Lab
Current Research Associates
Dr. Swati Mehta, PhD.
Co-investigator, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation
Email: Swati.Mehta@sjhc.london.on.ca
Swati is a Research Associate who collaborates with the Online Therapy Unit. She has previously received her PhD from Western University in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Swati's research explores improving access to comprehensive mental health services for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) to improve their emotional well-being. Her study will examine the effectiveness and implementation of a guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy course for persons with SCI. Her other interests include examining evidence based practice and knowledge translation among chronic conditions (ex. SCI, brain injury, and chronic pain) population.
Swati is panel member for the Emotional Well-being Workgroup of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Care High Performance Project which aims to standardize performance indicators at Canadian SCI Rehabilitation Centres. Swati is currently serving as the Early Career Officer for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Spinal Cord Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group and a planning committee member for the Canadian National SCI Conference. She has previously been a steering committee member for the recently published first Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for management of Neuropathic Pain after SCI.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2017 | Alice Wilson Award, Royal Society of Canada |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Research Fellowship Top-Up Incentive Award, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation |
| 2017-2019 | Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| 2016 | Lawson Impact Awards: Leadership Award, Lawson Health Research Institute |
| 2014-2017 | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Doctoral Graduate Scholarship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| 2014 | Jonathan Lomas Knowledge Translation Doctoral Research Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| 2013 | Ontario Graduate Scholarship with Distinction, Western University |
| 2012-2016 | Graduate Research Scholarship, Western University |
Dr. Ram Sapkota, PhD.
Senior Research Associate
Email: ram.sapkota@mcgill.ca
Ram is a Senior Research Associate in the Online Therapy Unit in the Department of Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos. He received his PhD in social and cultural psychiatry from McGill University and completed three years of postdoctoral training in the Research Laboratory on Psychological Trauma in the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. He received funding from Global Health Research Capacity Strengthening Program (GHR-CAPS) and Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives (HBHL) Program for his doctoral and postdoctoral training.
Ram's research and publications so far have focused on culture and mental health, trauma and dissociative disorders (esp. dissociative trance and possession phenomena in cultural groups), and political violence and its mental health outcomes in Nepal.
He has interest in broadening his field of inquiry by including other common mental health problems (e.g., event-based depression, adjustment disorder, substance use disorder) as well as cultural concepts of distress, local ways of care and healing, and different forms of culturally responsive psychotherapies via the Internet and mobile-based platforms in his future research and intervention work.
Dr. Christopher Sundstrom, PhD.
Research Associate, University of Regina
Email: christopher.sundstrom@ki.se
Christopher is a Research Associate with the Online Therapy Unit, University of Regina who works under the supervision of Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos. He received his PhD in 2017 from Karolinska Institutet at Department of Clinical Neuroscience in Stockholm, Sweden. He recently spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario under the supervision of Dr John Cunningham. Christopher's research explores new developments in treatment for people with alcohol problems by way of digital interventions. His research here at the University of Regina focuses on examining the effectiveness and implementation of a guided online cognitive behavioural therapy program for persons with alcohol misuse. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Sweden, and his clinical interests include cognitive behavior therapy, behavioral medicine and neuropsychology.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2018 | Research funding, Systembolaget Alcohol Research Council |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Travel funding, Gambling Research Exchange Ontario |
Current Graduate Students
Cynthia Beck, B.A.
Master's Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Regina
Email: Cynthia.Beck@uregina.ca
Cynthia completed a Bachelor of Arts in Honours Psychology at the University of Regina. Her Honours thesis research examined the immediate benefits and user feedback of a newly developed online Motivational Interviewing intervention as a possible adjunct to Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy. Under the supervision of Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos, Cynthia's graduate research includes investigating the mental health needs of the rural and agricultural population. She is also exploring alternative delivery methods and adaptation of ICBT course materials to increase mental health service accessibility for agriculture producers and the rural population.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2019 | Social Science and Humanities Research Council Canadian Graduate Scholarship |
|---|---|
| 2019 | University of Regina Graduate Enhancement Award |
| 2019-2016 | Dean's List, Faculty of Arts, University of Regina |
| 2018 | Academic Silver Scholarship, University of Regina |
Michael Edmonds, M.A.
Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Regina
Email: michael.edmonds@uregina.ca
Michael is a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program. His M.A. thesis research investigated methods for predicting patient response to an internet-delivered therapy program for anxiety and depression. He brings a strong background in computer science to our research team and his research interests lie in continuing to use technology to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health treatments.
After finding that sleep disruption was a common problem reported by past patients of the Online Therapy Unit, Michael's dissertation research project has focused on investigating the role of sleep disruption among patients of the Wellbeing Course, an internet-delivered transdiagnostic program for anxiety and depression. His dissertation project is a randomized-controlled trial investigating whether including a brief intervention for insomnia alongside the existing transdiagnostic program can improve patient outcomes.
