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Abstract

Sikhs have experienced verbal and physical violence, including hate crimes and murder (Ahluwalia, 2011; Ahluwalia & Pellettiere, 2010; SALDEF, 2020; United Sikhs, 2019; World Sikh Organization of Canada, 2016), leading to rising mental health issues (Ahluwalia & Alimchandani, 2013; Chavan et al. 2018; Islam et al, 2017; Sikh Family Centre, 2023), making timely access to mental health services critical. Despite good intentions, mental health professionals can discriminate when providing access to psychotherapy upon request (e.g., Kugelmass, 2016; Outadi & Bedi, 2024; Shin et al. 2016). This study examined whether counsellors and psychologists discriminate against Sikhs seeking psychotherapy in Canada. Audit study methodology (Gaddis, 2018) was used with 840 professionals who received emails from fictitious clients, which varied by the religion of the client (Sikh versus Non-Sikh/Christian) and contact location (Low Sikh versus High Sikh proportion). Responses were examined. Intergroup Contact Theory (Allport, 1954) suggests that increased contact with outgroups reduces prejudice and improves relations among outgroups. It was hypothesized that professionals in areas with higher Sikh populations would show less discrimination—measured by more return emails and appointment offers—toward Sikh individuals compared to non-Sikh/Christian individuals. Results did not clearly support Intergroup Contact Theory or suggest widespread discrimination exists towards Sikhs accessing psychotherapy in Canada. These findings offer reassurance to Sikhs pursuing psychotherapy, indicating that they are unlikely to encounter a barrier due to mental health professionals’ discrimination at the initial point of contact. Future research should explore alternative explanatory frameworks in predicting professionals’ discrimination level against Sikhs, especially after initial contact, given that disparities in mental health service access persist in Canada in minoritized populations (Lowe et al., 2024).