Featured Speakers

A substantial body of research highlights differences in cognitive performance between bilinguals and monolinguals across various cognitive domains. Within the realm of executive function, some studies have shown a bilingual advantage, whereby bilinguals outperform monolinguals in both speed and accuracy, although other studies have shown no such group differences. In language tasks, by contrast, monolinguals typically exhibit superior performance compared to bilinguals. These effects of bilingualism appear to be more pronounced in older compared to younger adults, possibly because the former are at the height of their cognitive abilities, and the effects of bilingualism are thus more difficult to detect. Here I will present findings from behavioural and event-related potential studies of bilingual older adults, as well as findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), that shed light on potential differences in cognitive and neural processing associated with bilingualism. These findings offer valuable clues for refining our understanding of the “bilingualism effect”, emphasizing individual-level factors such as language background and usage patterns. The findings also hold clinical relevance, and I will discuss our preliminary work in developing tools for assessment of language function in bilingual older adults.

Vanessa Taler's research interests focus on semantic and cognitive processing in cognitively healthy older adults, as well as people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). She also studies language and cognitive processing in bilinguals and uses ERP and behavioral techniques to study these questions. Dr. Taler is also the Ottawa site principal investigator for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), a large, national, long-term study of 50,000 people aged 45-85, and the head of the CLSA Psychological Health Working Group.

Psychologists of color are not immune to experiences of racism, and Black psychologists in Western contexts must routinely confront racism in their everyday lives. Anti-Black racism is experienced in multiple forms, which includes individual acts of racism (both overt and covert) and institutional racism, whereby racist outcomes are observed in the workplace despite putative race-neutral policies. This presentation will help participants better understand challenges facing Black psychologists, in terms of racial stressors and psychological correlates, and how they can be supported in their roles. Using real life examples, this presentation will discuss racism in clinical and academic settings. It will describe the common sequalae of ongoing racism, e.g. racial stress and trauma, which often meets clinical criteria for PTSD. Also discussed will be the shortcomings of workplace supports that may actually exacerbate racial stress and trauma when they fail to help navigate or resolve racism on the job (e.g., HR, human rights officers, ombudsmen, etc). The presentation will discuss how to deal with microaggressions in different contexts, based on one’s relationship to the perpetrator. It will conclude with a discussion of functional coping strategies, routes to empowerment, and the Imperative of self-care.

Dr. Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified clinical psychologist and Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities at the University of Ottawa. Her work focuses on mental health in communities of color, psychopathology research, and interventions to reduce racism. Dr. Williams has published over 150 scientific articles, primarily on obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma, and cultural issues. Dr. Williams has served on the board of directors of several organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - Main Line chapter, NAMI Louisville, the Delaware Valley Association of Black Psychologists, the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and currently the Source Research Foundation. She was the Diversity Delegate to the APA State Leadership Conference for the Kentucky Psychological Association two years in a row. She is currently a member of the International OCD Foundation (Scientific Advisory Board, Diversity Council), Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (Academic Training & Education Standards Committee), the Canadian Psychological Association (Accreditation Panel), and the American Psychological Association (APA). Her work has been featured in major media outlets, including CTV, CNN and the New York Times.

Most of us reason and make decisions every day based on what we read in a first or second language (e.g., reading a social media post and deciding whether to like or share; reading application materials and deciding who to hire for a job). Major research areas within the cognitive and neural sciences separately illuminate the cognitive mechanisms of reading (e.g., decoding words, sentences, and discourse) and thinking (e.g., inferencing, reasoning, decision making). However, surprisingly little work leverages the theoretical and empirical power of both to study the full range of cognitive processes that allow us to transform what we read into goal­-driven decision outcomes. I collectively refer to this global cognitive and neurocognitive capacity as Reading-To-Think. In this talk, I selectively review research from my lab that begins to address how multilingual adults read-to-think in their first and second language. These could include: multi­sentence texts that require inferencing and decision making (logical, mentalizing, and ironic inferences); and multi­sentence texts that require moral reasoning and decision making.

Dr. Debra Titone is a cognitive psychologist known for her research on bilingualism and multilingualism. She is currently a Professor of Psychology and a chair holder of Canada Research in Language & Multilingualism at McGill University. Dr. Titone received her B.A., with honors in Psychology from New York University. She subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the Binghamton University in 1995.

Dr. Titone's research program at McGill explores how people read, write, listen, and speak languages, possible advantages of bilingualism, and how the processing of multiple languages is different from monolingualism. Her work has aimed to characterize the diversity of language experiences that people have and how this diversity reflects the human brain's capacity for language.

