2025 - Canadian Psychological Association

“Psychology Works” Fact Sheet: Family Building for Gender Diverse Individuals

Posted on February 19, 2025January 5, 2026 by CPA Webmaster

Gender diverse individuals are those whose gender identity, expression, or experiences differ from traditional societal norms and expectations associated with the sex medical professionals assigned to them at birth (e.g., trans, nonbinary people). Family building for gender diverse individuals can be a complex and empowering journey, often enriched by diverse pathways and thoughtful considerations. Extending beyond traditional understandings of reproductive health, family building in this context encompasses a wide range of options such as biological conception, adoption, surrogacy, and fertility preservation. Gender diverse individuals seeking to build their families may face medical, legal, and social barriers, including access to inclusive healthcare, legal recognition of their gender and parental rights, and societal acceptance. Moreover, the intersection of trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive identities with other identities and societal power structures, such as race and racism, socioeconomic status and poverty, as well as disability and ableism, can further influence family building choices and experiences. It is important that healthcare providers, including psychologists, approach family building for anyone with sensitivity, inclusivity, and an understanding of the specific needs and challenges they may encounter. Approaching this work with humility by listening to the unique experiences and challenges of each person is essential. This approach ensures that gender diverse individuals are supported to make informed decisions about family building and their reproductive health.

What Factors Influence Family Building?

Desire for Genetic Offspring: This desire varies among individuals. For some, the desire to have children who share their genetic makeup is very important. Having genetic offspring may not always be feasible due to various medical or biological constraints. Discussing these factors with health care providers is often important. Understanding these limitations is a part of the family building process and may involve experiences of loss and grief.
Partner Factors: The dynamics of family building can vary significantly depending on whether one is planning to conceive alone or with a partner(s). In cases involving a partner(s), their age and reproductive capabilities are important considerations. For instance, a trans man or trans masc person wishing to conceive must consider whether their partner can biologically contribute viable sperm.
Gender Dysphoria: The process of conceiving, including Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), can exacerbate feelings of gender dysphoria (if present) for some individuals. Those undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) may need to temporarily discontinue their hormones for fertility preservation or conception purposes, potentially intensifying feelings of gender dysphoria. Seeking psychological support and engaging in self-reflection can help individuals make informed decisions and navigate complex emotions that may arise.
Transitioning: Navigating transition may influence family building decisions. For example, if someone undergoes an orchiectomy (i.e., surgery to remove one or both testicles) without prior sperm preservation, their options for having genetically related children may become limited. Understanding and planning for their reproductive options if desired is essential early in someone’s transition.
Financial Factors: The costs associated with fertility treatments, adoption, and fertility preservation are often substantial and not typically covered by provincial or private healthcare plans. However, some provinces (Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia) offer some government-funded options. Prospective parents are encouraged to research funding that may be available to them in their province. The financial burden can be a significant barrier to family building, necessitating careful planning and exploration of available financial support options.
Cultural Factors: Cultural beliefs about family, reproduction, and gender roles can influence how individuals approach family-building, including the types of options they pursue or consider. For example, biological parenthood may be valued in a person’s culture, which may create additional pressure to preserve fertility or pursue options like surrogacy. Conversely, cultural norms that stigmatize gender diversity may result in limited family-building support within a person’s community or family of origin. Religious perspectives on reproduction, adoption, and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) can further intersect with gender identity, shaping both opportunities and challenges.

What Are Some Options for Family Building?

Adoption: All people have the option to adopt, either within Canada or internationally. There can be complex legal and social landscapes to navigate, particularly in international adoption. Prospective parents are encouraged to seek supportive legal and psychological guidance, as well as community support, throughout the adoption process.
Surrogacy: Surrogacy is an option for those desiring genetically related children who either have viable or preserved sperm or eggs. In surrogacy, an individual with a uterus carries the pregnancy for the intended parent(s). Canadian law permits gestational surrogacy as long as surrogates are reimbursed only for reasonable expenses. This arrangement requires careful legal and ethical considerations to ensure the rights and wellbeing of all parties involved are protected.
Fertility Preservation: This is an option for those who wish to retain the possibility of having genetically related children in the future. Private fertility clinics typically perform this procedure. Options include:
1. Sperm Cryopreservation: Involves collecting and freezing semen samples for future use. Some fertility clinics offer the option for surgical retrieval of sperm.
2. Oocyte Cryopreservation: Involves stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving these eggs, and freezing them for future use.
3. Ovarian Tissue Freezing: A newer technique where medical professionals remove and freeze ovarian tissue for later use. This tissue can potentially be transplanted back into the body to restore fertility, though it is a relatively novel and evolving method.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART): These technologies assist individuals in conceiving a child using their own, their partner’s, or a donor’s reproductive material:
1. Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): This procedure involves placing sperm directly into the uterus (of the intended parent or a surrogate) using a catheter, a less invasive and often less expensive option than In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
2. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): IVF is a more complex set of procedures involving the retrieval of eggs (or using previously frozen eggs), fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory setting, and then transferring the embryo(s) into a uterus (either of the intended parent or a surrogate). This method is often used when other fertility treatments have not been successful.

How Can Psychologists Help?

Provide support and resources: Psychologists can provide emotional support and resources to their clients throughout the process of starting or expanding a family and help provide information on appropriate medical, legal, and community resources as needed.
Address reproductive goals and concerns: Psychologists can work with clients to discuss their reproductive goals and concerns, providing support and guidance as they navigate the decision-making process around starting or expanding a family.
Collaborate with allied professionals: Psychologists can work alongside allied health professionals, such as social workers, to ensure clients receive comprehensive, coordinated care that aligns with their family-building choices.
Advocate for inclusive reproductive healthcare: Psychologists can advocate for clients’ rights to inclusive and affirming reproductive healthcare, and help clients navigate any discrimination or barriers they may face when accessing reproductive healthcare.

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial, and some municipal associations of psychology may make available a referral list of practicing psychologists that can be searched for appropriate services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/.

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Olivia Fischer, Lynn Corbett, Jesse Bosse, Keira Stockdale, Anita Shaw, and Jelena King.

Revised: December 2024

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the PSYCHOLOGY WORKS Fact Sheets: factsheets@cpa.ca

Psychology Month 2025: Anxiety, gender, and leadership with Dr. Winny Shen

Posted on February 13, 2025February 7, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

Psychology Month 2025: Anxiety, gender, and leadership with Dr. Winny Shen

There has always been a stereotype that women are “more emotional” than men, and even that they are “too emotional” for leadership roles. Dr. Winny Shen joins Mind Full to discuss the results of her study which suggest that not only is that stereotype untrue, the exact opposite might actually be the case.

