Alumni

Jennifer (Shin-Pei) Ho is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Counselling Psychology program at McGill University. She received both her B.Sc. in Psychology, and her M.A. in Gender Studies at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan. Her master’s thesis explored the experience of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual clients in counseling at mental health counseling centers in Taiwan. She is pursuing her doctoral research focused on the experiences of non-native English speaking international students in clinical supervision in Canada and the U.S. In addition to her dissertation research, Jennifer is working on her side project pertaining to Taiwanese students’ understandings of gender, sexual orientation, and multiculturalism. Jennifer has received the Jackie Kirk Fellowship for outstanding graduate students in the Faculty of Education at McGill University. Her current research interests include feminist pedagogy, social justice theory, international students, and multicultural clinical supervision.

In terms of clinical training, Jennifer has completed her doctoral practicum at McGill Counselling Services, Concordia Counselling and Psychological Services, and Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (Toronto).  Jennifer is currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at University at Albany, SUNY Counseling and Psychological Services (APA-accredited), where she recently secured a position as a staff psychologist.

Jennifer Acheson (Titus) is a Ph.D. Candidate in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She completed a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts, and a second Bachelors degree in Psychology. She also earned a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Her Masters thesis explored the role of art-making in promoting the well-being of a variety of young adult women artists. Her thesis research, funded by FQRSC, examined art-making in every day life and the process of how individuals with physical impairments develop and manage various intersecting identities through art-making, as well as contextual factors that influence the process of negotiating identities. In addition to her research, Jennifer has provided counselling to university students, worked with inpatients and outpatients in a hospital setting, and provided counselling to individuals with cancer and caregivers in a community mental health setting. Furthermore, she enjoys supervising students' clinical work and working as a teaching assistant. Jennifer completed her pre-doctoral internship at Memorial University's Counselling Centre.

Dr. Shakib Nasrullah is a doctor in Counselling Psychology from McGill University. He completed his B.A. in Psychology and Social Sciences at the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran. He then moved to Montreal to finish his M.A. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. After earning his Masters degree, Shakib went back to Iran to start his practice as a counselling psychologist, and was also a member of the BIHE Department of Psychology, in which he developed and taught courses and curriculums at the undergraduate and graduate level. In 2013, Shakib began his doctoral studies in Counselling Psychology at McGill. His areas of interest in research include immigration and intersection of identities, higher education, gender, and social justice studies in the lifespan of women, men and families. He recently completed his doctoral practicum at Concordia University Counselling and Development Centre and is pursuing his thesis research focused on the intersection of Iranian immigrants’ identities. Currently, Shakib is completing his pre-doctoral internship at the Couple and Family Therapy Service at the Jewish General Hospital.

Samir Durrani completed his M.A. degree in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. His master’s thesis qualitatively examined South Asian-Canadian gay and bisexual men's health promoting behaviours, which was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Samir also co-authored a study that explored the unique experiences of gender-based violence for men.

Xinyue Shu completed a Masters in Counselling Psychology (Project Concentration) at McGill University in August 2019. She completed a B.Sc. in Applied Psychology at East China Normal University. During undergraduate study, she conducted research about the experiences of Chinese psychoanalysts receiving cross-cultural psychoanalysis and supervision via Internet. Her Bachelor’s thesis explored consumers’ attribution tendencies to negative news about a company, and how the attributions affect consumers’ responsibility, judgement, emotions, and consumption intention. Her current research project explores the experiences of Chinese international LGBT students in Canada, as well as how they seek social support.

Sasha Lerner completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She successfully defended her dissertation in August 2015 and her doctoral research, funded by Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture, focused on gender and sexually-focused bullying experiences of adolescent girls in secondary school. Sasha completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at University at Albany, SUNY Counseling Center and she is currently working at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services at Ithaca College.

