Creating a better future for communities through research

Joanna Ochocka, Executive Director

Ph.D. in Sociology from Silesian University, Poland, (1987)
joanna@communitybasedresearch.ca; Tel: (519) 741-1318 ext. 222

Joanna Ochocka has been Director of CCBR since 1996. She is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at University of Waterloo and in the MA and PhD program in Community Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Joanna is one of the leaders in the use of the participatory action research approach, and she practices research as a tool for social change. She was a recipient of Award for Teaching Excellence for 2005 at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Research and Action Interests

Joanna's research and action has focused on community mental health for people with serious mental health issues, on cultural diversity and immigration issues and on community supports for marginalized populations. Many of the research projects she has led include multi-phases and complex partnerships. She is the author of 40 academic articles and co-author of the book: "Shifting the paradigm in community mental health."

Recent Projects

CURA Director: Community University Research Alliance: Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health

  • A five year multidisciplinary and mixed-method research study to explore, pilot, develop and evaluate community mental health services and supports to be effective for people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Includes a large evaluation component.

Research Advisor: Spark of Brilliance

  • A program evaluation study of a local community initiative that uses art in mental health recovery.

For a full listing, please search 'Joanna' in our projects directory.

Selected Publications

Ochocka, J. & Janzen R. (in press). Blending commitment, passion and structure: Engaging cultural linguistic communities in collaborative research. In A. Williamson & R. DeSouza (Eds.) Researching with Communities. Wairua Press. Waitakere City, New Zealand.

Ochocka, J., Nelson, G., Janzen, R. & Trainor, J. (2006). A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives: Part 3- A qualitative study of impacts of participation on new members. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(3), 273-283.

Full publication listing.

Other Interests

Joanna loves the outdoors. She is a mountaineer (the Himalayas five times), a skier, sailor and hiker. Joanna and her family love to travel to diverse places around the world: Cambodia, Peru, Cuba, Europe and Algonquin Park being among recent adventures. But home in Waterloo is where they are most content, where they play tennis and basketball, and enjoy foreign films at the Princess Cinema.