Housing First is a recognized evidence-based approach to ending chronic homelessness. Despite the effectiveness of the approach demonstrated through extent research that includes a large Canadian multi-city trial known at At Home / Chez Soi Demonstration project (Aubry et al., 2014), chronic homelessness continues to rise in Canada.  The presentation will provide an analysis of the research on Housing First as a mental health intervention based on the criteria of ideal mental health interventions as defined by Bond and his colleagues (2010). The review of research will also highlight the contributions of community-clinical psychologists in the development of Housing First and their potential role in future program and policy development (Aubry et al., 2022).

Tim Aubry, Ph.D., C. Psych., CE, is a Full Professor in the School of Psychology and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services at the University of Ottawa. His areas of research include community mental health services, homelessness, and Housing First.

Throughout his career, Dr. Aubry has collaborated on research projects with community organizations and government, contributing to the development of social and health programs and policies. He was a Member of the National Research Team and the Co-Lead of the Moncton site in the At Home / Chez Soi Demonstration Project on Housing First of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Canadian Housing First Network - Community of Interest.

Dr. Aubry was the holder of the Faculty of Social Sciences Chair on Community Mental Health and Homelessness at the University of Ottawa (2011-2020).  In 2013, he received the Contribution to Evaluation in Canada award from the Canadian Evaluation Society.

Dr. Aubry is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27 of the American Psychological Association). He teaches graduate courses at the University of Ottawa in community psychology and program evaluation.

This talk will introduce the concept of cultural safety in the context of neuropsychological practice in Canada.  Indigenous people in Canada experience profound health inequalities, perpetuated and maintained in part by institutions that prioritize Western ways of knowing. These institutions include the systems in which Canadian neuropsychologists are trained and in which they practice. Unsurprisingly, Indigenous knowledge keepers, elders, scholars, psychologists, and clients have shared how conventional approaches to assessment may be harmful (if not oppressive) to Indigenous people. We will review these criticisms, including discussion of positivistic “brain-behaviour” relationships. We will then present the practice of cultural safety, which extends beyond cultural sensitivity (understanding the role and importance of the culture of the client) and cultural competence (the ability to provide psychological services in ways that are culturally sensitive and relevant to the client) as a possible response. Cultural safety considers the historic context of healthcare in Canada, ongoing systemic racism, and seeks to empower the client in relation to the psychologist. At their core, culturally safe approaches emphasize understanding power imbalances and the context of colonization as factors limiting clinical effectiveness with Indigenous clients. In this presentation, we will invite attendees to consider ways to equalize power between the neuropsychologist and client, and offer suggestions based on study, literature, and experience.

Dr. Reagan Gale
Reagan was born on the traditional territory of the Serpent River First Nation and the Huron Robinson Treaty in Northeastern, Ontario, and is a graduate of the University of Windsor. She has had a practice in neuropsychology since 2012. Reagan has been a member of the council of the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) since 2017, and is currently serving her second term as council president. In addition to her work with CAP, she is the founding (past) President of the Psychological Society of Yukon (PSY) and an observer on the Board of the Canadian Academy Psychologists in Disability Assessment (CAPDA). She is certified in medicolegal expertise through the Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators and as a Designated Capacity Assessor in Ontario. In 2021, she was appointed Public Guardian and Trustee for Yukon Territory, where she lived and worked for a decade before returning to Ontario. Reagan has an active assessment-based private practice seeing clients across Alberta, Ontario, and the three territories.

Dr. David Danto
I am the Dean, Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University and a clinical psychologist. I was the Chair of the Section for Indigenous Psychology for several years. I Chaired the Canadian Psychological Association Task Force on Responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report and the CPA's Standing Committee on Reconciliation. My scholarly and clinical interests focus on health, community, and human rights, with particular emphasis on Indigenous wellness and culture-based approaches to addressing intergenerational trauma in local and global contexts. I am involved in allyship and reconciliation efforts within academic and healthcare contexts. Clinically, I have worked in psychiatric hospitals, counselling centers, private practice, and prisons in Canada and the United States.

In 2019, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry released their final report, along with 231 Calls for Justice. According to a report card completed by a CBC analyst in June 2023, a dismal number of these calls have been answered or even addressed. With colonialism being at the root of violence towards Indigenous women, they are three times more likely to experience sexual assault than non-Indigenous women. There is an urgent need for services that support their health and wellness. The calls for justice highlight the importance of these services being Indigenous-centered, community-based, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate. In response to these calls, an Indigenous women’s healing from sexual trauma circle was developed by, with, and for Indigenous women. Drawing on the results of an Indigenous-led program evaluation, this presentation will review the wisdom shared by the women who attended this healing circle. Included within this discussion will be their definition of cultural safety and what is needed from non-Indigenous service providers and agencies.

