Racial Stress and Trauma Study

Amy Bartlett, LLB, LLM

Amy Bartlett is currently working on her PhD at uOttawa in Classics & Religious Studies, with a focus on psychedelics, mental health, spirituality and healing. As a queer, intersectional feminist practitioner, she is always in a process of learning, and focuses her practice on providing clients with human-centered and compassionate accompaniment as they do the hard work of better understanding themselves and their place in the world. Before returning to school, Amy worked for almost 20 years as a lawyer and human rights advocate in social justice causes in Canada and globally — all of which contributes to her therapeutic approach to mental health, equity and inclusion. In her spare time, Amy enjoys writing, mindfulness practices, community organizing and playing bass clarinet in a local band.

Arghavan Nepton, MA

Arghavan is currently a doctoral student in Neuroscience, in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Before moving to Canada, she received her MA in Counselling Psychology. She has done research on cognitive functioning among adolescents and has worked as a counsellor. All have equipped Arghavan with the knowledge and expertise she needs to conduct research in the area of mind and brain. Arghavan is also collaborating in emotion regulation and cross-cultural research, with interests in conducting research on mental health disorders. Arghavan is from Iran and her first language is Farsi. She is committed to improving social opportunity, psychological wellness, and mental health for Black, Indigenous, and other historically racialized groups who suffer from racism. In her spare time, you can find Arghavan reading novels, watching movies, learning French.

Justine Braham

Justine Braham is a fourth-year doctoral clinical psychology student at the University of Ottawa. She identifies as a White North American, cis-gender, bisexual woman. Justine is moderately hearing impaired in both ears and has worn hearing aids all her life. She is passionate about anti-racism work and supporting people’s mental well-being. Justine has clinical experience working at the Ottawa Institute for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, The Royal Ottawa Community Mental Health Clinic, specifically the Dual Diagnosis program, and a private sex therapy clinic. In her spare time, Justine enjoys reading, playing pickleball, foraging mushrooms, and taking pictures of her pet bunny.

Kate Caldwell, MA

Kate Caldwell is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with Behavioral Wellness Clinic serving clients in the US and Canada. Her current focus is on integrating conventional psychotherapy and evidence-based psychedelic approaches, notably Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Kate`s approach encourages compassionate direct communication in the context of a safe therapeutic relationship, acknowledging the multiple systemic factors that impact us as individuals and collectively. Kate holds an undergraduate degree in French and Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Of White Scottish ancestry, Kate spent several years living in the UK and France before arriving in Montreal in 2005. Bilingual, she can offer sessions to clients in either English or French.

Myriah MacIntyre

Myriah MacIntyre is a second-year PhD student studying clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa with research focuses on racial trauma and traditional medicines/psychedelics. As a queer person with Black Caribbean and Indigenous ancestry, Myriah is also well-versed in intersectionality in order to provide compassionate and equitable care to all of their clients surviving systemic structures of sociocultural inequity. To enhance her skills, she is currently a practicum student at The Child, Adolescent, and Family Centre of Ottawa and undergoing Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training. In her free time, Myriah enjoys skateboarding and playing musical instruments.

Tahlia Harrison, MFT

Tahlia Harrison is a registered marriage and family associate born and raised (mostly) in Portland, Oregon USA. She is from an ethnically, culturally, spiritually, and racially mixed background, a first-generation graduate student, cisgender, and able-bodied. Tahlia’s work in healthcare began in 2006 as a licensed massage therapist, she now holds an MA in Marriage, Couple, and Family therapy from Lewis and Clark Graduate School whose program centers culturally responsive, antiracist clinical training and is a PhD student at University of Ottawa in experimental psychology examining topics related to racial trauma. When she’s out of the therapy office and research lab you can find her cooking, connecting with family and friends, absorbing the outdoors, dreaming of travel, and collecting music.

Dana Strauss

Dana Strauss is a first-year clinical psychology PhD student at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on racism, racial trauma, and psychedelics. As a White Jewish Canadian, issues of social justice resonate deeply with her, and she is strongly committed to antiracism work and supporting clients navigating systems of oppression through compassionate and culturally-informed care. She received training in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy in 2020 from The Behavioral Wellness Clinic based in Connecticut and has experience assessing racial stress and trauma. Aside from mental health and social justice, she loves creating art and spending time in nature.

Sophia Gran-Ruaz

Project Coordinator

Sophia Gran-Ruaz is a White Canadian of European ancestry currently completing her third year of a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She has previously trained at the Centre for Psychological Services and Research and the Ottawa Institute for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and is currently training at the Ottawa Centre for Resilience. Sophia aspires to work with adults experiencing substance use disorders and/or trauma and stressor related disorders. She is especially interested in supporting clients with stigmatized and marginalized identities to ensure they receive culturally relevant, high-quality care. Sophia is the Project Coordinator for this study.