Graduate Students
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Leena Anand, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 6
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness; Mindfulness in parenting relationships and long-distance relationships
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Brandon Benchimol-Elkaim, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 4
Research Interests: Mindfulness and Virtual Reality interventions to reduce preoperative anxiety
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Claudia Dias Martins (she/her), MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 2
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness in romantic relationships; Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions
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Agata Kasprzyk, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 2
Research Interests: Transgender and gender diverse mental health; Minority stress; Substance use; Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions
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Akua Kwarko-Fosu, MA, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 2
Research Interests: Mindfulness and self-compassion among refugees and asylum claimants
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Myriam Lesage, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 2
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness; Virtual Reality (VR) mindfulness
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Viktoriya Manova, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 5
Research Interests: Interpersonal mindfulness in supportive interactions
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Kevin Prada (he/him), MA
Ph. D. Counselling Psychology, Year 1
Research Interests: 2S/LGBTQI+ and other minority/marginalized communities; The intersection between faith, religiosity, spirituality, and 2S/LGBTQI+ identities and experiences; Mindfulness-based interventions; Substance use and misuse
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Christina Rigas, MSc, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 1 (starting in September 2026)
Research Interests: Mindfulness; Self-compassion; Perinatal mental health; Mental health interventions
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Isabel Sadowski (she/her), MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 6
Research Interests: Mindfulness-based interventions; Nature connection; Virtual Reality; Mental health; Aging; Implementation science; Translational science
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Neha Verma, MA
PhD in School/Applied Child Psychology, Year 2
Research Interests: Mind-body interventions, Body-based interventions, Trauma
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Melanie Wisener, MA
PhD in Counselling Psychology, Year 7
Research Interests: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion; Addictive Behaviours; Coping
Alumni
Matthew Fleischmann, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Megan Per, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Emma Schmelefske, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2025
Christina Spinelli, PhD Counselling Psychology, 2023
Volunteers and Research Assistants
We are grateful to the undergraduate volunteers and research assistants who contribute to the MMRL. A special thanks to the following individuals for their work in the 2024-2025 academic calendar:
Keana Chacon-James, Kyla Janhevich, Andrew Lawless, Naomie Lemyre, An Leng, Jenna Mackenzie, Marianne Meilleur-Bedard, Jamie Mongeon, Joelle Moses, Fiona Nguyen, Cyra Pantaleon, Noémie Setlakwe, Michelle Seto, Malia Silver, Mariame Taoufik, Kabisan Vilvaratnam.