Qualification Profile

Experienced Registered Clinical and Organizational Psychologist with an Executive MBA and over 17 years of leadership across clinical, organizational, and entrepreneurial settings. Founder and Principal of Level Up Wellness Group, leading strategic growth, multidisciplinary team development, and evidence-informed innovation in mental health service delivery. Proven success driving organizational change and operational excellence across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Experience in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and optimizing team effectiveness within complex systems.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Certifications & Courses

Psychometric Testing Tools

As a Registered Psychologist, I can use a majority of "C" psychometric testing tools. Experience with psychoeducational/behavioral/personality assessments, ie:

Additional Assessments: Adult Attachment Interview, Strange Situation, Preschool Assessment of Attachment, Child Attachment Interview.

Forensic & Risk Assessment: Knowledge of Forensic population and risk Assessment, specifically adolescent, young adults and families: Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY), PCL-R, PCL-YV, HCR-20, ERASOR, VRSO and a variety of parenting assessment screens/diagnostic tools.

Specialized Training:

• Specialized training in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) from toddlers to adulthood.
• Specialized training in the administration and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) via the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS) - Training by Dr. Adom McCrimmon: University of Calgary.
• Advanced training in ADHD assessments across the lifespan.

Proprietary Courses Instructed

Professional Affiliations & Mentorship

Education

Understanding how individuals behave in a variety of organizational settings, social, group, and multi-cultural factors that influence an individual's behavior. Focus on business and industry, human behavior at work, and employee-management relationships. Emphasis on the psychology of leadership, application of social and organizational principles to personnel and human resource management. Methods for accelerating employees' and organizational growth and development through consulting, change management, and coaching principles. Construction, analysis, and interpretation of psychological tests to measure learning outcomes.

Published Dissertation: What situational and individual factors influence women's decision-making in seeking senior leadership positions?

Investigate advanced business acumen, strategy, corporate finance, marketing, and financial management. Strong emphasis on leadership, human resources, change management, and organizational behavior. In-depth analyses of leadership abilities in various venues, such as individual, group, and coaching. Understanding personal leadership style and identifying areas of improvement using MBTI.

Organizational Management Project (OMP): What Strategies Can Organizations Employ to Increase Brand Awareness, Loyalty, Perception, and Equity?

Investigating theoretical considerations and assessment of psychoanalytic and developmental issues and inter-family relationships. Focused on contemporary issues and methods in developmental psychology and attachment research. Year-long weekly observations of infants, toddlers, and children.

Professional Experience

• Provide leadership development and mental health courses to various members of the public.
• Responsible for delivering over 100 workshops across Canada and adjust content based upon the needs of the participants.
• Develop and design courses and presentations for members of the public based upon needs and requests on knowledge gaps.

• Provide leadership development courses to various members of the public.
• Develop and design courses and presentations for members of the public based on needs and requests on knowledge gaps.
• Provide consultation, leadership development to various organizations.
• Work with underperforming teams to transform policies, culture, climate, and systems to enhance team performance.
• Provide coaching to clients based upon the coaching psychologist framework.
• Supervision of provisional psychologists in the areas of psychoeducational assessments, ASD, ADHD, OCD and differential diagnosis.
• Supervision and mentorship to provisional psychologists and other mental health therapist in the areas of ASD, OCD, GAD, ADHD and other DSM-5 diagnosis.
• Requested expert speaker in the areas of psychological safety, burnout, women in leadership, teaming etc.
• Specialization and in-home family assessment, diagnosis and treatment in the areas of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety disorder (GAD) for youth and parents.
• Specialization with children, teens, and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety.
• Provide psychoeducational assessment and international adoption assessments.
• Provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment for various mental health diagnoses such as: cognitive, beahvioral and emotional struggles with specific training in ADHD, OCD, ASD, BFRB, and phobias.

• Facilitate leadership development for Alberta Health Services (AHS). This includes EQI-2, change management, coaching, situational leadership, and other modalities to enhance leadership development and achievement of key performance indicators.
• Assigned highly conflictual and politically sensitive professional groups to navigate and work towards team resolution and effective functioning at the request of the Senior Operating Officer of Talent Development.
• Assess, diagnosis, and develop intervention strategies to support leadership growth and team effectiveness. Including all levels of leadership from front line leaders, senior operations and medical leadership.
• Coach, mentor, and support various leadership teams to achieve team effectiveness. Includes all levels of leadership, from senior executive staff to front line supervisors.
• Provide support and facilitation of highly complex and contentious problem-solving discussions with the goal to move towards an agreed upon resolution/outcome.
• Support women within various leadership positions to understand gender biases and stereotypes within healthcare environment.
• Facilitate and lead organizational professional development to increase leadership capacity and effectiveness.
• Identify gaps within organizational behavior and policies to decrease the divide between Alberta Health Services and various physician groups.
• Develop course materials to deliver to teams and leaders based upon needs.
• Support various team members with respect to their own client assignments, acting as a mentor.
• Teach various courses and curriculum in an open learning session to various leaders to help with leadership growth and development.

