Engin Sezen
I have been teaching since 1994 in various educational settings, including high schools and universities in Turkey and Canada. Before I came to Canada in 2001, I was pursuing my doctoral studies in Literature and Language in Turkey. Years later, I earned my PhD in Human Relationships: Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy at Martin Luther University College. In my dissertation, I researched the relationships between mental health and attending faith-based group activities among Muslim immigrants to Canada.
Prior to joining Luther, I worked for Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs as a language specialist and cultural advisor. In 2015-2016, as a faculty lecturer at McGill University in Montreal, I taught Turkish Language and Literature.
Since 2005, I have initiated various social and cultural activities, including founding the intercultural and interfaith dialogue institutions in Ottawa and Waterloo Region; organizing and managing school and language institutes; and publishing a community newspaper (The Circle), which has a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
Personal website: TheCRCL.ca
My research in general explores the significance of faith and spirituality in diverse educational, organizational, and business settings. I focus on how faith affects the lives of individuals and groups from psychological, spiritual, and social aspects. In my community mental health research, I study newcomers’ acculturation stress during their integration into the broader Canadian society.
I am currently working on the role of religious conversations (Sohbets) in Canadian Muslims’ psychological and spiritual well-being.
Having a strong language and literature background, I also develop programs and conduct research about faith-based bibliotherapy, especially integrating Eastern literature into psychotherapeutic modalities.
- Ottawa Carleton Queensway Community Health Centre Community Developer Award (2006)
- Sesquicentennial Canada’s 150 Birthday Citizenship Award. (2017)
- Sezen, Engin, What are the Sohbet experiences: Turkish Canadian Men in Ontario (Ph.D., 2019).
- Sezen, Engin, Analyzing the Earliest Writings of Fethullah Gulen Under the Influence of 1960s Islamic Magazines (M.A., 2014).
- Sezen, Engin, “Irtika Mecmuasi” (M.A., 1996).
- Canadian Diversity, Multiculturalism and Interculturalism
- Group Therapy
- Sufism, Spiritual care and Islamic Counselling
- Bibliotherapy: Literature and Mental Health