Speakers

Title: From Surviving to Stabilizing: An Introduction to the Finding Solid Ground Program

Bethany Brand, Ph.D. is Psychology Professor Emerit at Towson University. She has over 30 years of clinical and research experience, including training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, George Washington University Hospital, and at Sheppard Pratt Health System’s Trauma Disorders program. Dr. Brand has published over 140 papers focusing on treatment of complex trauma and dissociation (i.e., the TOP DD studies); the assessment of trauma-related dissociation; critiques of the fantasy model of dissociation; training about trauma; and the accuracy of textbooks’ coverage of trauma, among other topics. She is a co-author of Finding Solid Ground: Overcoming Obstacles in Trauma Treatment and The Finding Solid Ground Workbook and author of The Concise Guide to the Assessment and Treatment of Trauma-related Dissociation. In addition to treating patients, Dr. Brand serves as a forensic expert in trauma-related cases including death penalty and death row cases.

Title: Privacy Law, Risk Management, and Professional Liability for Psychologists

Ruba El-Sayegh is a partner in the Advocacy Group of Gowling WLG. Her practice focuses on civil litigation as well as regulatory/administrative law, with an emphasis on health law, medical defence, and professional liability.

Ruba has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Ontario Court of Justice, and Small Claims Court, and she has also appeared as counsel at Coroner's Inquests and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Ruba regularly appears before the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, and she assists physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, and dental hygienists (among other regulated health professionals) with college investigations, professional fitness to practice and disciplinary proceedings, and hospital board proceedings.

Ruba also practises in embassy law, where she serves as outside general counsel to Embassies. In this role, she advises clients on Canadian laws and regulations, diplomatic and consular law, state immunity, and private international law.

Title: AI Ethics in Clinical Psychology: Supporting Ethical Decision-Making in Practice (Keynote Session)

Alexis Fabricius is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. Her research examines the ethical, social, and philosophical implications of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and data-intensive practices across healthcare, clinical care, and research.

Her work spans a broad range of health technologies, including health data linkage, AI-enabled clinical decision-support systems, AI scribes, cloud-based clinical management systems, generative AI, mental health and period-tracking apps, and other forms of digital health technology. While discussions of technology ethics often focus on privacy, consent, and data governance, her research also explores broader ethical questions relating to labour, environmental sustainability, power, politics, and the ways digital technologies reshape healthcare, professional practice, and human relationships.

Although grounded in critical theory and the philosophy of technology, her research is highly applied, offering practical guidance to help researchers and healthcare professionals critically evaluate emerging technologies and engage them in ways that are ethically responsible, socially just, and responsive to the realities of practice. Alexis serves on the Canadian Psychological Association's Committee on Ethics and the Association's AI and Emerging Technologies Management Committee.

Title: Clinical Supervision: The Foundational Ingredient

Carol Falender, Ph.D. is co-author of multiple books on clinical supervision: Clinical Supervision: A Competency-based Approach (2004; second edition, 2021), Getting the Most Out of Clinical Training and Supervision:  A Guide for Practicum Students and Interns (2012) The Essentials of Competency-based Clinical Supervision (2017), co-editor of Casebook for Competency-based Clinical Supervision with Edward Shafranske;  Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision:  A Competency-based Approach (2014) edited with Edward Shafranske and Celia Falicov and Consultation in Psychology:  A Competency-based Approach (2020) with Edward Shafranske.  She has conducted workshops internationally. She received a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association for innovative contributions to the practice of clinical supervision, and in 2018 received the Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association and in 2023, the Distinguished Award for International Advancement of Psychotherapy from Division 29.  She was awarded the Chuck Faltz Lifetime Achievement Award by the California Psychological Association, She was Chair of the Supervision Guidelines Original, 2014, and the Revision Taskforce, 2025) for BEA of APA. 

Title: Suicide Safety Assessment and Management in Clinical Practice

Sophie I. Liljedahl, Ph. D., C. Psych. is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Academy. She serves as Lead, Clinical Research for the National Medical Care Unit for Severe Self-Harm Behaviour at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Sophie completed her doctorate in Clinical Psychology within a scientist-practitioner model of training in a Community Psychology laboratory at the University of Ottawa. This clinical, scientific, and cultural context shaped her professional commitment to working alongside people towards their experience of liberation and well-being. Her research and clinical work focus on developing and evaluating treatments for self-harm and suicide prevention, personality disorders, and emerging evidence-based interventions.

