Noorfarah Merali, BA (Honours), MSc, Ph.D

Contact

Associate Professor, Faculty of Education - Educational Psychology Dept

Email: nmerali@ualberta.ca
Address: 6-127 Education Centre - North
8730 - 112 St NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2G5

Overview

About

Dr. Noorfarah Merali is a Registered Psychologist with a specialization in Cross-Cultural Counselling and Cross-Cultural Adaptation, including Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health. Dr. Merali is a tenured professor in the Counselling Psychology Graduate Program at the University of Alberta, and is a Faculty Fellow of the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research. She is a practicing psychologist, psychologist educator, and psychological researcher.

Theoretical Orientation:

Dr. Merali utilizes an integrative approach to individual counselling, drawing on evidence-based strategies from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Multicultural Counselling and Therapy (MCT). When working with couples, Dr. Merali integrates the two most effective couples therapy approaches (The Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy) with Family Systems Theory and MCT to respond to variations in family structure, relationships, roles, values, and experiences across cultures and diverse intersecting identities.

Program Leadership:

Dr. Merali served as the Director of Clinical Training for the Doctoral Program in Counselling Psychology Accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association, as well as the Coordinator for all Counselling Psychology Graduate Programs at the University of Alberta for the 5 year period from September 2008 to April 2013, including the Master’s thesis-based, course-based, and School Counselling programs. She has resumed the role of Coordinator and Director for the School Counselling Master’s Program since September 2017.

Areas of Contribution:

Noorfarah has 22 years of combined experience in work and volunteer roles across the community, post-secondary education, health care, government and private sectors in the areas of: (1) Mental Health Service Delivery and Program Leadership, (2) Teaching, Curriculum Design, and Diversity Training, (3) Program Design and Evaluation, (4) Cross-cultural, Community-based, and Immigration Policy Research, (5) Strategic Planning and Advisement, and (6) Graduate Student Supervision. She has been approached by organizations such as the United Nations, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health and Human Resources Development Canada, the Alberta Mental Health Board, and the YWCA for help with projects and programs related to cross-cultural counselling, immigration, refugees, and diversity, or for staff training. Programs she has designed have received recognition from the Canada Council for Refugees and the (national) Minister for the Status of Women as prototypes for excellence in service delivery to culturally diverse communities.

Research

Noorfarah Merali's research interests and publications encompass four intersecting areas: (1) the impact of Canadian immigration policies on migrants’ adjustment and quality of life, (2) cross-cultural individual and family experiences, such as acculturation patterns and the impact of the cultural transition process on immigrant and refugee families and unique challenges that arise in arranged marriages across international borders, (3) immigrant and refugee mental health, and (4) multicultural counselling. Dr. Merali's research program has been funded by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Status of Women Canada, the Prairie Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration, Integration and Diversity, and the Immigration & Intergovernmental Relations Branch of Alberta Advanced Education & Career Development. Dr. Merali has over 50 publications. A few examples of publications on different topics over the years are included in this profile.

Teaching

Courses Taught Over the Years:

EDPY 442 Introduction to Counselling
EDPY 530: Psychopathology and Diagnosis
EDPY 532 Systems of Counselling
EDPY 542 Cross-Cultural Counselling
EDPY 543 Mental Health Assessment
EDPY 544: Principles of Psychological Testing and Assessment
EDPY 550A School Counselling Practicum Part I
EDPY 550B School Counselling Practicum Part II
EDPY 597 A1 Cross-Cultural Research & Practice
EDPY 597 A3 Psychopathology & Diagnosis
EDPY 640 Advanced Diagnostic Assessment
EDPY 903, B1 Project and Capping Exercise in the Course-based Master's Program in Counselling Psychology
EDPY 903 X1 Project and Capping Exercise in the Master's Program in School Counselling

Courses

EDPY 530 - Psychopathology and Diagnosis

This course focuses on assessment of commonly encountered mental disorders across the life span based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The course covers interview-based assessment, diagnostic screening inventories, clinical observation, cross-informant data collection, differential diagnosis, and the role of cultural factors in the assessment and case conceptualization process. Restricted to students in the Counselling Psychology Program. Course pre-requisites: EDPY 533 and EDPY 534 or equivalent. Students in the School and Clinical Child Psychology Master's or Doctoral Program or other Graduate Programs may take this course with consent of the course instructor if they are deemed to possess adequate background preparation and knowledge.

Fall Term 2024

EDPY 550A - School Counselling Practicum

Practicum course consists of a supervised school counselling field placement as well as a clinic-based instructional seminar that focuses on professional and clinical issues related to the practicum experience. Restricted to students enrolled in the School Counselling program.

Fall Term 2024

EDPY 550B - School Counselling Practicum

Practicum course consists of a supervised school counselling field placement as well as a clinic-based instructional seminar that focuses on professional and clinical issues related to the practicum experience. Restricted to students enrolled in the School Counselling program.

Winter Term 2025

EDPY 903 - Directed Research Project

Winter Term 2025

Browse more courses taught by Noorfarah Merali

Featured Publications

South Asian Albertan Men's Understandings of Spousal Violence

Bajwa, J. & Merali, N.

Violence Against Women. 2020 August;

Facilitating economic, psychological, and social acculturation and adaptation: socially just counselling for refugees.

Merali, N.

In N. Arthur (Ed.) Counselling in Cultural Context: Identities and Social Justice. International and Cultural Psychology Book Series. New York, NY: Springer International.. 2019 November;

Pathways for refugees’ descent into homelessness in Edmonton, Alberta: The urgent need for policy and procedural change

St. Arnault, D. & Merali, N.

Journal of International Migration and Integration. 2019 October; doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00652-5

Latino immigrant parents’ experiences raising young children in the absence of extended family networks in Canada: Implications for counselling

Ansion, M. & Merali, N.

Counselling Psychology Quarterly.. 2017 January;

Partner inequities related to immigration fraud in South Asian international arranged marriages.

Merali, N., Bajwa, J., & Yousaf, T.

Journal of International Migration and Integration. 2015 January; 16

Arranged and Forced Marriage