Research

Indigenous Mental Health & Well-Being

Dr. Fontaine’s primary research program focuses on Indigenous mental health and well-being. Broadly, her work seeks to understand factors that shape Indigenous wellness so that this knowledge can inform mental health care. Students in the All Our Relations Lab are actively involved across these areas of research.

One stream of this work uses quantitative survey methods to examine factors associated with Indigenous wellbeing, with a focus on historical, cultural, social, and psychological factors. Complementary projects draw on archival and qualitative approaches to explore Indigenous understandings and experiences of wellness. Current projects include examining spirituality, culture, and wellbeing among residential school Survivors through analyzing testimony they provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada, and interviewing Indigenous language knowledge holders about words, phrases, and concepts related to mental and emotional well-being.

Dr. Fontaine is also involved in community-based and applied research. Through the PRIME X Community initiative, she collaborates with the Canadian Mental Health Association on My Path Forward, a youth-led project in which Indigenous youth are co-developing mental health promotion initiatives for Indigenous youth.

Ultimately, a major goal of this research program is to help inform the development and evaluation of culturally grounded mental health services and interventions. Dr. Fontaine is particularly interested in developing group-based clinical services for Indigenous women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, with the long-term goal of expanding this work into other areas of Indigenous mental health care.

Reconciliation, Solidarity, & Social Justice

Dr. Fontaine’s research is guided by the recognition that individual and societal well-being are deeply interconnected. As such, much of her previous work has focused on social justice, intergroup relations, solidarity, and reconciliation. She has been a long-time collaborator on the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer Project, a multidisciplinary research program that measures and tracks progress toward reconciliation in Canada.

Program Development & Evaluation

Dr. Fontaine also conducts applied research aimed at improving mental health care and service delivery. Her work in perinatal mental health includes developing and evaluating group-based interventions for pregnant people and new mothers experiencing depression, as well as research focused on understanding the needs of parents whose infants require care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She also collaborates on the evaluation of a trauma-informed care curriculum for medical learners.

Across these areas, Dr. Fontaine uses quantitative, qualitative, community-based, and archival methods, with an overarching interest in translating research into improvements in mental health services, education, and community well-being.