Title: Beyond the Mask: Recognizing Autism in Adults and Implementing Practical Modifications based on Co-Design

Yona Lunsky, PhD, CPsych, FAAIDD, is the Scientific Director of the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Director of the Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities Program (www.hcardd.ca) and a Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), in Toronto, Canada. She is also Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, an Adjunct Scientist at ICES, and a Clinical Psychologist. She has been studying the mental and physical health of adults with developmental disabilities and their families for more than 25 years, and has published over 300 papers on this topic. She works closely with people with developmental disabilities, their families, and clinical providers to identify health care gaps and co-design innovative solutions.

Title: Beyond the Mask: Recognizing Autism in Adults and Implementing Practical Modifications based on Co-Design

Louisa Man, PhD, CPsych (she/her) is a registered clinical psychologist primarily supporting autistic adults through neuroaffirming assessments and co-designed therapy (across Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). She is based at Adult Neurodevelopmental Service and Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Her research focuses on better understanding masking/camouflaging in assessment, as well as co-designed programming with and for autistic adults. 

Title: AI in Mental Health: Navigating the Hype, Hope, and Harms

Marta Maslej, PhD, is a Staff Scientist with The Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics at CAMH and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Toronto. She co-leads the Predictive Care Team, which uses interdisciplinary methods to study impacts of AI on mental health, with a focus on responsible integration and health equity. As part of this work, she uses AI to derive insights from clinical data, with the aim of improving assessment, informing treatment decisions, and identifying and mitigating bias.

Title: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)

Dr. Mikail is a registered psychologist in the province of Ontario and is Board Certified in clinical psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology. He maintains a private practice in Newmarket, Ontario, is a consulting psychologist at the Southdown Institute in East Gwillimbury, Ontario, and holds an appointment as Adjunct Faculty and clinical supervisor at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Mikail has served on the boards of several professional associations, including serving as President of the Canadian Psychological Association (2018-2019). In 2021 he received the award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Profession and in 2025 the John C. Service Member of the Year Award from the Canadian Psychological Association

Topic: AI in Clinical Practice: Navigating Permitted Use and Legal Risk

Sophie Nunnelley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, (Common Law Section) and a member of both the uOttawa Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics and the Centre for Law, Technology and Society. She writes about health and mental health law and policy, focusing on issues relating to legal capacity and decision-making, human rights, and the governance of health-related artificial intelligence. She is a former AMS Fellow in Compassion and Artificial Intelligence, and is part of several interdisciplinary research teams examining the regulation of AI, health, and disability. Nunnelley received her SJD from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Nedelsky, supported by a Vanier Canada Scholarship. She received her LL.M. from Yale University as a Fulbright Scholar. She also practiced law for roughly a decade, including with the Constitutional Law Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General under the McGuinty government. Nunnelley has also argued cases before every level of court including the Supreme court of Canada, and was a law clerk for the Hon. Mr. Justice Gonthier at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Title: Conversation Hour-General State of the Profession

Christine A. Padesky, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and a leading CBT innovator. Along with Kathleen Mooney, PhD she created Strengths-Based CBT which helps clients construct new beliefs and behavioral strategies in order to improve overall functioning and relationships. She has taught more than 500 workshops on 5 continents to over 55,000 therapists. Her teaching has been praised for her integration of theory, empiricism, creativity, audience interaction and practical skills. This is perhaps why her Clinical Tips on YouTube/ChristinePadesky have more than a half million views.

Dr. Padesky is recipient of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies' Most Influential International CBT Therapist award and the California Psychological Association's Distinguished Contribution to Psychology award. In 2007 the Academy of Cognitive Therapy bestowed on her its Lifetime Achievement Award for her enduring contributions to the field. In 2017 the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies awarded her an Honorary Fellowship. Her article, Collaborative Case Conceptualization: Client Knows Best, was chosen as the best 2020 journal article on case conceptualization in a review of 100+ journals by the Journal of Contemporary Psychology.

She is co-author of six books, including Mind Over Mood, 2^nd Edition (www.mindovermood.com). With over 1.3 million copies sold world-wide in 23 languages, Mind Over Mood was named the most influential CBT book of all time by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (BABCP). The companion text, The Clinician’s Guide to CBT Using Mind Over Mood (Padesky, 2020) provides more than 100+ pages of therapist-client dialogues and detailed guidance on use of the client manual in therapy. Her most recent book is Dialogues for Discovery: Improving Psychotherapy’s Effectiveness (Padesky & Kennerley, Eds., Oxford U Press) and shows how use of her four stage model of Socratic Dialogue can help therapists navigate more than 50 common therapist traps.

