About

Karima Joy, MSW, RSW, PhD

I have been working in mental health since 2006, specializing in grief and bereavement since 2008. I am driven to contribute at micro and macro levels, on the ground with people in private practice and addressing systemic issues through research, education, and advocacy. 

My PhD, from the Dalla School of Public Health, University of Toronto, focussed on how bereavement experiences are accommodated for workers in precarious employment. In 2020, I was approached to develop the Grief Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Continuing & Professional Learning, University of Toronto. In 2022, I was nominated to become a member of the International Working Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement where I now work with scholars and practitioners around the world.

Aside from work, I love wood fires, cozy spaces, traveling, horizon views, human connection, soul friends, family dance parties, nature walks, and creative projects - especially with my daughter. Inspired by her, I wrote a children’s book called Fierce Franci: A Guide to Tending your Sacred Flame.