Kafui Sawyer

Doctoral Candidate (Clinical Psychology), School of Psychology University of Ottawa

Kafui Sawyer is a Registered Psychotherapist, Executive Director at the Joy Health and Research Centre, and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She is the President of Psychology Students for Systemic Transformation at the University of Ottawa.

Nationally, Kafui has worked as a Trauma Consultant for Health Canada and an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Consultant for McGill University. She is the Founder of the Black Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association and Co-Founder of the Black, Indigenous, and Racialized People Psychology Web.

Her work centres on advancing culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and equitable mental health systems through research, leadership, and community collaboration. Her research focuses on the intergenerational trauma among Black families in Canada and pathways toward healing and prevention. Kafui’s work strongly aligns with the principles of the Scarborough Charter through its commitment to anti-Black racism, institutional transformation, community engagement, and Black flourishing within higher education and mental health systems.