Our Team
Clinical committee
Nate Fuks, PhD, MBA.
Dr. Nate Fuks is the Director of The Virginia I. Douglas Centre for Clinical Psychology and Assistant Professor (Clinical) at the Department of Psychology at McGill University. Prior to transferring to the Department of Psychology, Dr. Fuks was the Director of Psychoeducational & Counselling Clinic, Director of Clinical Training in Counselling Psychology, and Assistant Professor at Faculty of Education, Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Prior to completing his PhD in Counselling Psychology at McGill University, Dr. Fuks pursued an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and has established himself in a number of challenging and evolving leadership roles, in both the public and private sector. Dr. Fuks offers service to clients in four languages, and during his career was involved in a variety of international and multi-cultural ventures. Dr. Fuks's industry observations and experiences raised his awareness of the importance of newcomer and minority integration, and inspired his interest and ongoing involvement in research, clinical work, teaching, and community initiatives pertinent to these issues. His research these days revolves mostly around intersecting identities and mental health of LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and refugees.
Irv Binik, PhD.
Dr. Irv Binik’s main research interest is human sexuality and particularly genital pain or genito-pelvic pain penetration disorder. In addition to being a professor of psychology at McGill University, he was the director of the Sex and Couple Therapy Service of the McGill University Health Centre until 2019. Dr. Binik is a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and a diplomate of the American Board of Sexology. He has received several awards including Canadian Psychological Association prize for distinguished contribution to professional psychology (2003), the Masters and Johnson Award for lifetime achievement (2006) and the Mentorship Award (2019) from the Society for Sex Therapy and Research.
Blaine Ditto, PhD.
Dr. Blaine Ditto is the Department Chair in the Department of Psychology at McGill University. His research focuses on stress-related increases and decreases in blood pressure, their psychological and autonomic causes, and effects on health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and vasovagal reactions. One area of particular interest is vasovagal reactions to blood donation as they are strongly related to fear, have an important influence on the medical system by affecting blood supplies, and are theoretically important in showing that stress can lead to large decreases as well as increases in blood pressure.
Coordinating team
Christy Au-Yeung, BA., Program Manager
Christy Au-Yeung is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at McGill. She conducts research on the mechanisms and treatments for overlooked symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorder. In her free time, she likes to be involved in initiatives to share knowledge on mental health and advocating for mental health services for different groups.
Élodie Audet, BA., Program Lead
Élodie Audet is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program at McGill University. She is currently pursuing research examining how environments and social interactions impact the motivational processes behind individuals’ regulation and integration of emotional experiences and how this relates to mental health and may be used in effectively supporting individuals going through difficult periods. She hopes to expand psychological services and evidence-based care to marginalized groups, especially those that have lived through traumatic events, and contribute to the psychological well-being of our communities.
Training committee
Patricia Groleau, PhD.
Dr Patricia Groleau, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and member of the Order of Psychologist of Quebec. She completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at McGill and trained in several clinical settings in Montreal, including the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, the Herzl clinic at the Jewish Hospital and the Sacré-Cœur hospital, where she also worked as a psychologist in the anxiety disorders clinic. She currently works at the Institut Alpha, a clinic specialized in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and is affiliated with the employee assistance program for the Montreal police (SPVM). Dr Groleau has specific interest in operational stress injuries, which has led her to work with members of several police organizations and the Canadian Armed Forces for the last ten years.
Louis-Francis Fortin, M.Ps., Chief of unit.
M. Louis-Francis Fortin has been a clinical psychologist for the past 21 years. He’s started his career working with people involved in traumatic events and car accidents. M. Fortin has been involved with the Montreal police service (SPVM) since 2006. As a psychologist and chief of unit, his work consists of managing a team of psychologists counselling, psychotherapy, crisis intervention, safeguarding high risk unit and participating in prevention programs. He’s been working with police organizations at a national and international level to help in prevention program implementation. The Montreal police service employee’s assistance (PAPP*) program has implemented a suicide prevention program that decreased the suicide rate by 79% and has been recognize by the World Health Organization as a model in suicide prevention.
Steve Geoffrion, PhD.
Dr Steve Geoffrion is an associate professor at the School of Psychoeducation of the Université de Montréal and co-director of the Trauma Studies Center of the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal. A psychoeducator, he has worked for over 12 years in the field of youth protection, both as an intervener and manager. He has specialized in intervention with youth and families who have experienced trauma and has been studying trauma-related disorders in the workplace for over 15 years. His research program aims to improve the prevention of traumatic events and, in a second phase, to support the implementation of evidence-based practices for the management of workers exposed to traumatic events.
Delphine Collin-Vézina, PhD.
Dr. Delphine Collin-Vézina is the Director of the Centre for Research on Children and Families at McGill University, a licensed clinical psychologist, a Full Professor at the McGill School of Social Work and an Associate Member in the Department of Pediatrics. She held the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare from 2008-2018 and is now holding the Nicolas Steinmetz and Gilles Julien Chair in Community Social Pediatrics. She has established the research group on Social Responses to Complex Trauma (SR/CT) at McGill University and has received a SSHRC Partnership grant to expand this work and establish the Canadian Consortium on Child Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (2020-2027). She was recently awarded the 2020 CPA Traumatic Stress Section Award for Excellence in Psychology.