Currently, she provides online consultation for therapists and mental health clinics worldwide and develops audio CD & DVD therapist training materials (www.padesky.com).

Title: The Unnatural Entrepreneur: 10 Tips for a Successful Life in Private Practice

Randy Paterson (randypaterson.com) is a Vancouver-based psychologist and author (Private Practice Made Simple, The Assertiveness Workbook, How to be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use). He is the director of Changeways Clinic (changeways.com), which began its life as a side-of-desk practice during his time at UBC Hospital and expanded to become one of Vancouver’s largest all-psychologist psychotherapy clinics. He has presented workshops across Canada and in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong on diverse topics including private practice management, communication skills, the failure-to-launch phenomenon, the mechanics of exposure therapy, and evidence-based strategies for the treatment of depression.

Title: Understanding Cognitive Aging: Implications for Psychological Assessment and Treatment

Dr. Jenny Rabin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Toronto, a Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and a registered clinical neuropsychologist. Her work focuses on cognitive aging, women's brain health, and the early detection of neurodegenerative disease.

As Neuropsychology Lead at the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, Dr. Rabin investigates the cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial effects of emerging neuromodulation therapies, including deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Rabin has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and is the recipient of multiple competitive external research grants.

Title: Processing Emotion, Transforming Trauma: Mastering Emotional Processing in Brief and Standard Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD (Master Clinician Session)

Sheila A.M. Rauch, Ph.D., ABPP, is Deputy Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program and Director of Mental Health Research and Program Evaluation at Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center. For over 25 years, Dr. Rauch’s work focuses on developing programs, training providers in effective PTSD treatment, conducting research, and providing PTSD and Anxiety Disorders treatment aiming to improve access to effective mental health treatment. She is an author of the Prolonged Exposure therapy manual and developer of Processing Emotions in Primary Care- a brief and effective PTSD intervention for integrated care settings. She has published over 200 scholarly articles, many chapters, and six books. She is a fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a fellow in the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. 

Title: Quieting the OCD Brain: Metacognitive Strategies & Tactics

Dr. Wilson is a clinical psychologist in Chapel Hill, NC, has spent 40 years in the field of self-help for anxiety disorders and OCD. He directs the free self-help site “anxieties.com.” In 1991 he co-authored with Dr. Edna Foa the first-ever self-help book on exposure and response prevention (ERP), “Stop Obsessing: How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions.” His latest book, released last June, is called “Quiet Your OCD Brain: A Game-Changing Metacognitive Workbook to Defeat Obsessions and Compulsions,” and his current online self-help course is called “OCD and the 6-Moment Game: Strategies and Tactics.” He is a Founding Clinical Fellow of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). In 2014 he received ADAA’s highest service award, and received the 2019 Service Award by the International OCD Foundation. He received the 2025 ADAA Member of Distinction award. He is a founder of CHaOS Rowing, on Jordan Lake, NC.

Title: AI + Mental Health: The Good, The Bad, and the Dangerous

Dr. Rachel Wood holds a PhD in cyberpsychology with expertise at the intersection of AI and mental health. As founder of the AI Mental Health Collective, she cultivates a cross-disciplinary community of clinicians, builders, researchers, and leaders focused on the ethical impacts of AI in society. Her work has been featured in TIME magazine, ABC, Business Insider, CBS, International Business Times, and other prominent platforms. Dr. Wood serves on the American Psychological Association APA Labs AI Advisory Board as well as advising the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. Alongside media contribution based on her research, Dr. Wood is a speaker, workshop facilitator, and advisor.

Drawing from her therapeutic background as a licensed professional counselor, she brings a balanced, centrist approach that holds the paradox of AI's benefits and risks, offering unique insights on artificial intimacy, synthetic relationships, and the future of human connection. Dr. Wood helps navigate technological change with research-informed strategies, translating future realities into accessible concepts and guiding audiences to develop the mental agility needed to thrive amid the uncertainty of today’s rapidly evolving AI technologies. 

Title: Private Practice: Aligning Entrepreneurship with Ethics (Master Clinician Session)

Jeff Zimmerman is a practicing psychologist in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. He has been in practice since 1981. In addition to running and managing a large group practice for 22 years, he is a founder of The Practice Institute (TPI). TPI guides mental health professionals in building ethically responsible thriving practices by helping them learn practice management skills that serve as the foundation for the delivery of clinical services.

Jeff is a frequent presenter on ethical issues related to private practice. He is co-author and co-editor of multiple articles and books on professional practice, including The Ethics of Private Practice (2014). Jeff is also the editor of the journal Practice Innovations.