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The members of the CPA Accreditation Panel for 2021 – 2022 are:

Chair - Dr. Douglas Cane, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS
Douglas Cane

Douglas Cane received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Western University in London, Ontario. He has been a member of the Accreditation Panel since 2015, and is the 2022-23 Chair. He has been active in clinical training for the past 32 years and previously was the Director of Clinical Training for the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Psychology Residency Program for 10 years. He has also served as a member at large and as Secretary-Treasurer for CCPPP. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University and is a Fellow of the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia. His clinical work involves providing psychological services to individuals with ongoing pain.

Past Chair - Dr. Deborah Dobson, University of Calgary and Private Practice, Calgary, AB
Deborah Dobson

Deborah Dobson received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Western University in London, Ontario.  She is an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Calgary and has a private practice providing psychotherapy to adults with mental health problems.  She was the Director of Clinical Training for the Calgary Clinical Psychology Residency Program and has provided supervision and training both within Canada and internationally.  She is a founding member and served on the board of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies from 2010 until 2016.   In addition to her work in psychology, she has advocated for mental health community programs and was the President of the Canadian Mental Health Association—Calgary Region.  In addition to being a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, she was awarded the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in 2015 for her volunteer work.

Dr. Niki Fitzgerald, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON
Niki Fitzgerald

Dr. Niki Fitzgerald completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Windsor. She joined the Accreditation Panel in 2019 after serving as a site visitor.  She is a clinical psychologist in the Work, Stress, and Health Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) where she treats and assesses individuals injured at the workplace and assists clients reintegrate into the workforce. She supervises all levels of psychology trainees as well as psychiatry residents.  She is the Director of Training for the CAMH residency program.  She is a Lecturer in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Toronto, as well as Clinical Lecturer, in the Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto, Scarborough.  Since 2010 she has held Diplomat Status with the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.  In 2016, Dr. Fitzgerald became a certified Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) facilitator and was a clinician facilitator of this program for two local paramedic services. Outside of psychology, Dr. Fitzgerald is an avid runner and aspiring endurance triathlete.

Dr. Monnica Williams, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
Monnica Williams

Dr. Williams is the Canada Research Chair for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology. Her work focuses on ethnic minority mental health and psychopathology research. She completed her undergraduate studies at MIT and UCLA and received her doctoral degree from the University of Virginia. She completed her psychological internship at Montreal General Hospital. She was an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania for four years, followed by five years at the University of Louisville, where she served as Director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities. She also was at the University of Connecticut for three years, where she held joint appointments in Psychological Sciences and Psychiatry

Dr. Virginia Tze, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB
Virginia Tze

Dr. Virginia Tze received her Ph.D. in School and Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Alberta. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Administration, Foundations and Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Prior to joining the professoriate position, Dr. Tze had practiced as a school psychologist in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her research focuses on social-emotional learning, including emotional management, attribution theory, self-regulation, and cultural diversity.

Dr. Jose Domene, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Jose Domene

José F Domene is a Professor in the counselling psychology specialization area within the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. His teaching includes career development, professional ethics, and research methods. His scholarly work focuses on the relational contexts of career development and professional issues in counselling and counselling psychology in Canada. Dr. Domene is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and has previously served in various leadership roles within the Counselling Psychology Section of the CPA. He is currently serving as the Editor in Chief of the Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy. He is also a registered psychologist in the province of Alberta, whose practice focuses on the intersection of career-life and mental health concerns. Dr. Domene has a Mexican and Chinese cultural heritage and, in 1990, immigrated to Canada as a teenager with his family. Prior to joining the University of Calgary in 2018, he taught at the University of New Brunswick, and at Trinity Western University in British Columbia.

