Janique Johnson-Lafleur is a Researcher at Sherpa University Institute and Assistant Professor in the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. Her work focuses on the perceptions and experiences of those involved in the field of mental health and social services in Quebec, particularly training needs in a context of cultural hyper-diversity and social polarization. She is interested in discourses and images, art-based methods, and anti-oppressive and decolonial approaches. Her work is participatory and interdisciplinary, combining methods to explore the interface between personal and collective dimensions of identity, suffering, care and creativity.
Janique is a collaborator on several teams, contributing notably to the Atautsikut initiative, a community of practice in youth mental health and wellness in Nunavik, and to the Research and Action on Social Polarization (RAPS) team’s work. She co-developed and directed the Sanannguanitigut Makitaqatigiinniq project, which highlights the contributions of art in difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In her spare time, Janique enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, reading a good book, making ceramics and short films, being by the sea in Gaspésie, and visiting art galleries. She speaks French and English, and would like to pursue learning Inuktitut.