President (Term: 2022-2025)

I have been interested in anxiety and cognitive-behaviour therapy since my undergraduate days. When I was applying to graduate school experts in CBT were scarce and scattered across Canada. I was fortunate to land in the lab of Dr. David A. Clark who studied with Jack Rachman at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and did a post-doc with Aaron T. Beck at the then-new Centre for Cognitive Therapy. I was very fortunate to complete my Residency under the supervision of Dr. Martin Antony at the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction (then known as the Clark Institute of Psychiatry) and had the opportunity to join Dr. Zindel Segal and his team down the hall at the Cognitive Therapy Unit for rounds and research talks, in which the early studies on the use of mindfulness to prevent depressive relapse were first being conducted. For the past three decades my own program of research has been directed at understanding the development and persistence of obsessions and compulsions, as well as aspects of anxiety, such as attentional biases to threat. As a committed scientist-practitioner I have always provided treatment services, and my research has informed my treatment, and what I learn through conducting treatment heavily informs my research. Since my arrival at the University of Waterloo in 1997 I have taught our graduate course in CBT. It has been most edifying to watch CBT grow from an intervention viewed with great skepticism to one of the most widely accepted therapies in the world. This is in no small part to the highly talented people in Canada who study and practice CBT. I am a huge fan of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and am proud to serve as President-Elect.

President Elect (Term: 2023-2026)

Dr. Christine Korol is a registered psychologist and the Founder/Director of the Vancouver Anxiety Centre. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and a psychologist in the Department of Psychology at BC Children's Hospital.  Dr. Korol has a particular interest in the use of technology and mental health. She trains other professionals in digital health as well as lecturing and training doctoral students on this topic at Simon Fraser University, UBC and University of Victoria.

Past President (Term: 2021-2024)

Dr. Jacquie Cohen (she/her) is the Provincial Leader of Education and Training for the Mental Health and Addictions Program at Nova Scotia Health. She leads a team of Advanced Practice Leads who provide clinical training and consultation to mental health clinicians throughout the province. Prior to this role, she co-founded and co-led the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Treatment Program then worked as an Advanced Practice Leader, developing a stepped care model for BPD treatment and training clinicians throughout Nova Scotia in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and good psychiatric management for BPD. She is the former Director of Training of the Halifax Clinical Psychology Residency Program and a past Board Member of the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs. Dr. Cohen is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and a Clinical Associate with the Dalhousie Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She is certified in CBT by CACBT and in DBT by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification^TM.

A founding member of CACBT, Dr. Cohen has been involved in certification for many years. She joined the Certification Committee in 2016 and acted as Certification Chair from 2017 to 2021. In 2019, she co-authored the National Guidelines for Training in CBT. As President, she is especially keen to further CACBT’s commitments to improving the availability of and access to cognitive-behavioural interventions that are anti-racist and that have been adapted for people from groups that have been historically, persistently, and/or systematically marginalized.

Secretary Treasurer (Term: 2023-2026)

Dr. Andrea S. Piotrowski, CPsych, is the WRHA (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority) Regional Medical Specialty Lead for Clinical Health Psychology. She is a clinical psychologist with the Clinical Health Psychology Program, Director of the Adult Assessment Team, and an Assistant Professor in the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She supervises residents and early career psychologists and teaches students in medicine. Dr. Piotrowski received her Master’s degree in experimental psychology and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Manitoba. She completed her residency in neuropsychology at Yale University. Dr. Piotrowski also sees clients in private practice.

Dr. Piotrowski has served in a number of leadership roles. She was Chair of the Council of Professional Associations of Psychologists and the Practice Directorate of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), as well as a board member of CPA (2011-2018). She has also been on the board of the Manitoba Psychological Society as Student Director (2003-2005), Communications Director (2008-2010), President (2010-2012; 2014-2018), Past-President (2018-2019), and Director-at-Large (2019-2021). She is excited about her involvement with establishing a MPS Mentorship Program for students and psychologists. Her book, Translating training into leadership: The reasons psychologists make effective leaders (Momentum Publishing), was released in February, 2018. 

Certification Chair (Term: 2022-2025)

Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych. is a professor in the psychology department at Simon Fraser University (SFU), a registered psychologist, and president of the DBT Centre of Vancouver. Dr. Chapman completed his undergraduate degree at U.B.C., his M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Idaho State University (APA accredited), and his predoctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center. After completing a two-year post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington, he joined the faculty at SFU in 2005, where he established the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory. His research focuses on complex psychopathology such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), emotion regulation problems, self-injury, and related areas. Dr. Chapman has received several grants (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, among others) for translational and treatment outcome research. Recently, he was Co-PI for a large, multi-site randomized trial to date comparing a briefer (6-month) versus standard (12-month) length of DBT for suicidal or self-harming individuals with BPD. He has authored/co-authored over 100 refereed journal articles/book chapters and 11 books. Dr. Chapman has received the Young Investigator’s Award of the National Alliance for BPD (2007), the Canadian Psychological Association’s Early Career Scientist Practitioner Award (2011), a Career Investigator Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and a Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence (at SFU). Dr. Chapman is a member of the CIHR College of Reviewers and a fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Canadian Association for Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CACBT). He co-founded the DBT Centre of Vancouver, a treatment centre emphasizing the care of people with complex mental health problems, from an evidence-based CBT and DBT perspective. Dr. Chapman greatly enjoys teaching and training clinicians and students in effective treatments for complex clinical problems. He has many years of experience training and consulting for multi-year projects to implement DBT across large correctional and community mental health systems. He also is board certified in both cognitive behavioural therapy (CACBT) and DBT (Linehan Board of Certification and Accreditation), serves on the test-writing committee for DBT certification, and is incoming certification chair (beginning Sept. 2021) for the CACBT. Outside of work, Dr. Chapman has extensive experience practicing and teaching martial arts and mindfulness. He also loves to spend time outside (hiking, trail running, swimming in nearby lakes), read (actual books/novels), consume chocolate, cheese, and red wine, and spend time with his wonderful family.

