Wednesday, October 14, 2026
12:00 to 1:30 p.m. ET | Online
Presented by Viveka Ichikawa, MSW, RSW, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Toronto Metropolitan University

People of mixed heritage may live coexisting realities of racialization, belonging, marginalization, and sometimes conditional proximity to privilege that fixed racial categories cannot fully capture. Grounded in anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work, this webinar examines how monoracism, misracialization, identity denial, and multiracial microaggressions affect the well-being, relationships, and everyday lives of people of mixed heritage. It also introduces narrative-oriented clinical approaches that listen beyond racial labels and invite social workers to encounter people through the fullness of their stories.  

Drawing on case studies and emerging Canadian scholarship, including the presenter’s doctoral research and a forthcoming book chapter,  Mixed Race Identity in Social Work: Theory, Case Studies, and Clinical Practice,  participants will strengthen their capacity to engage in culturally responsive, ethical, and affirming social work praxis with people of mixed heritage.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the diverse and coexisting experiences of racialization, belonging, marginalization, and occasional and conditional proximity to privilege among people of mixed heritage.
• Apply concepts such as monoracism, misracialization, identity denial, and multiracial microaggressions to social work praxis.
• Strengthen reflexive, narrative-oriented praxis that listens beyond racial labels and centres clients’ stories and lived experiences of race.

Presenter Bio:

Viveka Ichikawa (she/her) resides on the traditional land of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, now known as Toronto, Ontario. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a psychotherapist (MSW, RSW). She has been working closely with LGBTQ+ and/or racialized refugee claims, mixed heritage individuals, couples and families. She has supported refugee claimants navigating asylum processes, systemic precarity, and identity-based violence. Her scholarship is grounded in critical, decolonial, critical feminist, and human-rights-based approaches, with a commitment to community-based research, critical clinical praxis, and social justice.

Pricing:

• OASW Members: Free (OASW member ID # required)
• Non-Members: $30 + HST per webinar

NOTE ABOUT REGISTRATION QUESTIONS:
OASW is committed to inclusion and promoting a diverse range of identities, experiences, perspectives, and voices across all areas of the Association. As such, the registration contains some optional questions that are intended to assist us to better understand our social work community and ensure that our work is reflective of the diverse membership of OASW and our profession.

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