Headshot of Akua Kwarko-Fosu.

Akua Kwarko-Fosu, MA

PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 2

Research Interests: Mindfulness and self-compassion among refugees and asylum claimants

Biography: Akua is a doctoral student in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Throughout her academic journey, she participated in several projects examining community belonging, resettlement and mental well-being. She explored how young people’s mental well-being was impacted by their experiences of settlement, racism and/or racialization. Her doctoral research focuses on developing a mindfulness-based intervention with and for asylum-claimants in collaboration with the Welcome Haven project, a community-based psychosocial support program.

Akua has completed a practicum at the McGill Psychoeducational and Counselling clinic. She will be starting a practicum at Milestone Clinic in September 2025. She looks forward to practicing as a clinician upon completing the doctoral program.

Supervisors: Dr. Bassam El-Khoury & Rachel Kronick, M.D.

  • MA Counselling Psychology (Project Stream), McGill, 2024

    MA Recreation and Leisure Studies (Thesis), University of Waterloo, 2022

    BA Honours Psychology and Therapeutic Recreation (Co-op Program), 2019

  • Malaket, M., Salam, Z., Regyal, P., Del Real, F., Fakhri, R., Alzaghoul, A., Senaratne, N., Satti, A., Elejla, S., Kwarko-Fosu, A., Mezdaoui, S., & Kronick, R. (2025) Co-construire un havre d’accueil en temps d’incertitude: Un récit de pratique d’ateliers de groupe auprès de familles et personnes en demande d’asile au Québec. Submitted to Travail social, Numéro « Regards sur les situations des personnes immigrantes à statut précaire au Canada ».

    Mariamo, A., Martin-Storey, A., Kwarko-Fosu, A. T., & Temcheff, C. E. (2024). Prospective psychosocial predictors of sexting: A systematic review. Manuscript submitted for publication. Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Kwarko-Fosu, A. T., & Lopez, K. J. (2022). “It’s the small stuff you can’t see”: Stories of mental wellness, community, and leisure told by new arrivants of colour to a mid-sized, South-Western Ontario city. Leisure/Loisir, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2022.2159863

  • Kasprzyk, A., Kwarko-Fosu, A., & Khoury, B. (2025, June). Gender minority stress, mindfulness, rumination, and mental health outcomes: A moderated mediation among transgender and gender diverse adults [Poster presentation]. International Conference on Mindfulness-Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, China.

    Kwarko-Fosu, A., Kasprzyk, A., Dias Martins, C., & Khoury, B. (2025, June). Depression as a moderator of mindfulness in couples and sexual satisfaction among adults in committed relationships [Poster presentation]. International Conference on Mindfulness-Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, China.

    Kwarko-Fosu, A., & Lopez, K. J. (2025, June). The false narrative of Canadian multiculturalism: Racialized realities and the caveat of immigration [Snapshot presentation]. Canadian Psychological Association Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.

    Dias Martins, C., Kasprzyk, A., Kwarko-Fosu, A., & Khoury, B. (2025, June). Sexual satisfaction as a mediator on mindfulness in couples & relationship satisfaction [Poster presentation]. Canadian Psychological Association Convention, St. John’s, NL, Canada.

    Kwarko-Fosu, A. T., Sinacore, A., Mariamo, A., Lavigne, R.-M., Martin-Storey, A., & Temcheff, C.E. (2024, June). Adolescent girls' knowledge of and attitudes towards sexting through focus groups in Montreal [Poster presentation]. Canadian Psychological Association Convention, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

    Mariamo, A., Martin-Storey, A., Kwarko-Fosu, A. & Temcheff, C.E. (2024, May). Prospective Psychosocial Predictors of Sexting: A Systematic Review [Poster presentation]. Life History Research Society Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada.

    Kwarko-Fosu, A. T. (2019, April). New Canadian Stories of Mental Wellness, Leisure and Community in Kitchener-Waterloo. Symposium presented at the Graduate Leisure Research Symposium, Waterloo, ON, Canada.

  • Funding: 

    • Canada Graduate Scholarships – Doctoral, SSHRC, 2025-2028, $120,000

    • PhD Graduate Excellence Fellowship, 2024-2025, $6,000

    • Walter & Mary Marsh Fellowship, McGill University, 2022, $5,125

    • University of Waterloo Graduate Scholarship, 2021, $2,000


    • President’s Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo, 2021, $1,667


    • Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s, SSHRC, 2020, $17,500


    • Lyle S. Hallman Graduate Research Scholarship, 2019, $3,334

    Awards: 

    • Graduate Excellence Award, McGill University, 2022, $5,000

    • Graduate Excellence Recruitment Award, 2024-2025, $10,000

    • Increasing capacity for Maternal and Paediatric Clinical Trials (IMPaCT) Training Award, 2025-2026, $35,000

    • Graduate Enrolment Driven Incentive Award, 2024-2025, $1,500

    • Anti-Black Racism Graduate Award, 2022, $2,500

    • Applied Health Science Graduate Experience Award, 2019-2021, $10,800

    • Recreation and Leisure Studies Alumni Scholarship Award, 2019, $1,000

  • Email: nana.kwarko-fosu@mail.mcgill.ca