Membership Chair (Term: 2021-2024)

Jelani Adams is the Founder and Clinical Director of Thrive CBT, a group counselling practice based out of Whitby, ON.  He is a registered social worker in Ontario and has been working in the mental health field for over 10 years.  Jelani has been a certified member with CACBT since 2017.  He is also a Diplomate and Certified CBT Therapist with the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (ACBT) in the United States.

Jelani’s areas of clinical focus include depression, anxiety disorders, stress management, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

In addition to his duties with Thrive CBT, Jelani works as a consultant for TeleCBT Inc., an online platform that specializes in CBT. Along with providing psychotherapy for clients, Jelani has helped to develop and facilitate training and mentorship for family physicians and graduate students learning CBT.

Jelani obtained his Master’s in Social Work (MSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University.  He completed his Bachelor’s in Psychology (B.Sc. Hons.) at York University.  He also holds a certificate in rehabilitation services from York University & Seneca College.  Jelani is passionate about continuing education and regularly participates in professional development to stay up-to-date on best practices in psychotherapy.

Chair of Communications and Advocacy (Term: 2021- 2024)

Dr. Jessica Dere is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, at the University of Toronto Scarborough, in the Department of Psychology and the Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science. She teaches a variety of undergraduate courses with a mental health focus and provides clinical supervision to clinical psychology graduate students. Her area of expertise and scholarship is in culture and mental health, and her training as a cultural-clinical psychologist informs all aspects of her teaching, research, and clinical practice. She is interested in the integration of evidence-based and culturally-informed practice, with the view that evidence-based practice must ultimately be able to serve clients of all backgrounds and identities. Dr. Dere obtained a master’s degree in Cultural Psychiatry from McGill University before completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Concordia University. She completed her pre-doctoral residency in the Calgary Clinical Psychology Residency program and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Social Aetiology of Mental Illness training program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Dere maintains a small private practice as a part-time associate at the Cognitive and Interpersonal Therapy Centre in Toronto. She was also a founding student member of CACBT.

Member-at-Large (Term: 2023-2026)

Dr. Rob Ferguson is a clinical psychologist and Co-Director of Oakville Centre for Cognitive Therapy (OCCT), a large private practice in Oakville, Ontario. At OCCT, Rob provides cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) to adolescents, adults, and couples for a wide range of presenting issues. He has a particular interest in the treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and self-esteem issues. Rob also supervises numerous senior clinical psychology PhD/PsyD candidates and those in supervised practice with The College of Psychologists of Ontario. Rob completed his graduate studies at University of Windsor where he received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He completed his pre-doctoral residency at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. Professionally, Rob has an interest in business aspects of psychology and in being a part of the broader psychology and CBT community. Rob is a founding member of CACBT and CACBT-certified in the provision of CBT.

Member-at-Large (Francophone Relations) (Term: 2023-2026)

Dr. Jean-Philippe Gagné is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University and a Staff Psychologist at the Centre for CBT Research, Training, and Intervention of the McGill University Health Centre. Dr. Gagné practices CBT for a wide range of mental and physical health problems, conducts CBT suitability assessments, supervises trainees, teaches at all levels of training, and engages in research activities. His current research interests centre upon finding ways to improve the effectiveness and acceptability of CBT and exposure therapy. He obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Adam Radomsky, where he held a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for his research on anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. He also completed specialized research and clinical training in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders at McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School) and, in the context of his predoctoral residency, at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (McMaster University). Dr. Gagné has been an active member of the Communications and Advocacy Committee of CACBT since 2015 and has previously been Chair of the Section for Students in Psychology of the Canadian Psychological Association. Within these two leadership roles, Dr. Gagné has advocated for equitable opportunities for francophone clinicians and students from coast to coast by creating new initiatives for them. As a registered psychologist in Quebec and Ontario, Dr. Gagné also maintains a private practice as a part-time associate at the Mindful Living Centre.

Student Affiliate Representative (Term: 2022-2025)

Dalainey H. Drakes is a PhD clinical psychology student in the Cognition and Anxiety Disorders Research Lab at the University of Ottawa. Dalainey received her BA First Class Honours from St. Francis Xavier University with a special concentration in Forensic Psychology and recently completed her MSc. in Experimental Psychology, Health and Wellness stream from Memorial University. Dalainey was awarded the Honour of Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies in recognition of her scholastic achievement and exemplary merit as well as a Canada Graduate Scholarship in support of her doctoral research program. Dalainey brings experience conducting health psychology and clinical epidemiological research working with diverse groups across the lifespan throughout her various roles contributing to the Anxiety and Illness Behaviour Lab, Psychology of Pandemics Network, Cannabis Health Evaluation Research Partnership, Anxiety Research & Treatment Lab, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She strives to promote patient-centred research while contributing to multidisciplinary studies to support targeted health interventions that improve overall wellbeing. Her interests relate to the impact of comorbid anxiety and depressive-related disorders on the symptom severity of chronic health and pain conditions. Dalainey brings a passion for advocacy across her leadership roles in the community by placing student interest, development, equity, diversity, and inclusion at heart.

Officer: Representative to the WCCBT (2023-2026)

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Executive Director

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