I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada – Academy of Social Sciences, a licensed clinical psychologist, a Full Professor at the McGill School of Social Work and the Director of the Centre for Research on Children and Families. I am also an Associate Member in the Department of Pediatrics where I hold the Nicolas Steinmetz and Gilles Julien Chair in Community Social Pediatrics. I am an invited Professor at the Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC), Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
My program of research seeks to better understand the impact of adverse and traumatic life events in the lives of children and youth, as well as their experiences with services geared towards them. I aim to promote and implement social responses which are better suited to meet the needs of this often marginalized population and their families. This mission is realized through research across two main axes:
- Trauma-informed, children’s rights-based approaches implemented in different settings, such as child protection agencies, social pediatric clinics, fist-line social services, juvenile correctional services, and schools;
- Best practices in the identification and responses to child sexual abuse across systems, and particularly within child protection services.
I have secured and administered, as Principal Investigator, 8.3 million CAN$ in competitive grants, philanthropic gifts, and students’ internships through the MITACS program. I have published 185 books, book chapters, peer-reviewed articles and professional articles. I have established the research group on Social Responses to Complex Trauma at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and have received a SSHRC Partnership grant to expand this work and establish the Canadian Consortium on Child and Youth Trauma (). I was also awarded the 2020 CPA Traumatic Stress Section Award for Excellence in Psychology and the 2022 Medal of Honor from the Faculty of Arts and Science of Université de Montréal. I was one of three finalists of the 2023 SSHRC Connection Award.
I am regularly invited as a keynote speaker, in national and international scientific and community venues. My influence is reflected by my participation in expert consultations organized by different ministries as well as through the citation of my work in policy and child welfare reports. My research work is often featured in printed and television/radio media. I have trained over 5,000 professionals from various disciplines in trauma-informed practices, across Canada, in France and other European countries.
Consortium web page:
Research Gate:
ORCID:
Education:
Postdoctoral fellowship (UQAM) 2006
Ph.D.(UdeM) 2003
B.Sc. (UdeM) 1998
Employment:
2015 – present Nicolas Steinmetz and Gilles Julien Chair in Social Pediatrics in Community
2015 – present Associate Member - Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Department of Pediatrics
2008 - 2018ÌýCanada Research Chair in Child Welfare- Canada Research Chairs
2007 - presentÌýAssistant promoted to FullÌýProfessor - Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, School of Social Work
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