of Risk and Recovery, 3(1), 35-38. DOI: https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/ijrr/article/view/4030
Ghelani, A. (2011). Evaluating Canada’s drug prevention strategy and creating meaningful dialogue with urban aboriginal youth. Social Work with Groups, 34(1), 4-20. DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01609513.2010.503385