Psychology Month Profile: Jessica Strong

Posted on February 11, 2025February 3, 2026 by CPA Webmaster

Jessica Strong

We all plan to get older. So why do so few of us gravitate toward working with older adults? Dr. Jessica Strong is a Geropsychologist in the department of psychology at the University of PEI. She tells us about cognitive reserve, fights against ageism, and discusses how a passion for music led her toward her current career path.

Jessica Strong

“You see the hood's been good to me, ever since I was a lowercase g. But now I’m a Big G.”

Montell Jordan

In his monster 1995 hit ‘This Is How We Do It’, Montell Jordan makes the distinction between a “lowercase g” and a “Big G”. In his case, he’s making reference to being a young child, understanding and evincing the gangsta part before he grew to adulthood and achieved proper, professional gangsta status by releasing a staggeringly popular debut single.

Like Montell Jordan, it was music that led Dr. Jessica Strong to her eventual career path, one where she too makes a distinction between lowercase gs and Big Gs. ‘Big Gs’ are the expert specialties, Geriatrics, Gerontology, Geropsychologists like Dr. Strong. ‘Lowercase g’ refers to the little competencies everyone needs to have. Social workers, family doctors, personal support workers at retirement residences, caregivers, or retail workers. Anyone who deals with an older population in their day-to-day lives. Says Dr. Strong,

“I have a lot of students who aren’t necessarily interested in Geropsychology (big G), but we work on developing this ‘lowercase g’ workforce, which is not working with older adults exclusively. They may be a generalist psychologist, but one who has the competency to work with older adults. They understand the cohort issues and generational differences, and know how to modify an intervention or screen for mild cognitive impairment.

I tell all our clinical students ‘you want to work in paediatrics, great! How many grandparents are raising children these days? For your paediatric client, if you’re noticing something off with their grandparent, you’re going to want to figure out whether this is anxiety and stress because they’re raising a nine-year-old, or could this be a mild cognitive impairment? And how am I going to figure that out in a way that serves the interests of my paediatric patient?’”

Dr. Strong is an assistant professor in the department of psychology at UPEI, and a registered clinical psychologist who specializes in Geropsychology. Geropsychology is a subsection of gerontology – the broad study of aging, lifespan, development and identity in late life. It’s a discipline that focuses on relationships, mental health, cognition and more generally the psychology of aging.

It was music that led her toward this career path, as she started playing piano at the age of 9 and soon picked up more instruments, playing alto sax in the high school marching band. It was in high school that she started thinking about music therapy as a career. But music therapy is a pretty specialized occupation, and Jessica is someone who likes to keep as many options open as possible.

In her final year of high school, right around the time we were all learning that “southcentral does it like nobody does”, she shadowed the music therapy program at her local university. She quickly realized that there was a way to get into this while keeping more doors open, and she ended up doing two simultaneous undergraduate degrees – one in music performance, and one in psychology. The idea was that from there she could get a Master’s in music therapy if she chose that path.

But psychology research really spoke to Jessica, who started to become far more interested in the mechanisms of why music makes a difference for people, rather than just using it as a tool. She had done a little bit of work with older adults at an occupational therapy lab at Washington University in St. Louis. Then she moved to Germany, where she worked at a mental health institute for older adults, the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim. She had become a lowercase g.

Soon, she realized that what she really wanted to do was work with older adults. She had never heard the term “Geropsychology” before, but she lucked into a program at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, and was accepted into their Clinical Psychology program, working under the mentorship and supervision of two Geropsychologists. She earned her Ph.D., became a Big G, and says she has never looked back.

“One of the most rewarding things about working with older adults is that they are some of the more complex human beings in the world. They’re such a heterogeneous population because they have all of the demographic differences that any of the rest of us have – gender and race and so on – but they also have all their lived experiences and the changes that have come with those. Physiological aging, emotional aging, cognitive aging. It’s really intellectually stimulating and exciting for me because they’re so much more complex than any of the other groups I’ve worked with who haven’t done as many things.”

Soon, Dr. Strong was working in Boston at a rehab facility in the Veteran’s Health Administration. She studied how integrating music into a mental health group could destigmatize talking about mental health for older male veterans. They got some great feedback, the veterans felt like this group was different from others they’d been in before, and that the use of music made it easier for them to talk about things that both as men and as veterans they’d been conditioned to avoid. Music gave them a way to feel it without necessarily having to find the words.

One of the sessions Dr. Strong did with this group used “a bit of a music therapy technique”. They would start the group session by reading the lyrics to a song aloud, like a poem. They’d talk about the imagery, and what they thought the artist was trying to convey. Then they would listen to the song to see if it felt different than just reading through it. Did the addition of music take away from the message, or did it add something? The veterans in the group, men whose gender and military service compounded a reticence to speak vulnerably, went to deep places dissecting the music.

Dr. Strong says ‘What A Wonderful World’ was a group favourite. Given the age of the participants (some Vietnam veterans, others Korean War veterans, and some survivors of World War II) it makes sense that a song from the 60s resonated as much as it did. Music is often associated with memory and nostalgia, most particularly the music we heard around major life events in our adolescence and in early adulthood. Like a wedding song, a graduation song, or one you heard while you were heading off to war.

When similar sessions are held forty years from now, there’s a good chance a psychologist like Dr. Strong will be integrating much different music into this kind of group therapy. They will discuss what Mr. Jordan is trying to convey when he suggests we “flip the track, bring the old school back”. Dementia support groups that connect people through sing-a-long music will sound like one of those Pitch Perfect mashups. “I reach for my 40 and I turn it up / designated driver take the keys to my truck”.

Music not only triggers memories, it shapes our brains as we age. Dr. Strong is specifically interested in the brains of musicians, and the effect a lifetime of playing music has on the aging process. She talks about something called Cognitive Reserve. This is the idea that everything we do in our lives builds up a reserve in our brains. Dr. Strong describes it like a battery you can charge. Having a formal education, speaking a second or third language, having strong social connections, these are factors that charge our battery and make us more resilient against cognitive impairment later in life.

“If someone has a really high cognitive reserve, a scan of their brain might look awful, with disease, or vascular damage. But they might still function okay because they’ve built up this reserve over time that allows their brain to circumnavigate those damaged pathways. Someone with a lower cognitive reserve might have a brain that looks relatively okay on a brain scan, but they might be showing signs of mild or moderate dementia in their functioning.”