In clinical practice, mood, anxiety, and insomnia disorders.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2019-2021 | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award (CGS-D) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Psychology Graduate Entrance Scholarship, University of Regina |
| 2018 | University of Regina Graduate Scholarship |
| 2016-2018 | University of Regina Graduate Research Fellowship |
| 2014-2016 | Dean's List, Arts Faculty, University of Waterloo |
Caeleigh Landry, B.A.
Master's Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Regina
Email: caeleigh.landry@uregina.ca
Caeleigh received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from the University of Regina in 2019. Her thesis examined the impact of uncertainty tolerance and task appraisal on law enforcement students' stress and performance. Her master's research, under the supervision of Drs. Nicholas Carleton and Heather Hadjistavropoulos, will focus on the efficacy of internet-delivered mindfulness-based protocols for Public Safety Personnel. She is also excited to be a part of the PSPNet team to help create effective and accessible mental health resources for Public Safety Personnel. Caeleigh's primary field of interest is the prevention and treatment of mental disorder symptoms in public safety personnel.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2020 | University of Regina Graduate Enhancement Award |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's Program |
| 2018 | Reverend Del Kines/Reverend Len Sullivan Memorial and Reverend Joseph Frey Bursary |
| 2017/18 | Academic Silver Scholarship, University of Regina |
| 2015-17 | Dean's list, University of Regina |
| 2015/16 | Academic Gold Scholarship, University of Regina |
Hugh McCall, M.A.
Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Regina
Email: hugh.c.mccall@gmail.com
Hugh received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of Regina. For his master's thesis, under the supervision of Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos, Hugh conducted a meta-analysis of unguided Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) interventions for depression and anxiety and a meta-regression to determine whether persuasive design elements predict treatment efficacy. Hugh is currently continuing his studies in clinical psychology at the doctoral level, also at the University of Regina and under the supervision of Dr. Hadjistavropoulos. For his doctoral dissertation, he is conducting a randomized trial to examine the impact of discussion forums on outcomes in ICBT for public safety personnel. Hugh's primary research interests include the use of ICBT for treating depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress among public safety personnel and the role of persuasive design in ICBT.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2021 | Enhancement Award, University of Regina |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| 2021 | Student Registration Award, Clinical Section of the Canadian Psychological Association |
| 2021 | Ken Bowers Award, Clinical Section of the Canadian Psychological Association |
| 2020 | Jillings Award for Excellence in Clinical Psychology, University of Regina |
| 2020 | Research Award, PSPNET |
| 2019 | Graduate Travel Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina |
| 2019 | Master's Award, University of Regina |
| 2019 | Student Travel Award, Canadian Psychological Association |
| 2018 | Canadian Graduate Scholarship Master's Award, Social Science and Humanities Research Council |
| 2018 | Enhancement Award, University of Regina |
| 2017 | Quinn Research Assistantship Award, University of British Columbia |
| 2017 | Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference Poster Presentation Award, University of British Columbia |
| 2016-2017 | Dean's List, University of British Columbia |
| 2016 | Admittance to Golden Key International Honour Society |
| 2015 | Recognition for Outstanding GPA, Capilano University |
| 2014 | British Pacific Properties Limited Scholarship, Capilano University |
| 2013-2015 | Dean's List, Capilano University |
Vanessa Peynenburg, M.A.
Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, University of Regina
Email: Vanessa.Peynenburg@uregina.ca
Vanessa completed a Bachelor of Arts in honours psychology at the University of Alberta and recently completed her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina. Her Master's thesis focused on post-secondary students' perceptions of and preferences for internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for the treatment of anxiety and depression. For her PhD research, Vanessa will expand upon the findings of her Master's thesis by conducting a trial on the use of ICBT in a post-secondary population.
Vanessa's clinical interests include student mental health, eating disorders, and autism spectrum disorder.
Awards and Distinctions
| 2019-2021 | Saskatchewan Centre for Patient Oriented Research (SCPOR) Trainee Award |
|---|---|
| 2019 | University of Regina PhD Award |
| 2019 | University of Regina Graduate Scholarship |
| 2018 | University of Regina Graduate Scholarship X2 |
| 2017 | University of Regina Master's Award |
| 2012-2016 | Terry Fox Humanitarian Award |
| 2012-2016 | Dean's Entrance Citation |
| 2016 | Education Abroad Individual Award |
| 2015 | Education Abroad Individual Award |
| 2014 | Indira V. Samarasekera Scholarship in Global Education |
| 2013-2014 | Jason Lang Scholarship |
| 2013 | Queen's Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal |
| 2012 | Max Wyman Scholarship |
| 2012 | Premier Citizenship Award |
| 2012 | Leaders of Tomorrow Award |
Current Honours Students
Sasheen Horse
Honours Student, Psychology, University of Regina
Email: sasheenaaliyah@gmail.com
Sasheen is completing her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree under the supervision of DR. Heather Hadjistavropoulos and Vanessa Peynenburg. Her thesis will focus on and evaluate the use of a motivational interviewing resource as part of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for the treatment of anxiety and depression. Sasheen also works at the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan as a Mental Health Advocate.