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
Biography: Isabel Sadowski is a doctoral candidate in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She holds a B.A. in Psychology with Distinction and an M.A. in Counselling Psychology from McGill. Her Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-funded master’s research project examined the relationship between facets of mindfulness, nature-relatedness, and well-being in emerging adulthood. Presently, Isabel is interested in the development and implementation of nature-based mindfulness and compassion interventions using virtual reality (VR) to support older adults' and other underrepresented population’s mental health and well-being. As part of her doctoral research program, she developed and tested a 4-week VR-based nature meditation intervention. She is funded by the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral Award, the Mitacs Accelerate program, and the Jackie Kirk Fieldwork Support Fund.
Isabel is currently completing her predoctoral psychology residency at the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the Allan Memorial Institute (MUHC). Additionally, she has completed clinical practicums at the Centre for Personalized Psychological Intervention for Psychosis (Ci3P) at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, and at Medipsy Psychological Services.
Supervisor: Dr. Bassam Khoury
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MA Counselling Psychology, McGill University, 2019
BA with Distinction, McGill University, 2016
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Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Sadowski, I., Meilleur-Bédard, M., & Khoury, B. (2025). A Novel Virtual Reality-Based Nature Meditation Program for Older Adults’ Mental Health: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Clinical Gerontologist.https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2025.2482089
Khoury, B, Lesage, M., Kasprzyk, A., Sadowski, I., Manova, V., Benchimol-Elkaim, B., Dias Martins, C., Rigas, C., & Rej. S. (2025). Embodied and embedded mindfulness and compassion in practice. Mindfulness.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-025-02561-4
Zito, S., Petrovic, J., Böke, B. N., Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., & Heath, N. L. (2024).Exploring the stress management and well-being needs of pre-service teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 152, 104805.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104805
Petrovic, J., Sadowski, I., Böke, B. N., Mettler, J., Bastien, L., & Heath, N. L. (2024). Perceived degree of reaching adulthood: A novel predictor of subjective well-being in emerging adulthood. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06781-0
Böke, B. N.,Petrovic, J., Zito, S., Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., Rodger, S., & Heath, N. L. (2023). Two for one: Effectiveness of a mandatory personal and classroom stress management program for pre-service teachers. School Psychology, 2578-4218. https://doi.org./10.1037/spq0000611
Mettler, J., Khoury, B., Zito, S., Sadowski, I., & Heath, N. L. (2023). Mindfulness-based programs and school adjustment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 97, 43-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2022.10.007
Sadowski, I. & Khoury, B. (2022). Nature-Based Mindfulness-Compassion Programs Using Virtual Reality for Older Adults: A Narrative Literature Review. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 3(892905). https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.892905
Heshmati, R., Khoury, B., Azmoodeh, S., Zerang, M., & Sadowski, I. (2022). The effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotional Flexibility and Ambivalence Over Emotional Expression in Divorced Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001619
Khoury, B., Vergara, R.C., Sadowski, I., & Spinelli, C. (2021). Embodied Mindfulness Questionnaire: Scale Development and Validation. Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211059856
Anand, L., Sadowski, I., Per, M., & Khoury, B. (2021). Mindful Parenting: A Meta-Analytic Review of Psychological Outcomes from a Developmental Perspective. Current Psychology, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02111-w
Sadowski, I., Böke, N., Mettler, J., Heath, N., & Khoury, B. (2020). Naturally mindful? The role of mindfulness facets in the relationship between nature relatedness and subjective well-being. Current Psychology, 41, 5358-5373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01056-w
Vailati-Riboni. F., Sadowski, I., Comazzi, B., & Pagnini, F. (2020). Mindful age and technology: A qualitative analysis of a tablet/smartphone app intervention designed for older adults. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 56, 739-754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-020-09580-x
Carsley, D., Sadowski, I., Heath, N. L., Montoro, R., & Miller, S. (2020). Acceptability and effectiveness of a brief mindfulness workshop for medical residents. Focus on Health Professional Education, 21(3), 15-29.
Carletto, S., Cavalera, C., Sadowski, I., Rovaris, M., Borghi, M., Khoury, B., Ostacoli, L., & Pagnini, F. (2020). Mindfulness-based interventions to improve psychological and physical functioning in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 82(6), 600-613. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000819
Per, M., Spinelli, C., Sadowski, I., Anand, L., Schmelefske, E., & Khoury, B. (2019). Evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in incarcerated populations: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 47(3), 310-330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854819891457
Shulman, B., Dueck, R., Ryan, D., Breau, G., Sadowski, I., Misri, S. (2018). Feasibility of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Group Intervention as an Adjunctive Treatment for Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders, 235, 61-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.065
Book Chapters:
Naït-Hamoud L., Sadowski I., Gagnon Mailhot M., Khoury B., Laberge M., Léonard G., & Bordeleau M. (2025). Nouvelles perspectives avec la réalité virtuelle pour les aînés au Québec. Guide d’analyse prospective des enjeux des Interventions Non Médicamenteuses (INM) en santé, 2.