According to Dr. Strong’s studies, and similar studies by her peers, musicians tend to do better in some things as they get older, like in executive functioning and language, but not in all areas. One of the areas where they don’t tend to do better than non-musicians is in memory. Some have suggested that the tests for memory are flawed, and this may be the reason we don’t see a correlation between that and musicianship. When Dr. Strong takes a sabbatical next year, this is one of the things she’s hoping to learn from a longitudinal data set she has collected. But she has learned a lot already from her research up to this point.

“I’ve compared people who retired from playing versus those who continued to play. That was an interesting study, where I found that people who stopped playing lost the benefit they had in some of the more fluid abilities like executive functioning, but maintained the benefits they got in crystallized abilities, things like language. People who continued to play continue to have both benefits.”

There are many challenges to working with older populations, in particular defining what those populations are. The general (Dr. Strong says arbitrary) line at which Geropsychologists and Gerontologists start looking at people as “older” is the age of 65. But they’re also working with people who are much older than that.

“What gets complicated about using 65 as the arbitrary cutoff is that you’re still including people who are 80, 90, even over 100. There are people over 100 participating in research, and you get into this really interesting scientific conundrum of having people who span 30 or 40 years in a scientific sample. Which is absurd – never would we put 10-year-olds and 50-year-olds in the same sample, and this is somewhat of the same construct.

So this is a problem when we work with older adults, and a lot of Gerontology and Geropsychology splits those groups up into the ‘young old’ (65-74), ‘old old’ (75-84) and ‘oldest old’ (85 and up), trying to get a little more nuanced perspective. These people grew up in completely different ways and in completely different cohorts. And a 65-year-old shouldn’t and wouldn’t be expected to be in the same life place as a 95-year-old.

It's a lot easier to get access to research participants who are in that young-old group, so they tend to be overrepresented in research. It’s a lot harder to get a representative sample for the older groups.“

Another challenge is ageism. This is something that matters a great deal to Dr. Strong, and she gets impassioned when she talks about the ways we neglect our older population. Age is a diversity factor that is often overlooked, and Geropsychologists are constantly reminding their organizations, and anyone who will listen, that age must be thought of and included as a diversity factor. Not valuing older adults, the negative attitudes we have about getting old, looking old, and acting old, create real-world harms. Dr. Strong says these are some of the reasons we have a lack of action in overhauling Canada’s long-term care system.

“We know what works in long-term care, it’s just a matter of putting it in place. It wasn’t necessarily intended to be this medical-type institutional facility. People don’t want move there because it signals the beginning of the end, and they think that because of how those facilities work. They’re understaffed, underprioritized. Some of the most amazing models of long-term and dementia care are in Scandinavia. There are enclosed ‘dementia villages’ where people live in their apartments, but they can go shopping and go wander in the park. The person cutting the grass is a trained dementia nurse, as is the barista at the coffee shop. But many of us don’t see older adults, and particularly older adults with dementia, as important enough to care.”

We’re all going to get older. As Dr. Strong tells her students, “if you’re not aging you’re dead – we are privileged to grow older”. So why are there difficulties in recruiting young people, and students in particular, to work with older populations? Ageism, like negative attitudes or death anxiety, are big factors. So is exposure. Young people who have grown up around older adults, or who have teachers or parents who work with older populations, tend to be a lot more receptive.

“I attribute a lot of my interest in aging to my great-aunt Lila. My mom was her primary caregiver when I was growing up, so she spent a lot of time at our house and I spent a lot of time with her. I found her to be fascinating. She wore a wig and I saw her without a wig which was fascinating when I was nine. She told me stories about having a pet rat when she was my age and it was amazing to think about her having ever been my age. I had good relationships with my grandmothers and I had older adults in my life a lot when I was growing up.”

Geropsychology, as a relatively new field, is an exciting one. There is an enormous breadth of research that has yet to be done, and there are countless opportunities to work with people whose life experiences, wisdom, and stories are both fascinating and instructional. They represent a living history of a time the rest of us did not experience, and have lived lives we can’t imagine. Dr. Strong says it’s impossible to overestimate how rewarding this work can be.

“This is a group that has been marginalized, that doesn’t have much of a voice, and when you take the time to interact with them they are so grateful. They have so much wisdom and so many experiences that I can’t help but learn from them. They’ve lived in times and done things that will never be available to me.

The community of Geropsychology and gerontology is such a welcoming one, because we want people to work with older adults. And because the people who end up in that field are warm and welcoming by nature. It’s just a wonderful professional home.”

We need the Big G experts to learn more about aging and about creating a welcoming, flourishing, and healthy society for people as they get older. We also need everyone else to develop lowercase g competencies, so we too can be part of the solution. As each of us gets older, we will want the world around us to change so that we can continue to build community and live meaningful, impactful lives for as long as we are around. This is how we do it.

Research papers:

Cognitive reserve

Mental health and music group development and evaluation (with manual published in the appendices)

Two articles on cognition in older adult musicians

And one recent on attitudes towards older adults

Psychology Month 2025: Bullying in school and society with Dr. Wendy Craig and Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens

Posted on February 6, 2025February 7, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

Psychology Month 2025: Bullying in school and society with Dr. Wendy Craig and Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens

Kids in school face bullying – we all know this. Dr. Wendy Craig and Dr. Deinera Exner-Cortens say that much of the bullying in school is connected to power imbalances in society writ large. They join Mind Full to talk about societal structures, bullying, and what parents and educators can do.

Psychology Month Profile: Laura Thomas

Posted on February 3, 2025February 24, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

Laura Thomas-photo by Erik McRitchie

B.I.G. at the North Pole photo by Edel Kieran

Training astronauts for space flight requires a huge team, including psychologists who can help to prepare them for the close quarters and isolation for long periods of time. Laura Thomas is not only one of those psychologists, she has also experienced similar close quarters and isolation with all-female expeditions to places like the North Pole.

We kick off 2025’s Psychology Month: Women in Science with a look at Laura’s work, her travels, and the requirements for setting a Guinness World Record!

Laura Thomas

I am often in awe of the people I interview, many of whom are remarkably accomplished and doing work that matters to the world. At times, I’m even a little bit envious, in that I would love to have been a part of some of those projects. I confided as much in Laura Thomas toward the end of our Zoom meeting, but told her she is an exception. Not that I’m not in awe of everything she does – I certainly am. But I am not the least bit envious. I would love to have been a part of the World’s Most Northerly Cocktail Party (scroll down for canapé recipe). But very few forces on Earth could have convinced me to be part of the intrepid group that skied, camped, and braved the shifting ice of the North Pole for days in order to get there.