Gwendolyn Villebrun (she/her) is Dene/Métis, a member of K'atl'odeeche Dene First Nation,  Northwest Territories. She is an Assistant Professor in the counselling psychology program in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. Gwendolyn has been a registered

psychologist since 2005, serving predominately First Nations, those impacted by the Indian

Residential Schools, and children who have experienced abuse. Her research interests are the

mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous women, particularly in the areas of infertility,

childlessness, caregiving, and sexual violence. Gwendolyn is also interested in historical/intergenerational trauma, multicultural counselling, Indigenous psychology, and

cultural/traditional approaches to wellness.

Persistent emotional and behavioural problems (e.g., outbursts, hyperactivity, aggression) are common in children with autism and are the strongest developmental risk factors for later mental health challenges and adulthood adversity.
Clinicians have started to use socioemotional interventions such as adapted cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to address emotion regulation and social skill challenges in autistic children. Adapted CBT programs can target multiple underlying mechanisms that contribute to the progression mental health challenges (e.g., anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders). I will present findings from ongoing work in my lab investigating the effectiveness of an adapted CBT intervention called the Secret Agent Society Small Group Program. This highly adaptable program is an espionage-themed, 10-week, therapist-led intervention that helps autistic children and their caregivers learn new skills in social problem solving, developing positive relationships, recognizing emotions, and expressing them in helpful ways. This work is conducted in partnership with service providers in community-based settings, and families of autistic children. We hope that it will help children “crack the code” of emotion regulation and social interactions, as well as provide a better understanding of how to continue supporting their emotional growth.

Dr. Vivian Lee is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. Her research program includes investigating factors that contribute to building positive emotion regulation and social skills in autistic children and youth, as well as evaluating community-based programs that support family wellbeing. Dr. Lee works closely with the autism community and has co-designed numerous research projects with autism-focused advocacy groups including Autism Ontario and the Canadian Autism Alliance, as well as autistic children, youth, advocates, and their families. Dr. Lee completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology at McMaster University, and was a postdoctoral fellow with the DDMH Lab at York University and is a member of the McMaster Autism Research Team at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster's Children's Hospital.

This interactive presentation asks where the field of school psychology within Canada "is at" and where it might be headed, in terms of addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) report. First, Dennis Wendt will discuss some broad trends in terms of attempts towards "Indigenization" of Canadian school psychology. He will discuss particular challenges and opportunities facing the field in light of new CPA accreditation standards—in particular, a new foundational competency called "Indigenous interculturalism." Next, Melanie Nelson will discuss ethical, relational, conceptual, and practical considerations in regards to assessment—a core practice of school psychologists that has done considerable harm to Indigenous communities. She will present a decolonizing framework for consideration while participants reflect on where their own practice "is going."

Dr. Melanie Nelson
Dr. Melanie Nelson is a proud Samahquam (St'at'imc) woman presently residing and working on the unceded lands of the Musqueam People. As an Assistant Professor in the School and Applied Child Psychology program, her work challenges clinicians and the profession of psychology to adopt a more responsive approach when dealing with Indigenous populations. Dr. Nelson's research focuses on the experiences of Indigenous caregivers within Western systems, including the assessment and diagnosis process, despite the absence of the construct of disability in traditional thought. Additionally, she investigates how Indigenous youth identify and access support for mental health and wellness in schools and their communities.

Dr. Dennis Wendt
For the past 12 years, Prof. Wendt has collaborated with Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States in exploring, developing, and evaluating culturally relevant interventions pertaining to mental health, substance use, and community wellness. The author of over 35 peer-reviewed publications, Prof. Wendt is the recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Early Career Contributions in Qualitative Inquiry Award and the 2016 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Qualitative Inquiry, both from the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. His current research is funded by the the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Quebec-Atlantic Node of the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM), and the McGill Faculty of Education. He collaborates with researchers from Harvard University, University of Washington, University of New Mexico, Université de Montréal, University of Calgary, Dalhousie University, Concordia University, University of New Brunswick, and Lakehead University, as well as with nine First Nations or Indigenous organizations in Canada and two American Indian Tribes.

The effect of nature exposure and immersion on health, mental health and well-being has been extensively studied in environmental psychology and other fields. A review of the literature clearly indicates a positive impact of nature. Many theoretical models and empirical studies have been proposed to explain this positive relationship, but fewer have considered potential moderators. Is this positive impact of nature on well-being universal? Can everyone benefit from nature exposure and immersion? Recent theoretical and empirical research shows the need for a closer examination of moderators, such as individuals’ motivation to interact with nature, in order to better understand the relationship between nature and well-being and integrate nature immersion in health and mental health promotion and reduce ecological anxiety.