Her program of research seeks to better understand the impact of adverse and traumatic life events in the lives of children and youth, as well as their experiences with services geared towards them. She aims to promote and implement social responses which are better suited to meet the needs of this often marginalized population and their families.
Sabina Sarin, PhD.
Dr. Sabina Sarin is a licensed clinical psychologist and supervisor, yoga/ mindfulness/ authentic movement teacher, and somatic experiencing practitioner (specializing in childhood trauma, gender violence and traumatic stress). She completed her formal education in clinical psychology and gender studies at the universities of McGill (BSc, Ph.D.) and Yale (MS., MPhil), and her informal education through spiritual practices, world travel and international non-profit work (e.g., with child brides, underprivileged children, and survivors of sexual trafficking). After completing her Master’s, she worked in the Mood Disorders and Psychological Trauma Program at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, and following her Ph.D., as a Clinical Psychologist in the Eating Disorder Unit of the Douglas Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University. Over the past two years, she has been employed as a clinical supervisor and lecturer in the Anxiety Disorders Program and Sex and Couples Therapy Program at the MUHC, where she has focussed on educating students on somatic (embodied) methods for treating trauma. After spending almost 15 years working in the public sector (with teaching hospitals), and with other community based clinics, developing experience in researching and treating trauma, sexual and relationship difficulties, eating disorders, and mood disorders, she decided to open her own practice. She has since devoted herself to the practice of psychotherapy and other healing practices (e.g., body work, reiki, dance, mindfulness meditation), attempting to weave both western and eastern, mind and body practices into the work that she does. In addition to working with individuals, couples and groups on a therapeutic level, Sabina continues to teach classes, and community based workshops on the application of spiritual, movement, and body based therapies for stress management, particularly in the face of individual and collective traumas.
Mélanie Poitras, Ph.D.(c)., Ps.éd.
A psychoeducator by training and a clinician for over 15 years, Mélanie Poitras is currently completing her doctorate in psychoeducation. Her clinical specializations are intervention with criminalized populations, multicultural intervention and intervention with people with mental health problems. She is particularly interested in best practices in intervention related to specific individual adjustment difficulties, 2nd and 3rd wave cognitive behavioral approaches and engagement in intervention. Her second line of interest is the transmission of knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills as well as the development of the professional identity of practitioners from different disciplines, from initial training to continuing education. She works on knowledge transfer both in Canada and in Haiti where she has been working for 7 years as a professor at the State University of Haiti and as a clinician with a polytraumatized population presenting several problems and adaptation difficulties. After several years of practice in psycho-education in the context of international development in Haiti and with people who have experienced various potentially traumatic situations, she specialized in post-trauma intervention in order to better respond to the needs. For almost 5 years, she has been a member of the team of trainers and interveners of the Centre for the Study of Trauma.
Dasha Sandra, MSc.
Dasha Sandra received her MSc in neuroscience from McGill University, researching various topics in health and social psychology. Her projects focus on the placebo effects associated with personalised medicine, developing effective behavioural interventions to reduce negative habits (e.g., smartphone use), and testing the mechanisms of action in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Given her Ukrainian heritage, Dasha is closely following the war and is co-chairing the Mental Health Task Force initiative from the Ukrainian Congress Canada. She is hoping to help refugees settling in Quebec receive care and support after escaping the horrible crisis.
Darya Naumova, MD (Resident in Psychiatry)
Dr. Naumova was born and raised in Ukraine, at first in South-East city of Zaporizhia and then in the capital Kyiv. She immigrated to Canada in pursuit of educational opportunities and went on to complete medical school at McGill University. She is now a first-year resident in psychiatry at McGill University. For the last four years, Darya has been doing research and advocacy work in the field of migrant health, focusing on issues such as access to healthcare and language barriers. She is also an active member of the Canadian Ukrainian community, serving as the Vice President of the Montreal Branch of the Ukrainian National Federation. Since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, under the patronage of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) she formed a Montreal Ukrainian Mental Health Task Force which she is co-leading with Dasha Sandra. The Task Force’s goal is to organize, centralize, and share mental health resources for recent arrivals in Montreal and Quebec. This initiative combines Darya’s expertise in migrant health, current training in mental health, and personal in the Ukrainian community.
Ira Polak Veronneau, ATPQ
Ira Polak Veronneau, MSW, ATPQ, is a social worker and art therapist who specialises in trauma and humanitarian aid after natural and human-made disasters. Since 2006, she was involved in several humanitarian missions, in Sri Lanka, Haiti, Sierra Leone and recently Moldova and Ukraine as protection specialist and program consultant. As a social worker, Ms. Polak Veronneau has been involved in the field of youth protection, first as youth worker and then as manager. She provided psychosocial support to youth and adults who experienced trauma, loss, and the hardships of immigration. In Haiti, she launched a holistic community center that provided recreational activities, academic and psychosocial support for those affected by the 2010 earthquake. In 2022 Ms. Polak Veronneau, participated in two humanitarian missions in Chisinau and Odessa. She offered psychological first aid and trauma-informed care training for teachers, mental health professionals, and volunteers who directly work with Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. Additionally, she co-led groups of Ukrainian mothers, providing them with psychological support and psychoeducation on trauma and stress response.