Laura Thomas, on the other hand, couldn’t wait. In 2016, she was a counseling psychologist in the UK and an afficionado of adventure tourism. She began to take an interest in extreme environments, and attended a lecture by British explorer Felicity Aston, MBE. They chatted, and before long Laura was joining her on a trekking trip to Ethiopia. A few years later, she was headed to the North Pole, living in Calgary, and going in a whole new direction with her career.

Trekking to the North Pole seems like a long way to go…because it is. Consider this – the distance to the current magnetic North Pole from Alert, Nunavut, the northernmost inhabited place on Earth, is a little over 800 km. The distance from the Earth to the International Space Station is only 400 km.

Do you ever look up at the ISS as it passes over us, and wonder what the astronauts are doing? Some kind of science, one assumes, and lots of freeze-dried cuisine? Some kind of exercise that looks like that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey? As Canadians, we know that some of them practice David Bowie tunes on guitars, since there’s no way Chris Hadfield was able to do that performance without practice.

Laura knows what the astronauts are doing. Or, at least, what they could do. And how they can do it, what with the long months of isolation, the forced intimacy of close quarters, and the physical changes one undergoes while in those conditions. Laura studies people, and their behaviour, in extreme isolation.

Laura is the co-founder of PARSEC Space, a new company that exists to train commercial space operators. She works alongside scientists, pilots, and engineers from the likes of NASA, ESA, and the military to select, train, and develop the next generation of astronauts. These will not necessarily be space travelers who will be going to the ISS. There are many other plans for space exploration. Says Laura,

“Rather than space tourism, per se, we’re focused more on research and payload specialists. People who are going to go up and offer their expertise for various projects and research that’s being done in space. The thing about government agency astronauts is that it takes a huge amount of time and money to train them. And they’re generalists. They’re not necessarily the experts in the kinds of technology they’re trialing or the experiments they’re running up there. In the future there will be a lot more space research.”

Pharmaceutical companies, for example, want to test new medications in space. Things act differently in space because of the conditions. In microgravity, bacteria grows differently. There could be a lot of benefits from observing how things grow in the absence of gravity. Manufacturing companies are also leaning toward testing their products and systems in space. NASA is looking to build a permanent base on the moon, which would undoubtedly include a significant research facility.

When that happens, PARSEC will be there to train the astronauts who will go there, and Laura will be assessing the mental fitness of participants and training them to handle the rigours of space travel.

“The qualities that are desirable in an astronaut have changed a little over the years. We call it the ‘new right stuff’. Previously, missions were relatively short, so you needed people with the technical skills to get the job done. But if you’re looking at people surviving and thriving in space over the longer term, with that level of extreme isolation and confinement, you need to look at how people cope. Their innate resilience, their capacity to cope with different types of stressors, how well they get on with other people, how well they function within a team. The so-called softer side, the personality-related traits, become much more important.”

Laura can’t just go up to space to watch people and guide them in that exact environment, at least not yet, so analogue environments on Earth (those with the most similarities to conditions in space) will have to do. Subterranean cave systems, remote jungles and mountains, and of course polar regions. Laura, for example, was the crew psychological officer on one such “analogue” in the Mojave Desert where they were isolated for ten days.

“It was really interesting, we were in this habitat, which was a series of pods, basically. Eight women by ourselves, isolated in the Mojave and living like astronauts. We had a medical officer, an engineering officer, a crew commander. Our daily routine involved exercises and activities that we would need to do as astronauts.”

While there, Laura observed and assisted her crewmates to ensure everyone was coping well, identifying the best interventions and adaptations in that setting. It was the first ever analogue that was all-female, attracting scientists from all over the world. There were crew members from Jordan, New Zealand, the U.S. and elsewhere. It enabled Laura to further her research into salutogenesis in analogue environments. Salutogenesis refers to a focus on the factors that promote health, well-being, and positive outcomes for people.

A lot of people have very positive experiences in these kind of environments. Often, astronauts who go into space can look back on the Earth through the Cupola windows, which can create a profound feeling of transcendence. They come back to Earth with a different sense of the planet’s beauty and it’s fragility and develop more compassion for humanity. This is called the ‘overview effect’, and it lasts much longer than just the moment an astronaut looks out the window of a spacecraft. States of extreme awe and transcendence have also been seen in terrestrial-based analogues.

“You can see from a distance that the Earth is all landmass and water. We can’t tell where the border to one country begins and another ends. It gives you a real conviction that we’re all part of the same thing.”

There have also been reports of increases in feelings of personal strength, better stress resilience, and long-term physical health outcomes. Sometimes, the more stressful the situation is for the participants, the more profound the changes to their psyche. Laura says it’s almost like there’s a threshold of stress that must be met for the more positive benefits to take effect.

It’s hard to imagine an expedition more stressful than one to the North Pole. In 2024, Laura and her fellow explorers, all women, set out to take ice, snow and water samples at the 1996 position of the magnetic North Pole. The B.I.G. (Before It’s Gone) expedition had been planned since 2020, but delays caused by COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant that some team members had to drop out and Laura could step in.

Their team, led by British explorer Felicity Aston, MBE, trained in cross-country skiing in Norway and Iceland for weeks. Then they flew into Iqaluit, then to Resolute Bay, then to Isachsen – an abandoned weather station from the 70s which was the closest landing strip to the magnetic pole. Each of those plane flights was delayed by severe weather, which truncated the time they had to set off. On skis, pulling their equipment in their sleds, they headed toward the pole.
North Pole B.I.G. Canapés
There were more delays along the way. Terrible weather had them stuck in their tents for almost three days. Despite being physically exhausted and seriously dehydrated, they had to push forward anyway to get ahead of an incoming storm. The team was always on lookout, for both shifting ice and polar bears. Says Laura,

“It’s an experience, but it’s hard. Being in those environments, anyone will tell you it’s hard. You need to have the right gear, but even then it’s brutal. You’re basically out there where everything’s trying to kill you. The cold, the sea ice, and even polar bears. When we got to Resolute Bay, the locals told us it was polar bear mating season and we’d definitely have an encounter with them.”

