Research

Best practices in mental health (PI: Dr. Drapeau)

Professional practice should be informed by science. Because clinicians have little time to devote to reading and analyzing research, different mechanisms need to be put in place in order to facilitate the translation and dissemination of research to practitioners. One such mechanism is practice guidelines. Regulatory bodies in Quebec (e.g., the Order of psychologists of Quebec) produce such guidelines, presumably in order to improve the clinical work of clinicians by educating them about best practices. This project aims to determine if the guidelines produced by regulatory bodies are developed according to best practices in guideline development.

Improved Access To Clinical Practice Guidelines In Canadian Psychology (Drs. Drapeau & Körner)

The issue of guidelines is central to clinical practice, as guidelines are designed to educate psychologists and to improve service delivery. While clinical practice guidelines have become common and widely used in medicine, their use remains marginal in psychology. The guidelines that are available to psychologists are not disseminated in an optimal manner and the quality of these guidelines often remains unknown. Hence, psychologists are left to identify, retrieve, and assess guidelines on their own. An online platform could allow psychologists to access guidelines and additional practice-relevant information more effectively. This research program explores the need for psychologists to develop their own online resource for practice guidelines. More specifically, we examine: what the needs of psychologists are regarding guidelines; what information about available guidelines they consider important for clinical practice; what mechanisms could be put into place to implement and to sustain an online resource for psychologists; and what types of collaborations are needed to ensure that such a resource remains viable. The goal of this research is to set the foundations for a national network of collaborators with an interest in practice guidelines, more specifically in making guidelines and relevant information about evidence-based practice available to psychologists.

Access to psychotherapy in the public system (PI: Dr. Drapeau)

This study is directed by Prof. H. Vasiliadis from the University of Sherbrooke, in collaboration with Professors A. Lesage from the University of Montreal and M. Drapeau from the MPPRG. This CIHR funded project aims to evaluate the different aspects of public funded psychotherapy that will serve as the basis and context for a second study that will evaluate, in real practice, the effectiveness and costs associated with making psychotherapy accessible to all. The project builds on a team approach and on the expertise of key clinical decision makers and researchers in Australia and the UK who participated in the implementation of guidelines that cover psychological treatment in their respective Medicare systems.

Polarization, radicalization and censorship in universities (PIs: Dr. Drapeau, Dr. Körner, et al.)

There is an increasing polarization and radicalization in many North American and European universities. Sadly, this radicalization has hijacked the discourse about equity and diversity, and has led to censorship, deplatforming, and to the cancelling of individuals. Both students and academics report that this censorship negatively impacts the quality of the training that students receive and the quality of the research that is conducted in universities. This project involves conducting a series of surveys into censorship in Canadian universities and so-called radical woke culture, and how it affects the quality of the training students receive. It also aims to examine what constructs are related to openness to others, openness to experience, intellectual curiosity, and to being open to viewpoint diversity. Ultimately, this research aims to design programs to improve and sustain viewpoint diversity and to promote open discussion in universities.

Embracing diversity and genuine dialogue (Dr. Körner et al.)

Openness and appreciation of diversity and challenge varies greatly among university students, and there is a concerning tendency to not just dismiss controversial perspectives but to demean the person who is voicing an idea that conflicts with one’s worldview, identity, or morality. This is detrimental to higher-order learning outcomes that depend on students’ abilities to develop their own perspectives while taking into consideration others’ viewpoints. We are striving to develop and validate interventions that enable genuine dialogue across differences in values, viewpoints, and identities in a way that fosters mutual understanding, respect, trust, and a more cohesive work and learning climate.

Process and Outcome in the Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Major Depression (PI: Dr. Drapeau)

The first aim of these studies was to examine the convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of two newly-developed observer-rated methods we have developed to assess cognitive errors and coping patterns. With these projects, we also seek to examine the processes involved in the treatment of depression using cognitive and behavioural therapies. We aim to determine how therapists use -or should use different therapeutic techniques, tailoring them as needed to each individual patient-, and the effect of this on the success of treatment. These studies are some of the first in-session process studies of cognitive and behaviour therapies (CBT) aiming specifically at documenting and developing new and empirically based intervention guidelines in order to maximize treatment efficacy. Furthermore, these studies will examine other key variables in therapy, including process measures such has the alliance, patient variables such as relationship patterns, and therapist variables such as authoritarian traits.

Secondary Prevention of Melanoma via Skin Self-Examination (PI: Dr. Körner)

Melanoma is the deadliest and fastest growing tumour of the skin, which disproportionately affects younger and middle-aged adults.  It is now the 7th most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada. Melanomas are recognizable and highly curable in early stages, making early detection the most effective measure to reduce mortality. Skin self-examination has been shown to result in earlier diagnosis and reduced mortality risk, but has been underutilized by those at high-risk. The main objective of the current project is to investigate the psychosocial barriers and facilitators (e.g., distress, coping strategies, partner support, physician support) of skin self-examination using on a rigorous and clinically sound methodology. The identification of short and long-term predictors of skin self-examination and an increased understanding of barriers will allow health care professionals to better address patient difficulties in adhering to this life-saving health behaviour. Furthermore, findings will enable the development and evaluation of evidence-based, comprehensive intervention strategies.

Self-help Intervention for Coping with Cancer (PI: Dr. Körner)

In response to rapidly growing health care costs, it is increasingly being recommended that minimal interventions for the treatment of mental and physical conditions be offered before more intensive treatment options are pursued. Patient education and bibliotherapy are low-cost interventions frequently employed as a minimal intervention. Yet, research on the effectiveness of low-intensity interventions such as bibliotherapy is extremely rare in psychosocial oncology. This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of the self-help format of a psychoeducational, cognitive-behavioural coping skills program (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01718574) to enhance self-regulation and wellbeing in cancer patients.

The Couples Coping Project (Co-PIs: Dr. Körner & Danielle Brosseau, PhD Cand.)

When involved in a committed intimate relationship, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has an effect on both the patient and their partner. Dyadic efficacy is a term that captures the process through which couples work together as a unit to cope with a stressful event. To our knowledge, there is no known measure of dyadic efficacy that allows for a greater understanding of how couples work together as a team to cope with cancer. Building on research completed among other health populations, the current study involves designing a tool to measure the extent to which dyadic efficacy is experienced among cancer patients and their intimate partners.

Self-compassion and well-being (PI: Dr. Körner)

While not universally endorsed, the most widely used definition of self-compassion is Dr. Kristin Neff’s conceptualization of the construct as encompassing three bipolar dimensions: a) the presence of self-kindness in contrast to self-judgment; b) a sense of common humanity referring to the recognition that failure and hardship are shared human experiences as opposed to a sense of isolation; and c) mindfulness rather than over-identification with negative thoughts and emotions (Neff, 2003). Self-compassion, typically operationalized as the total score of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003b), has been shown to be related to increased psychological well-being and lower depression in students of the social sciences, users of psychology websites and psychotherapy patients. Our research team is working toward reliable and valid ways of assessing self-compassion, and examining the link between self-compassion and depressive symptomatology. We are also interested in self-compassion as a psychological characteristic that fosters resilience when facing interpersonal, mental, or physical challenges.