• Develop and implement province wide change initiatives with executive teams, with exclusive responsibility within CancerControl Alberta. Provide strategies to address toxic environments.
• Consultant to the senior executive and executive team to support transformational change and culture shift for CancerControl Alberta. Redevelopment of vision, communication strategy, and stakeholder engagement.
• Led key redevelopment initiatives within recruitment cycle, joint-workforce planning, workload analysis, culture assessments, and organization redesign and engagement.
• Work with various stakeholders (executives, middle management, academic and clinical medical leads, front line staff etc.) to assess and identify areas of change and improvement. Focus upon quality improvement, change management, and assurance from the patient perspective.
• Use various change management practices to align project work to increase transformational change. Successfully led and increased participation of resistant stakeholder. Core emphasis around relationship building.
• Provide senior leadership support and facilitation of communication regarding various business changes. Led a team to develop a province wide visioning day and development.
• Redevelop business processes and ensure engagement of entire administrative workforce. Implementing a balance scorecard approach, including business process, human resources, end-to-end recruitment, engagement, and staff/contractor effectiveness.
• Assist with redevelopment of HR process with respect to selection and recruitment of administrative staff, specialists, and sub-specialty physicians.
• Partnered with Chief Operating Officer and Senior Medical Director on physician workforce engagement to gather qualitative and quantitative data for physician Time in Motion Study.
• Assist human resources and leadership with various highly conflictual personnel issues.
• Assist executive team in reassigning priority to strategic deliverable and targets.
• Provide consultation and coaching to management regarding best practices surrounding workforce issues such as culture, performance management, leadership development, change management, and recruitment of medical and professional staff.
• Assess and develop educational materials with respective to clinical educational processes that are in alignment with CPSA, AHS, and CCA.

• Develop and implement province wide change initiatives, with exclusive responsibility within the Edmonton zone. Accountable for ensuring all 5000+ ambulatory clinics are aware of the provincial policy regarding Wait-time Measurement and Management (WTMM) within the province and Edmonton region.
• Increase awareness of corporate policy, which follows suit to Alberta Health and National Guidelines.
• Work with various stakeholders (executives, middle management, academic and clinical medical leads, front line staff etc.) to assess and identify areas of improvement in adherence to the policy. Focus upon quality improvement and assurance from the patient perspective.
• Use various change management practices to align project work to increase enterprise change management. Core emphasis around relationship building, collaboration, and networking.
• Identify current and future state environments ranging from IT, change management, project management, and resource implications to the government and AHS.
• Work with various medical section heads to develop and plan a project life cycle to enhance patient care delivery with respect to wait-time measurement and management.
• Facilitate and instruct team organizational learning through predeveloped curriculum.

• Developed clinical programming in collaboration with senior management and staff for a 19-bed facility with various clinical/therapeutic needs according to accreditation standards.
• Provided consultation and training for supervisors/management and front-line staff in adherence with best practices.
• Liaised with stakeholders to ensure quality assurance, quality improvement, and licensing requirements.
• Developed and led team facilitation and clinical training.
• Assisted with developing structure, standards, and protocols according to evidence-based practices.
• Acted as a liason between management and staff to increase employee satisfaction and increase retention.
• Assisted with developing organizational governance and practices.

• Provided mental health assessments on children, youth, and families. Work with transgendered, high-risk teens who have been subjected to various traumas.
• Provided professional consultation and support to other professionals in remote areas.
• Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of mental health disorders in youth.
• Provided consultation to psychiatrists, pediatricians, and other service providers.
• Liaised with various agencies to develop healthy relationships and continuity of care for high-risk youth and families.
• Reputation for working successfully with highly complex cases, such as dual diagnosis, suicidal, homicidal, significant complex developmental disorders, and multiple diagnoses.
• Liaised with the educational system, children and family services, justice, addictions, and other mental health programs.

• Completed assessments Section 34 and Section 42 under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) for the court. Prepared Intensive Rehabilitation Community Supervision (IRCS) assessments.
• Complete multidisciplinary criminal forensic assessment, psychoeducational and behavioral assessment, and risk assessments.
• Provided supervision and oversaw new psychologists, interns, and students.
• Provided group counselling e.g. High-Risk Relapse Prevention, anger management, substance abuse, creative expressions, and other treatment groups.
• Provided one-to-one therapy on a short-term and long-term basis. Participated and consulted in treatment conferences with psychiatrists, stakeholders, and other team members.
• Completed various risk assessments on patients.
• Assisted program development and implementation, including developing and leading program operations and supervision of students and interns.