Along the way, the team collected data. They showed that all kinds of different microplastics have made their way into the North Pole ice, as have heavy metals like lead, and, importantly, black carbon. Black carbon is what is produced when we drive cars, run industrial plants, and experience wildfires. Its presence in the arctic ice is quite serious – the small black particulates make the ice melt faster than it already is, and this speeds up the effects of climate change.

Laura gathered data as well, for her salutogenesis project as she learned even more about how people respond when pushed to such extremes. Sadly, they didn’t quite make it to the magnetic north pole, thanks to the weather delays and shortened time frame for the trip. But they did stop to set a Guinness world record!

World records, at least as adjudicated by Guinness, are kind of a funny process. You have to contact them directly ahead of time, laying out your intention to break some previous world record, or create a new one (hi Guinness, it’s me! I plan to make the world’s largest Build-A-Bear, would that qualify for inclusion?) Then they have specific criteria that must be met in order for you to lay claim to that record.

And so it was that the B.I.G. team, in addition to their scientific equipment and survival gear, carried cocktail glasses, cocktail dresses, and a device to play music all the way to the North Pole with them. One of the trip’s sponsors was an alcoholic beverage company (Axia Spirit), and this was a tip-of-the-hat to them. But according to Guinness, it is not a cocktail party without tunes, a table, cocktail attire, and canapés.

An adventurous spirit, a quest for knowledge and experience, and a determined toughness made Laura Thomas an ideal candidate for a skiing trip to the North Pole. A dedication to comfort, a lack of physical fitness, and a penchant for variety in my cuisine made me the ideal person to sit at home and write about it. And it’s fun to write about a “space psychologist”. Several years ago, there might have been a handful of those on Earth. Now, as space is opening up, so are the opportunities for a vast array of experts to ensure the safety and effectiveness of this new enterprise.

Laura’s training as a psychologist and passion for research have served her well here on Earth. She is working on projects that shed light on some of the world’s most serious problems. And it is those qualities and qualifications that will serve the next generation of explorers. The ones who will head into the most unexplored regions of our world – those beyond our world. They will be in a position to succeed, thanks to a dedicated team of experts to help them with their work, and Laura to help them with their minds. Who better than someone with her kind of experience to accomplish B.I.G. things?

A PhD, a radio show, and now a children’s book with Sommer Knight

Posted on January 15, 2025February 7, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

A PhD, a radio show, and now a children's book with Sommer Knight

While completing her psychology PhD, Sommer Knight is busy putting everything she learns to use. She co-hosts a radio show and has now written a children’s book to advance the conversation about mental health in Black families and Black communities.

The book is called Today Is a Rainy Day, and if you’re in the Ottawa area Saturday March 1st, join Sommer and her co-authors and illustrator from 1-5pm at Indigo Rideau, 50 Rideau St, for a book signing event!

Why the CPA/CPAP BMS Insurance Liability Program Is Right For You

Posted on April 16, 2025May 22, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

BMS, CPA, CPAP logos The CPA/CPAP Professional Liability & Commercial General Liability Insurance Program, brokered by BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd. (BMS), is the largest program of its kind for psychology practitioners in Canada with over 12,000 participants. From its market leading coverage to its broker support to its association advocacy, the program has protected CPA/CPAP members with specialized Liability Insurance for over 30 years. Learn more here.

To purchase coverage, please visit www.psychology.bmsgroup.com, or contact a BMS broker at 1-855-318-6038 or by email at psy.insurance@bmsgroup.com.

For more information about your Insurance Broker, BMS, and Insurance Regulatory Principles of Conduct, please click here.

“Psychology Works” Fact Sheet: Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Posted on November 4, 2025November 24, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) include pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen (below the belly button area) and changes in bowel habit that involve frequent, urgent diarrhea or constipation. Bloating is another common symptom. IBS is a medical disorder primarily affecting the lower ‘gut’ (the small and large intestine) which is one part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction, meaning there are communication disruptions between the brain and the gut. IBS is understood to be a problem of the functioning of the gut. Research suggests that people with IBS experience abnormal gut motility (changes in the rate of contractions of the gut muscles), enhanced visceral sensitivity (an increased sensitivity to gas or sensations from routine activities that occur in the bowel), and changes in the gut microbiome (communities of microbes in the digestive tract, made up of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that, when balanced, help with digestion, nutrient absorption, and immune function).

It is not clearly understood what causes IBS. For some people it begins in childhood with a ‘sensitive stomach’ that develops into more intense symptoms as an adult; for others, the GI problems start suddenly during a period of stress or persist after an infection in the bowel. IBS is diagnosed based on the presence of the symptoms described above in combination with the absence of other ‘red flag’ symptoms (such as weight loss or bleeding).

IBS is very common. It is estimated to affect up to one in five Canadians. It often starts in young adulthood and occurs much more frequently in women than men. It is the second most common reason for missing work and is one of the most common reasons that people visit their doctor. In Canada, IBS has been estimated to cost over $350 million in direct and over $1 billion in indirect health care and productivity costs each year.

While the impact on society is quite significant, IBS can be very challenging for the individual. Pain, cramping, or urgent trips to the washroom may interfere with work and home activities. The bloating, gas, and urgency can be embarrassing, so people often suffer in silence.

Many people think certain foods must be the culprit but there is no evidence to support the idea that IBS is directly related to food allergies or food sensitivity. Once IBS develops, however, the bowel is over-reactive to or easily disrupted by a variety of potential triggers including diet, stress, emotional state, and even hormone fluctuations.

Stress does not cause IBS, but it does appear to play a particularly important role in triggering IBS symptoms, likely because of the close communication via nerves and chemical pathways between the brain and the gut. In fact, two-thirds of healthy individuals without IBS report GI symptoms of pain or bowel upset in response to stress and the numbers are even higher for people with IBS.

Research suggests that both ‘acute stressors’ such as deadlines, exams, job interviews, or conflict with others as well as ‘chronic stressors’ such as financial concerns, time pressures, or family issues can aggravate the gut.

How Can Psychology Help?

For those with milder IBS symptoms, use of over-the-counter medications and changes in lifestyle that ensure more regular eating and sleep routines, a healthier diet with increased fibre and water intake, as well as more regular moderate intensity exercise such as walking, swimming, or cycling, are usually sufficient to provide some relief.

However, for those with moderate to severe IBS symptoms, medical and psychological treatments are recommended. These treatments usually target specific symptoms, like pain, diarrhea, or constipation, or aim to decrease the triggers, such as stress, that aggravate the symptoms. Further, there is evidence that for some, implementing a special diet such as the low FODMAP diet for a focused period of time can improve aspects like abdominal pain and bloating, and provide direction for potential aggravating foods.