Dr. Frederick Grouzet is Associate Professor of Social Psychology and Director of UVic Centre for Youth and Society (CFYS). His research focus on motivation and self-regulation, mainly applied to psychological, social, and ecological well-being. While using mainly quantitative methods, Dr. Grouzet has recently engaged in more community-engaged and Indigenous research, using various qualitative approaches. He has presented his research in national and international conferences, published in the most prestigious scientific journals, and co-edited the book "Self-regulation and autonomy: Social and developmental dimensions of human conduct." His research has been funded by SSHRC grants, community agencies and local governments. He has been the Section Chair for Environmental Psychology (2005-2008) and Personality & Social Psychology (2015-2018), and served on CPA committees, such as Scientific Affairs and Convention committee.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is one model that is practiced in all three modalities of individual, couple and family therapy. The interventions are consistent across all modalities and are guided by the attachment perspective and focused on the active processing and regulation of emotion. Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is an attachment-based approach that combines both systemic and experiential interventions to mend broken bonds and heal fractured families. EFFT offers a practical approach to engaging emotional experience within a family and targets the distress that blocks family members from accessing the necessary resources for growth and connection. Through the power of transforming emotional experience, a family is able to heal injuries and gain resilience to face the everyday and unexpected challenges of life. This presentation offers an overview of key EFFT elements and practices used to increase emotion regulation and corrective experiences in family relationships.

James Furrow
James Furrow, Ph.D., is leader and contributor to the practice of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with couples and families. Together with EFT originator, Dr. Susan Johnson, Jim co-authored Emotionally Focused Family Therapy; Becoming an EFT Therapist: The Workbook and The EFT Casebook. He is also co-authored Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for Dummies, a practical resource for couples and therapists seeking an everyday understanding of EFT principles and practices. Formerly Jim served as the Evelyn and Frank Freed Professor of Marital and Family Therapy at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, where he trained psychologists and marital and family and conducted research on adolescent risk and resilience. He is a clinical fellow and an approved supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a member of the National Council on Family Relations, and a Certified Family Life Educator.  He co-founded the Los Angeles Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy and board member of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).

Gail Palmer (RSW, RMFT)
Gail is an ICEEFT certified therapist, supervisor and trainer and educates mental health professionals in EFT worldwide. She holds a Masters degree in Social Work and is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist in Canada. Gail is Co-Director of the International Center of Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and one of the Founding Members of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute. Gail has a particular interest in applying the EFT model with work with families. For over twenty years, Gail has been one of the lead EFT trainers who have developed and expanded on Sue Johnson's EFFT method and is co-author of the seminal 2018 text, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy: Restoring Connection and Promoting Resilience and Becoming an Emotionally Focused Therapist: The Workbook.  Gail has presented on Emotionally Focused Family Therapy internationally, has published several chapters and articles on EFFT and has been involved as a supervisor in EFFT research. Professionally, Gail's primary passion is to help therapists who are both new to EFT and trained in EFT, to bring the powerful interventions and skills of this model to the family therapy room.

Individuals living with chronic and catastrophic diseases face significant challenges including acute and chronic pain, difficulties with medication adherence, and anxiety. Psychological interventions are often effective in targeting these difficulties. However, access to such interventions is limited due to barriers such as cost, geographical distance, and lack of trained providers. Digital health interventions, including the use of electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth), have the potential to address barriers to care and improve access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions. In this presentation, Dr. Alberts will provide an overview of her recent research aimed at improving behavioural health and psychological outcomes among youth and adults who have been impacted by chronic and catastrophic diseases via the use of innovative digital health interventions. Particular attention will be paid to those on-treatment or surviving childhood cancer as well as to youth with sickle cell disease. The application of user-centered design to the development of effective digital health interventions targeting specific problem areas will also be explored. Future directions for advancing behavioural health and psychological outcomes across the lifespan using engaging and sustainable digital health interventions will be discussed.

Dr. Nicole Alberts is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Behavioural Health Intervention at Concordia University in Montréal. Following her graduate and post-graduate training at the University of Regina and the University of Washington School of Medicine respectively, she joined the Department of Psychology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN as an Assistant Member and Attending Psychologist. In 2020, she joined the Department of Psychology at Concordia.

Dr. Alberts has established herself as an expert in pain and childhood cancer as well as in the use of digital health interventions among medical populations. She has been recognized through a variety of awards and honours including the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Career Development Award, and the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology Early Career Investigator Award. To date, her scholarly work has resulted in 49 publications, 3 book chapters, and 10 invited talks.

Dr. Alberts' research program aims to improve behavioural health and psychological outcomes among individuals across the lifespan - with an emphasis on those diagnosed with catastrophic and chronic diseases. She also leverages digital health approaches to answer key research questions and to develop and test innovative interventions targeting pain and psychological outcomes.