Joelleann Forbes

Joelleann (Joelle) Forbes (she/her) is a registered social worker and psychotherapist with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. She is the Co-Founder and President of Hope Leads Mental Health Care, a private practice dedicated to centering the lived experiences of diverse communities across the gender spectrum. Hope Leads Mental Health Care is rooted in anti-racist, intersectional, sex-positive, and anti-oppressive frameworks, offering care that is both affirming and transformative.

Hope Leads Mental Health Care continues to cultivate meaningful partnerships with grassroots organizations, corporate environments, charities, hospitals, community health centres (CHCs), and other community-based spaces—working collaboratively to expand access to culturally responsive mental health care.

Joelle brings years of experience providing psychotherapy and mental health support across a range of settings, including hospitals, CHCs, and private practice. She holds a BA in Bioethics and a Master of Social Work from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Her clinical training includes cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), narrative therapy, and motivational interviewing.

Joelle’s therapeutic approach is grounded in a commitment to community empowerment, compassion, and the recognition of intersectionality and social determinants of health. In addition to her clinical work, Joelle has supervised and mentored master’s-level social work students and peer counsellors within the context of research.

Joelleann is also a published author, having co-authored several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Notable contributions include “Religion, Spirituality, and Counseling Psychology” in the Handbook of Counseling and Counselor Education (2019), and “Black Women’s Resilience: Therapy and Support for Refugee Women” in Africentric Social Work (2021).

Publications:

Forbes, J.R., Curling, D., & Donaldson, S. (2021). Black Women’s Resilience: Therapy and Support for Refugee Women. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric Social Work (pp. 257-283). Fernwood Publishing.

Adamson, K., Maxwell, J., Forbes, J. (2020). Interprofessional guide to documentation in the electronic health record: Leveraging interprofessional care. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. 21, 100387–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2020.100387

Williams, C.C., Forbes, J.R., Placide, K., & Nicol, N. (2020). Religion, hate, love, and advocacy for LGBT human rights in Saint Lucia. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 17(4), 729–740. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00429-x