Chao-Mei Chiang completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She successfully defended her dissertation in August 2015, and her doctoral research, which was funded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, examined heterosexual female secondary school personnel’s constructions of masculinity and femininity in Taiwan, and focused on the intersections between gender, biological sex, and sexual orientation. Chao-Mei completed her pre-doctoral internship at University of New Brunswick's Counselling Services, and a post-doctoral fellowship at University of British Columbia's Counselling Services. She recently secured a position as an Assistant Professor at National Hsinchu University of Education in Taiwan.

Kaori Wada completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She successfully defended her dissertation in October 2015, and her doctoral research, which was funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture, examined the experience of Japanese women who returned to Japan after having studied in North America. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. Her scholarly interests includes cross-cultural adjustment, career psychology, gender, thanatology, counselling psychology identity, and internationalization of psychology. 

Jennifer Bruce completed her Ph.D. in School/Applied Child Psychology at McGill University. She successfully defended her dissertation in December 2015, and her doctoral research, which was funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, focused on the systemic factors involved in bullying policy and policy implementation. She currently works as a psychological consultant for the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. 

Winnie Hunter completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She successfully defended her dissertation in April 2011, which qualitatively examined older adults’ experiences receiving psychological counselling. She is currently employed at the Colorado Refugee Wellness Center as a full-time integrated care psychologist for newly arrived refugees to the state of Colorado. She is currently a part-time lecturer in the Department of Counselling Psychology at the University of Denver. Dr. Hunter is a licensed psychologist in Ontario and Colorado. Her clinical interests include immigrant and refugee mental health, multicultural counselling, counselling with older adults, and the treatment of trauma and anxiety.

Anne Marie Mikhail completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. In her Masters and Ph.D., Dr. Mikhail conducted research examining the acculturation and undergraduate experiences of first and second generation immigrant populations. She was also a member of a Canadian Psychological Association committee that defined the practice of counselling psychology in Canada. Dr. Mikhail successfully defended her dissertation in July 2010, which qualitatively examined the career development of second-generation immigrant women. She also completed her APPIC and APA accredited pre-doctoral internship and the Virginia Commonweal University counselling services center. Dr. Mikhail is currently employed as a school psychologist in the Peel District School Board, where she provides consultation, professional development, and psychoeducational assessments. She also opened her own private practice, in which she provides psychotherapy and psychoeducational assessments to children, adolescent, and adult populations.

Anusha Kassan completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from McGill University in 2009. Her dissertation centred on Multicultural Counselling Competencies with Adolescent Females and was funded by the Fonds Québécois de Recherche sur la société et la Culture. She completed her Pre-Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology at the University of California, Irvine Counselling Centre. Upon graduating, Dr. Kassan became a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Counselling Psychology Program at the University of British Columbia, and she is currently an Assistant Professor in Educational Studies in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary. She is also the Chair-Elect of the Section on Counselling Psychology of the Canadian Psychological Association. Dr. Kassan's scholarly interests include migration, multicultural counselling competencies, social justice, adolescent development, adolescent counselling, queer issues, same-sex binational couples, training and supervision, as well as feminist-multicultural pedagogy.

Miriam Scherer Berkovic completed her Ph.D in Counselling Psychology from McGill University in 2003. Her doctoral research qualitatively examined the relationship between Mothers and Daughters as a result of the Mothers' Holocaust experience. She also has a post graduate degree in couple and family counselling from the Argyle Institute. Dr Berkovic is licensed as a psychologist in Quebec. She worked at the McGill University Health Centre Personality Disorders clinic for ten years. At the present time, she is in private practice. Her scholarly interests include psychology of women, mother-daughter relationships, personality disorders, and ethical issues in psychotherapy.

Ozge Akcali completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from McGill University in 2001. Her doctoral research qualitatively examined the relationship between spirituality and career transition process for middle-aged women. She is currently employed at the Counseling and Psychological Services at Oregon State University as the Assessment Coordinator and Staff Psychologist. Dr. Akcali is licensed as a psychologist in Ontario and Oregon. Her scholarly interests include program evaluation, psychology of women, eating disorders, multicultural counseling, ethical issues in psychotherapy, and vocational psychology.