Conventional medical treatment has included fibre supplements, antispasmodics, gut motility agents, and medications that act on biochemicals such as serotonin in the GI tract and central nervous system. Medication decisions are usually guided by the predominant IBS symptoms. At this point, reviews of the effectiveness of the medication treatments have concluded that they are helpful for small subsets of people with IBS but have been disappointing overall in their impact. Newer medications in development are focusing on brain-gut pathways and the microbiome. For the most up-to-date information on medication treatments as they apply to your situation, you are encouraged to discuss the use of these medications with your family doctor.

Psychological treatments, which also target brain-gut connections, have been found to be effective in providing relief of IBS symptoms and reducing the distress and coping difficulties that often occur when dealing with a chronic illness. These psychological therapies focus on ways to decrease stress and cope differently so that the stress does not ‘go to the gut’.

What Psychological Treatments are Effective?

Psychological approaches have been carefully evaluated over the past number of years; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and related therapies, as well as gut-directed hypnotherapy have specifically demonstrated well-established and lasting benefits. These brain gut behaviour therapies are provided by professionals trained in psychological interventions for health problems and can be delivered effectively in person or online. Medication, in contrast, tends to cease to have an effect when patients stop taking the medicine. Some research suggests that the amount of improvement in psychological treatment relates in part to the effort and time the individual contributes to working with the strategies.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) incorporates a number of steps aimed at changing behaviour to improve health and coping. It often involves providing information to ensure a better understanding of the illness (to help with fears and worries), teaching strategies to change thinking patterns that can contribute to strong emotional and physical reactions, teaching skills to deal with challenging or stressful situations that can trigger the gut, and goal setting to establish optimal health habits. CBT typically includes relaxation training.

Mindfulness and Acceptance-based therapies (ACT) are variations of CBT and emphasize learning ways to relate differently to symptoms, find meaning, and engage in valued activities despite the illness, broadening day to day functioning and overall wellness. These therapies may be offered on their own, or strategies from these therapies may be incorporated into CBT for IBS. Emerging evidence shows good effectiveness for those with severe and refractory IBS symptoms.

Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy uses mental imagery and deep relaxation to alter gut-brain communication, reduce unpleasant gut sensations, and reduce stress-related gut activity.

These psychological therapies are recommended by North American and European gastroenterology treatment guidelines for IBS. Cognitive behavioural therapy is the most commonly available type of psychological treatment for IBS in Canada and the United States, although medical hypnotherapy has become more accessible through scientifically evaluated online programs as well as digital apps.

Where Can I Go for More Information?

For more information about irritable bowel syndrome and steps you can take based on these psychological therapies:

Scarlata, K., & Riehl, M. (2024). Mind your gut: The science based, whole-body guide to living well with IBS. Hachette Book Group.
Hunt, M. G. (2022). Reclaim your life from IBS: A scientifically proven CBT plan for relief without restrictive diets (2nd ed.). Routledge.

For general information about IBS and similar gastrointestinal disorders please visit the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders at http://www.iffgd.org or the Canadian Society of Gastrointestinal Research at https://badgut.org/.

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Dr. Lesley Graff, Professor and Head, and Dr. Maia Kredentser, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Drs. Graff and Kredentser are registered clinical psychologists who work at Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba and whose research focuses on gastrointestinal disorders and behavioural medicine.

Revised: October 2025

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the PSYCHOLOGY WORKS Fact Sheets: factsheets@cpa.ca

“Psychology Works” Fact Sheet: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Posted on October 18, 2025November 24, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (autism) is a neurological (brain-based) condition that influences the development of social and communication abilities, as well as other aspects of behaviour, in characteristic ways. The term “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) reflects the current view that how autism affects learning and behaviour ranges from relatively mild to more significant in these areas of development. For example, the pattern of social and behavioural differences that defines autism co-exists with all levels of intellectual ability, although a substantial minority of autistic people have an intellectual disability.

Autistic people face challenges in understanding and relating to other people in typical reciprocal ways. For example, someone with autism may lack a natural grasp of interpersonal skills such as the ability to take another person’s point of view even when interested in social interactions and relationships. Non-autistic people may also find it hard to relate to the perspectives of autistic people. For some autistic people, language difficulties may make it harder to express their ideas. Even when language skills are strong, other differences in communication may affect social situations. An autistic person might have difficulty beginning a conversation or keeping one going in a fluent, two-sided manner. Autism may also be associated with reduced flexibility in thinking and behaviour. Their interests and activities may be intense or focused, which can be either a strength or a liability. For some autistic individuals, differences in sensory responsivity may include over- and/or under-reaction to lights, sounds, touch, tastes, odours, or pain.

Research shows that autism is a complex condition in which genetic, environmental, and societal factors interact; the specific causes are not yet known. The likelihood of developing autism is increased for children born to families who already have a diagnosed family member, and more boys/men than girls/women are affected by autism (although autism is also less often diagnosed accurately in girls and women). In its more severe form, autism is usually recognized by about age 2 years – often because the child is not yet speaking and shows limited interest in people. However, more subtle signs of autism may not be recognized until much later, often during the school years as differences from peers are noticed.

How is Autism Diagnosed?

Autism is diagnosed by an experienced clinician (usually a clinical child psychologist or a specialist physician) based on observed and reported patterns of behaviour. There is no medical test for autism. The diagnosis is made using in-depth information from parents and others about specific aspects of the individual’s development and behaviour, and the clinician’s systematic direct observations of behaviour. These observations cover both what the person does that may be characteristic of autism and doesn’t do that would be expected of a typically developing individual at that age or level of development. A comprehensive evaluation also considers the possibility of other conditions, such as intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or social anxiety disorder, that often lead to a suspicion of autism or co-occur with autism.

With earlier recognition in young children and a better understanding of both milder and more severe forms in people of all ages, the diagnosis of autism is becoming far more common. A recent Canadian estimate suggests that at least 1 in every 50 children is affected (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2022). The impact of autism varies, but autistic individuals and their families require health, education, and community services and supports. Many communities are trying to keep pace with the increasing need for autism-related services.

What Do We Do About ASD? Can Psychology Help?

Outcomes for many autistic people are far more positive than in past decades. Factors such as an individual’s levels of ability, presence of other health or mental health conditions, and importantly challenges accessing appropriate supports all contribute to highly variable long-term outcomes for autistic people. Some autistic individuals attain social, academic, and vocational success, as well as independent living, especially as communities become more accepting of neurodivergence.