Ms. Lauren Matheson, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC (Student Member)
Lauren Matheson

Lauren Matheson is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Victoria. She is currently the student member of the CPA Accreditation Panel. Her research focuses on romantic relationships and LGBTQ+ identity. Specifically, she explores gender expression and sexual orientation in the context of queer relationships. Lauren is active in social justice initiatives within the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria and has sat on the Psychology Graduate Student Council and the Social Justice and Human Rights Committee in that department.

Dr. Christina Rinaldi, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Christina Rinaldi

Dr. Christina Rinaldi is a Professor in the College of Social Sciences & Humanities at the University of Alberta and the Scientific Director for the Canadian Center for Mentoring Research. Her particular expertise is in the area of developmental social and emotional psychological functioning and wellbeing, parenting, parent-child relationships, and early childhood school readiness. Her research interests include studying how critical relationships (family, mentors) support children and youth social and emotional learning, development, and overall wellbeing. A common thread across all of her research and career has been the drive to enhance youth development and wellbeing through social connection.

Dr. Sheila Garland, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NFLD
Sheila Garland

Sheila Garland completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary and her predoctoral residency at the Calgary Clinical Psychology Residency (CCRP) program. After that, she completed a three year CIHR funded post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before joining the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Memorial University. She is an associate professor and Director of Clinical Training for the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program. She is a registered psychologist in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and has a vibrant externally-funded clinical research program in the areas of psychosocial oncology, behavioral sleep medicine, and digital health.

Dr. Laurie Ford, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Laurie Ford

BIO Forthcoming


Role of the Panel: The principal function of the Panel is to uphold the standards of education and training in professional psychology (defined in the Standards section of the Accreditation Manual) as it exercises judgment in making decisions about programmes that have applied or re-applied for accreditation. In addition, the Panel (with delegation to the Registrar):

  • develops and disseminates the documents necessary to guide and assess programmes throughout the accreditation process
  • coordinates and reviews annual reporting of programmes throughout the terms of their accreditation
  • trains site visitors to participate in the accreditation process
  • consults to its many publics (e.g., programmes, students, consumers) on matters related to accreditation
  • consults to the Board, and any delegated governance, on matters related to accreditation
  • undertakes any action, permitted by its Standards and Procedures, necessary to carrying out its functions as outlined above

Composition of the Panel: The Panel is comprised of 9 members, appointed by the CPA Board, for staggered 3-year terms that may be extended for up to 3 more years.  One of the members is elected by the Panel as Chairperson, and one of the members is a doctoral student in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, school psychology, or clinical neuropsychology and is a student member of CPA.  The student has completed at least 1 year of graduate study and will remain a student for the 3-year term on the Panel.  The student member assumes the same roles and responsibilities of any Panel member, aside from acting as Chairperson.  As a group, the Panel members represent the specialities (i.e., clinical psychology, counselling psychology, school psychology, and clinical neuropsychology), types (i.e., doctoral or internship), and geographic locations of the programmes accredited by the CPA.  In addition, the Panel endeavours to have other dimensions of diversity represented among its members.

Become a CPA Accreditation Panel Member: Panel members conduct reviews of programme applications throughout the year, and the Panel formally meets twice yearly (Spring and Fall) in Ottawa, with all travel expenses covered by CPA.  At these times of the year acting as a Panel reviewer requires a high level of commitment and involvement.  However, Panel membership is also an extremely interesting and rewarding experience.  As the number of accredited programmes in Canada grows, we continually have a need for new Panel members.

To apply to serve as a Panel member, the following requirements must be met:

  • hold membership in CPA and other psychological associations
  • are currently, or have recently been, a faculty/staff member, or affiliate in some official capacity, of a doctoral or internship programme
  • are knowledgeable about professional and scientific issues in psychology
  • hold licensure/certification, where appropriate
  • are active in their academic/professional careers
  • possess a doctoral degree and have completed a doctoral-level internship at accredited programmes or their equivalents

To nominate yourself or another person to serve as a member of the CPA Accreditation Panel, please submit a CV and letter of interest to the Registrar at accreditation@cpa.ca.