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Profile

Dr. Michael Ungar is a Family Therapist and Professor of Social Work at Dalhousie University where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience. Since 2002, Dr. Ungar has directed the Resilience Research Centre, designing multisite longitudinal research and evaluation projects in collaboration with organizations such as The World Bank, The Red Cross, and national public health agencies. With over $10M in research funding from CIHR, SSHRC and numerous government agencies and foundations, Dr. Ungar’s clinical work and research spans more than a dozen low, middle, and high-income countries, with much of that work focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges. Dr. Ungar has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the subject of resilience and is the author of 15 books for mental health professionals, researchers and parents. These include Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success, a book for adults experiencing stress at work and at home, Working with Children and Youth With Complex Needs, a book for professional counselors, and I Still Love You: Nine Things Troubled Kids Need From Their Parents, an inspiring story of family resilience written for caregivers and educators. His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today’s website.

Education

MSW, McGill University
PhD, Wilfrid Laurier University

Research Interests

• Resilience

• Child and youth mental health

• Social determinants of wellbeing

• Mixed methods

• Grounded Theory

• Cross-cultural innovation in clinical practice and research

• Knowledge mobilization

Notable Awards

Canadian Association of Social Workers National Distinguished Service Award (2012)

Achievements

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

• Past co-chair of the Nova Scotia Mental Health Strategy Advisory Committee

• Executive board member of the American Family Therapy Academy

• Sits on numerous editoral boards

Recruiting Graduate Students Interested In

Graduate students interested in the above topics are welcome to approach Dr. Ungar. For students admitted to Dalhousie at the PhD level, partial funding is available to support research in the area of resilience.

Recent Publications

Scopus ID#: 6604059949
Orcid ID#: 0000-0003-0431-347x

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