Support groups & activities committee
Elliot Kravitz, MD
As a resource within the McGill Initiative for Ukrainian Aid, classes in Taoist Tai Chi are offered to assist in the journey to heal and recover from personal manifestations of recent traumatic events. These gentle, harmonious movements are designed to help rebalance and integrate the physical and emotional aspects of life. Through gentle practice, people will begin to reconnect and synchronize their actions and thoughts to begin to return to their initial balance. These classes will be conducted by Dr. Elliot Kravitz, who is a retired McGill Professor of Medicine, with experience in acute trauma due to past work with ICRC, UNHCR, UNICEF, SCF(uk) and CPAR. He brings a lifelong interest in bridging western and eastern medicines to these classes with certifications in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Nanjing) and in the Taoist arts (through 40 years of training and instructing Chi Kung through Taoist Tai Chi). No language requirements are needed as the form and movements can be transmitted visually.
Ira Polak Veronneau, ATPQ
Ira Polak Veronneau, MSW, ATPQ, is a social worker and art therapist who specialises in trauma and humanitarian aid after natural and human-made disasters. Since 2006, she was involved in several humanitarian missions, in Sri Lanka, Haiti, Sierra Leone and recently Moldova and Ukraine as protection specialist and program consultant. As a social worker, Ms. Polak Veronneau has been involved in the field of youth protection, first as youth worker and then as manager. She provided psychosocial support to youth and adults who experienced trauma, loss, and the hardships of immigration. In Haiti, she launched a holistic community center that provided recreational activities, academic and psychosocial support for those affected by the 2010 earthquake. In 2022 Ms. Polak Veronneau, participated in two humanitarian missions in Chisinau and Odessa. She offered psychological first aid and trauma-informed care training for teachers, mental health professionals, and volunteers who directly work with Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. Additionally, she co-led groups of Ukrainian mothers, providing them with psychological support and psychoeducation on trauma and stress response.
Sabina Sarin, PhD.
Dr. Sabina Sarin is a licensed clinical psychologist and supervisor, yoga/ mindfulness/ authentic movement teacher, and somatic experiencing practitioner (specializing in childhood trauma, gender violence and traumatic stress). She completed her formal education in clinical psychology and gender studies at the universities of McGill (BSc, Ph.D.) and Yale (MS., MPhil), and her informal education through spiritual practices, world travel and international non-profit work (e.g., with child brides, underprivileged children, and survivors of sexual trafficking). After completing her Master’s, she worked in the Mood Disorders and Psychological Trauma Program at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, and following her Ph.D., as a Clinical Psychologist in the Eating Disorder Unit of the Douglas Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University. Over the past two years, she has been employed as a clinical supervisor and lecturer in the Anxiety Disorders Program and Sex and Couples Therapy Program at the MUHC, where she has focussed on educating students on somatic (embodied) methods for treating trauma. After spending almost 15 years working in the public sector (with teaching hospitals), and with other community based clinics, developing experience in researching and treating trauma, sexual and relationship difficulties, eating disorders, and mood disorders, she decided to open her own practice. She has since devoted herself to the practice of psychotherapy and other healing practices (e.g., body work, reiki, dance, mindfulness meditation), attempting to weave both western and eastern, mind and body practices into the work that she does. In addition to working with individuals, couples and groups on a therapeutic level, Sabina continues to teach classes, and community based workshops on the application of spiritual, movement, and body based therapies for stress management, particularly in the face of individual and collective traumas.
Anne Vrana, BA Applied Human Sciences.
Anne Vrana, BA, Applied Human Sciences, is an educator, certified grief counselor and advocate in the field of Mental Health and Wellness. She worked from 2001 – 2018 for the Lester B. Pearson School Board as educator and community Life animator. Within the school board she created mental health awareness campaigns at a time when youth were exhibiting ever increasing signs of anxiety and depression partly due to social media. The campaign consisted of in-class mental health presentations, guest speakers and an increase in counseling opportunities with mental health specialists. She also created an annual mental health art exhibit which features artwork from students and members of the community suffering from mental health issues. During that time Anne worked closely with at-risk youth and children with trauma where visual arts and dialogue were the main method of communication. Anne has led multiple humanitarian trips to South America and Northern Africa, and has been involved with Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and other organizations. Anne sits on the board of directors of Friends for Mental Health, volunteers at the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care residence and continues her work with mental health awareness through the arts.
Corinne Sejourne, BA
Corinne is a clinical psychology PhD student and certified yoga instructor with specialized training in trauma-informed practice. Both through her psychology research and through yoga teaching, she seeks to understand and support individuals coping with various forms of stress. Her work especially focuses on the mind-body connection and caregiving populations. She is committed to promoting accessible, research-informed mental health care, and she has been teaching community-based yoga classes since 2015.