Advances in psychological research have improved our understanding of the fundamental developmental differences as well as the strengths and challenges of autistic people. Psychologists have contributed to improved methods of recognizing, assessing, and intervening to support those with autism. Psychological assessment of children’s ability profiles – areas of relative strength and weakness – as well as evaluation of both autism characteristics and symptoms of co-occurring conditions can guide the development of appropriate education and therapies for autistic children. Treatments based on psychological principles are at the leading edge of autism intervention.

Early intervention can improve the quality of many young autistic children’s lives when strategies are used that capitalize on natural teaching opportunities in the home and community. Strategies based on the principles of learning can be used within the child’s daily routines with parents as partners in supporting their children’s development. Key areas for intervention usually include language/communication and social skills, daily living skills, self-regulation or coping skills, and family support. Peer-mediated interventions, in which autistic children and their nonautistic peers learn to play and communicate effectively, can promote more positive social opportunities. For older, able autistic individuals, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) strategies can help manage common difficulties with anxiety or self-regulation.

Better access to evidence-based treatment for the mental health needs of autistic adults is needed in most communities. Psychologists and other mental health professionals are increasingly able to customize mental health care for autistic and other neurodivergent people. Community-based supports such as job coaching, recreational opportunities, and supported housing services are beneficial for many autistic people.

Where Can I Go for More Information?

Autism Alliance of Canada: https://autismalliance.ca/
National Autistic Society (UK): http://www.autism.org.uk
Provincial associations of psychology: https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations
Psychology Foundation of Canada: http://www.psychologyfoundation.org
American Psychological Association (APA): http://www.apa.org/helpcenter

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Isabel M. Smith, PhD. Dr. Smith is a registered Clinical Psychologist, Professor and former Joan and Jack Craig Chair in Autism Research, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology & Neuroscience, Dalhousie University. Dr. Smith’s work at the Autism Research Centre at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax NS is focused on children and adolescents with ASD and their families.

Revised: October 2025

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the PSYCHOLOGY WORKS Fact Sheets: factsheets@cpa.ca

“Psychology Works” Fact Sheet: Bipolar Disorder

Posted on October 25, 2025October 27, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

We all experience changes in moods from time to time depending on events we go through in life. But when these mood swings become more dramatic and severe and impair a person’s ability to function as usual at work, school, or in relationships, it may indicate the presence of a serious mood disorder. Bipolar disorder, previously known as Manic-Depressive Illness, is a mental disorder that is characterized by severe mood swings cycling between periods of intense “highs” (mania or hypomania) and periods of intense “downs” (depression).

In mania, the individual experiences elevated perhaps extremely good mood, elation, or highly irritable mood that lasts for at least one week. This considerable increase in mood is accompanied by high levels of energy, combined with a noticeable decreased need for sleep. The individual usually has a boost in self-esteem, tends to talk more and faster, experiences racing thoughts, and is easily distracted. Mania is also characterized by an increase in goal-oriented activities and often leads to excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., excessive and irrational spending, sexual indiscretions, reckless driving). In more severe forms, mania can be accompanied by psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions and almost always requires hospitalisation. Hypomania, a milder form of mania, causes less impairment but can often go unnoticed for several years before receiving appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

In the depressive phase of bipolar disorder, symptoms of clinical depression (or Major Depressive Episode) need to be present for at least two weeks and are like symptoms of unipolar depression (see the Canadian Psychological Association’s fact sheet on Depression). These symptoms include depressed mood or sadness, loss of interest in most activities, decreased activities or social withdrawal, changes in appetite, increased or disturbed sleep, fatigue or low energy, decreased sexual desire, difficulties in concentration or making decisions, feelings of worthlessness and suicidal thoughts or plans. In more severe forms, clinical depression can be life threatening and require hospitalisation as suicide is a significant threat in bipolar disorder.

In Canada, around 2% of individuals will experience bipolar disorder at some point in their lifetime. Bipolar disorder usually starts in late adolescence or early adulthood, but it can also begin as early as childhood. It affects both men and women equally. Bipolar disorder is a highly recurrent disorder, meaning that most individuals with bipolar disorder will experience several episodes during their lifetime. Significant mood symptoms between episodes, problems with being able to get back to work, as well as relationship difficulties and break-ups are common in bipolar disorder.

Although we don’t know exactly what causes bipolar disorder, we do know that genes and chemicals in the brain play a strong role in making people vulnerable to developing the disorder. Stress alone does not cause bipolar disorder, but episodes of mania or depression are often triggered by stressful life events. Risk factors for relapse in bipolar disorder include abusing alcohol or drugs, not taking psychiatric medication as prescribed, and changes in routine leading to a lack of sleep or irregular sleeping habits.

What Psychological Approaches Are Used to Manage Bipolar Disorder?

Pharmacotherapy, or drug therapy, is essential for the treatment of bipolar disorder. It usually involves the use of one or more mood stabilizers, such as Lithium, combined with other medications. Though, there is now strong evidence that psychological interventions can be added to drug therapy to help people better manage their illness and reduce repeated experiences of mood episodes.

Psychoeducation consists of giving patients and their relatives adequate knowledge about bipolar disorder and teaching illness self-management skills so that people have a better understanding of their illness and its treatment. Psychoeducation is usually given in short-term (i.e., 5 to 10 sessions) group format.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) are both short-term forms of psychotherapy that have been shown effective in the treatment of mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. In bipolar disorder, CBT uses psychoeducation and mood monitoring to help people identify triggers of mood episodes and develop a written relapse prevention plan. Increasing activities in depression, reducing activities in mania, and correcting over-negative or over-positive thoughts are also strategies used in CBT. An adapted version of IPT, Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), has also been shown effective for bipolar disorder. The main goals of IPSRT are to help people deal better with relational difficulties and learn how to maintain a stable and healthy daily routine to regulate important biological rhythms, such as sleep, that can trigger mood episodes like mania.

Family Therapy interventions, which have been found to be helpful in schizophrenia, have also been successfully adapted to bipolar disorder. In Family Focused Therapy (FFT) patients and their families learn how to understand bipolar disorder better by getting information on the disorder and its treatment (psychoeducation) and learning communication and problem-solving skills to deal more effectively with the consequences of bipolar disorder.

Finally, social support is also very important for people with bipolar disorder and therefore joining local support groups for mood disorders may be helpful.