• Assisted in legal assessments, family/criminal/civil litigation with senior psychologists, including adults/families and youth and other Level C assessments.
• Psychological screening/assessments, including cognitive, parenting, behavioral, neuropsychological screens, psychoeducational assessments, custody and access assessment (Practice Note 7).
• Provided individual counselling to young people using a variety of modalities such as play therapy, behavioural/cognitive-based approaches, EMDR, and solution-focused.
• Developed professional workshops for mental health professionals regarding adolescent Self-Injurious (SI) behaviors, FASD, behavioral modification, and parenting and associated organizational workshops pertaining to human resources, recruitment, and retention.
• Qualified by the courts as an expert in parenting assessments.
• Engaged in relationship and stakeholder assessment and interfacing. Increasing business revenue, marketing, and relationship and reputation management.

• Undertook intake and risk assessments pertaining to adolescents. Secure Services Certificates and Orders assist with treatment planning, staff development, and educational seminars on various issues. Assist and provide consultation regarding Form 1 and Form 10 orders according to the Mental Health Act (MHA).
• Contributed to accreditation - assisted with the development and implementation of policies and procedures.
• Undertook individual and group therapeutic and psychoeducational therapy.
• Provided coaching and training expertise to supervisors and management regarding programming, structure, and associated organizational demands.
• Clinically supervise and direct youth care staff around treatment, assessment tools, and programming of youth. Provided evaluation and mentoring to decrease critical incidents.

• Oversaw the day-to-day operations of treatment programs. Provided care, assessment, and treatment for youths with high-risk maladaptive behavior/mental/emotional illness within a treatment facility and semi-independent environment.
• Provided crisis intervention, evaluation, and behavior modification.
• Interfaced with community agencies, government agencies, medical professionals, and juvenile court system and families. Promoted positive public relations within the community.
• Executed, oversaw, and carried out daily documentation, case conferences, case management, goal reviews, and treatment plans according to AASCF standards.
• Provided one-to-one counselling services and family counselling.
• Exhibited motivation and dedication by providing the highest quality care to each client and employee.
• Identified, assessed, and evaluated problems and issues arising from maladaptive behaviors and illnesses.
• Monitored, supervised, and evaluated the performance of the assigned program staff.
• Carried out behavior assessments on clients and redesigned two treatment programs. Supervision of 10 treatment homes.

• Led and provided supervisor for a 28-bed facility of inner-city youths/ run-away youths or homeless clients. Facilitated and integrated youths in various programs for integration back into society.
• Provided crisis intervention, evaluation and behavior modification.
• Interfaced with community agencies, government agencies, medical professionals, the juvenile court system and families.
• Executed and carried out daily documentation, case conference, goal reviews and treatment plans according to AASCF standards.
• Provided one-to-one counselling services and family counselling.
• Worked with/assisted youths who have addiction/substance issue problems, prostitution, homelessness and teenage pregnancy.
• Carried out various outreach activities within the community and with discharged clients.

Internships

• University of Alberta: Clinical Services Division (May 2005-Sept 2005): Provide psychoeducatioal/ behavioral assessment on youths in a variety of setting including the education system.
• University College of London (Anna Freud Centre) (Sept 2001-October 2002): Provide psychoanalytical/ therapy and assessment to various families and children ages 0-5 years.

Affiliations & Committees

• Chair: CATCH Clinical Working Group (2011-2013)
• Co-Chair: CATCH Steering Committee
• Chair: Team building: Infant and Preschool Services
• Committee Member: Project improvement measures
• Committee Member: Workplace of Choice
• Committee Member: Safety and Risk Assessment
• Co-Lead: Accreditation 2012-2013

Guest Speaking Engagements

• Child Institute- Edmonton (2021): Lecturer on topics such as: Parenting Stress and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Emerging Health Leaders- Edmonton Node (2019): Contacted by a previous team effectiveness participant to provide a Keynote address on self-care in Healthcare to front-line and middle management leaders, followed by participation in a panel discussion, and plenary breakout sessions for participants.
• Beaumont High School: Presentation to grade 11 and 12 students on the field of psychology and mental health, specifically OCD.
• Women in Dentistry: Partnered with the Royal Bank of Canada to provide a Keynote address on women in leadership, emphasizing burnout in the medical field. Participated in panel discussion.
• Fearless Women's Summit: Provided a Keynote address to 300 women on women in leadership.
• Healthcare Leaders' Summit: Provided a Keynote address to frontline and middle-level leaders on courageous conversations and prevention of burnout.
• Patient & Provider Experience 2017 Summit (2017): At the request of the Associate Edmonton Zone Medical Director and the Facility Medical Director, I ran a plenary session on difficult and courageous conversations for various stakeholders at all levels of leadership. Practical, hands-on tools and assessments were provided to help the participant understand their own strategies for addressing difficult, highly conflictual conversations.

Commissioned Blog & Course Developer

• 2022: Achieve/CTRI-(Blogs): OCD: More than just an adjective; Social Anxiety; Leading Teams
• 2021: Institute of Child Psychology- (Course development): OCD- More than just an adjective; Parent Stress: Don't flip your lid

Workshops, Conferences & CE Credits