Where Can I Go for More Information?

More information regarding bipolar disorder can be found on the following websites:

Mood Disorders Society of Canada (MDSC): http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA): http://www.dbsalliance.org
The Collaborative RESearch Team to study psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder (CREST.DB): http://www.crestbd.ca/
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA): http://www.cmha.ca
Relief: http://relief.ca/

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Dr. Martin D. Provencher. Dr. Provencher is a Registered Clinical Psychologist in the Province of Québec, a Full Professor at L’École de psychologie de l’Université Laval, and a researcher at the Centre d’études et d’interventions en santé mentale (https://www.ceism.ca/) in Québec City. His primary interests include Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, mood and anxiety disorders, psychological interventions for Bipolar Disorder, behavioural activation for depression, and transdiagnostic treatments for anxiety disorders.

Revised: October 2025

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the PSYCHOLOGY WORKS Fact Sheets: factsheets@cpa.ca

“Psychology Works” Fact Sheet: Parenting Challenges

Posted on August 15, 2025October 27, 2025 by CPA Webmaster

What Role Do Parents Play in Children’s Development?

Psychological research and practice show us that parents are the most important influence on their children’s development. The parent role brings intense rewards and challenges. Parenting takes practice, flexibility, and openness to keep learning. Just as our children grow and learn, so must our parenting. Whether parenting with a partner, in one or two homes, or as a single parent, parents need support from family, friends, and their community. It really does take a village!

How Can Parents Help Children Grow and Thrive?

Children need both love and structure to grow and thrive. Although this formula sounds simple, putting this into practice can be tough. A loving relationship provides the foundation for children to regulate their emotion and develop both confidence and self-esteem. Parents show love in different ways according to their personal style and cultural background. It always involves being available to spend time with children and show interest in what they’re doing. Physical affection includes smiles, touch, hugs, and cuddles.

Regular frequent moments focusing on the child (without distraction from phones, TV, or the computer) is the foundation of a good relationship. It helps them build confidence and learn that they can turn to their parents when they face difficulty. As children reach adolescence, time with parents may look different from when they were younger. Without a warm and loving relationship with their parents throughout their development, children and youth are at risk for low self-esteem and low confidence. They may seek more negative ways to get attention and to feel good about themselves such as acting-out, risky behaviour to impress their peers, or self-medicating using drugs and alcohol.

A loving relationship is necessary, but is not enough to ensure healthy development. Children also need structure, consistency, and appropriate monitoring. From an early age, children benefit from routines that help them know what to expect each day. Parents show children the limits of acceptable behaviour by having some simple rules and expectations. Parents help children to learn that their actions have consequences. By noticing and commenting on behaviour they want to encourage, parents strengthen good habits.

Physical punishment, yelling, and humiliation hurt children. Fortunately, there are far more effective methods to address a child’s challenging behaviour. These include paying attention to the behaviours you wish to encourage and calmly addressing mild misbehaviour. Parents can guide their children to set limits and make good choices by using appropriate rewards and consequences. Without structure, children may have difficulty learning self-control and the ability to follow rules independently.

We cannot underestimate how much children learn from watching adult behaviour. In everyday life, there are lots of opportunities to show problem-solving, impulse control, the healthy expression of feelings (both positive and negative), patience, and tolerance. We must also be mindful to avoid inappropriate coping mechanisms, excessive use of digital devices, substance abuse, violent or bullying behaviour, or unproductive methods of handling conflicts. Life is full of teachable moments.

How Does Parenting Change as Children Age?

Children of all ages need love and structure. As children get older, there are subtle changes in how we show love and provide guidance. A baby thrives on rocking, broad smiles, and singing. Teens may appreciate a response to a text or good listening while driving to an activity. In helping a toddler to learn that it is not acceptable to pull the cat’s tail, the parent may provide guidance on how to stroke the cat gently. Parents help teenagers develop responsibility and make healthy decisions by negotiating curfews and appropriate behaviour. Parents promote growing independence in their children and help them to make good decisions and learn from their mistakes.

What Can Parents Do When They Need Support?

Parenting presents additional challenges when financial difficulties, work-related stress, separation or divorce, or mental or physical illness affect a family member. Parents adapt to the child’s temperament, developmental level, learning style, and cognitive abilities.

All parents need support from time to time. There is no one-size fits all approach to getting help. Some ways parents might find support include:

Consulting reliable, evidence-based websites or online programs
Attending presentations or discussion sessions with a trained practitioner on a topic they are struggling with
Consulting a trained professional to address specific situations or difficulties that their child might be experiencing
Completing a comprehensive parenting course

Parents of children with mood, anxiety, behavioural, or learning disorders are likely to benefit from evidence-based psychological services.

Social media has changed the landscape for parents. It is easy to access vivid videos and testimonials proposing parenting strategies. It can be overwhelming to sift through conflicting messages and know which ones have a solid foundation. Parent confidence may be undermined by contradictory claims of the usefulness of different approaches.

How Can Psychology Help?

Research has helped psychologists to learn about parenting that works and to develop a range of services for families. Evidence-based parent support provides information about the myriad issues that emerge in child and adolescent development. Parents learn to use positive approaches to parenting that help the child to learn and develop. Parent support can be offered face-to-face, via workbooks, and on-line to groups, couples, and individuals, to help parents learn and practice strategies that research has shown to be effective in promoting positive relationships and in reducing misbehaviour.

In evidence-based parent support programs, parents learn how to notice and pay attention to behaviour they want to encourage; how to set clear routines and expectations; how to help children recognize, label, and express their emotions; and how to respond to challenging behaviour. Parent support is most effective when parents have opportunities to observe and practice the techniques they are learning.

Parents who have their own personal struggles, such as feeling depressed, anxious, or in an unhappy relationship, may require help with their personal struggles as well as getting parenting support. Cognitive-behavioural therapy is effective in helping parents deal with their own mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or marital distress.

Where Can I Go for More Information?

For more information, visit:

The Incredible Years – Parents & Teachers. A series of interlocking evidence-based programs for parents, children, and teachers, supported by over 30 years of research: incredibleyears.com
Triple P Parenting. Positive Parenting Program works for babies, toddlers, and teens. Get parenting tips and classes in Canada; face-to-face or online: triplep-parenting.ca

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Dr. Catherine M. Lee, Professor Emerita, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa and consultant, Triple P Canada.

Revised: August 2025

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the PSYCHOLOGY WORKS Fact Sheets: factsheets@cpa.ca