Khoury, B., Vergara, R., Spinelli, C. & Sadowski, I. (2023). Embodied Mindfulness Questionnaire (EMQ). In O.N. Medvedev, C.U. Krageloh, R.J. Siegert, & N.N. Singh. (Eds.) Handbook of assessment in mindfulness research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77644-2_74-1
Khoury, B., Vergara, R., Spinelli, C. & Sadowski, I. (2023). Interpersonal Mindfulness Questionnaire (IMQ). In O.N. Medvedev, C.U. Krageloh, R.J. Siegert, & N.N. Singh. (Eds.) Handbook of assessment in mindfulness research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77644-2_75-1
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Conference Presentations (selected):
Sadowski, I., Vilvaratnam, K., Meilleur-Bédard, M., Bordeleau, M., Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Rej, S.** & Khoury, B.** (2025). Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Promote the Mental Health of Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Scoping Review and Logic Model. Poster accepted for presentation at the 86th Annual National Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Saint John’s, NL.
Sadowski, I., Benchimol-Elkaim, B., Collette, S., & Khoury, B. (2024, August). A Virtual Reality-Based Nature-Mindfulness-Compassion Program for Older Adults: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Talk presented at the International Conference on Mindfulness, Bangor, UK.
Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Sadowski, I., Léonard, G., Rainville, P., Bissonnette, J., Cinalioglu, K., Glegg, S., Khoury, B., Lamontagne, A., Marchand, S., Pagé, G., Sekhon, H., Tapp, D., & Bordeleau, M. (2024, Aprill). Barrières et facilitateurs à l’utilisation de la réalité virtuelle immersive dans les établissements de soins de longue durée au Québec. Résumé de communication présenté aux Journées scientifiques du RQRV, Montréal, QC.
Bordeleau, M., Sadowski, I., Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Khoury, B., Pagé, G., Lamontagne, A., Tapp, D., Levac, D., Glegg, S., Bissonnette, J., Cinalioglu, K., Sekhon, H., Rainville, P., & Léonard, G. (2024, January). Exploration de la réalité virtuelle en CHSLD et maison des aînés pour gérer la douleur et améliorer la santé mentale : présentation d’un protocole. Retraire annuelle 2024. Réseau québécois de recherche sur la douleur. Beaupré, QC.
Sadowski, I., Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Khoury, B., Pagé, G., Lamontagne, A., Tapp, D., Levac, D., Glegg, S., Bissonnette, J., Cinalioglu, K., Sekhon, H., Rainville, P., Léonard, G., & Bordeleau, M. (2023, September). La réalité virtuelle immersive en centre d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée : Une étude pilote. Poster presented at the 12th Congrès International Francophone de Gérontologie et Gériatrie, Montréal, QC.
Sadowski, I., Aguilar Trejo, E., & Khoury, B. (2023, June). Examining a nature-based mindfulness-compassion program delivered via virtual reality: Applications for older adults. Talk presented at the 84th Annual National Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, ON.
Bordeleau, M., Sadowski, I., Gagnon-Mailhot, M., Lamontage, A., Pagé, G., Khoury, B., Tapp, D., Levac, D., Glegg, S., Cinalioglu, K., Sekhon, H., Rainville, P., & Léonard, G. (2023, May). Étude pilote sur l’utilisation de la réalité virtuelle immersive en centre d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée. Talk presented at the 90th Annual Acfas Convention, Montreal, QC.
Böke, B. N., Mettler, J., Riondino, G., Sadowski, I., Heath, N. L. (2023, June). “Mindfulness doesn’t work for me”: You’re doing it all wrong! Talk presented at the 11th Conference on Emerging Adulthood (11CEA), San Diego, CA.
Sadowski, I., Bastien, L., Milad, J., Mettler, J., Weintraub, G., & Heath, N.L. (2021, October). School Mental Health Professionals’ Role in Online Resource Provision. Poster presented virtually at the 2021 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, Baltimore, MD.
Sadowski, I., Böke, B. N., Mettler, J., Heath, N. L., & Khoury, B. (2019, October). Naturally Mindful? The association between nature relatedness, mindfulness, and positive and negative affect in emerging adult university students. Poster presented at the 9th Biennial Conference of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, Toronto, ON.
Sadowski, I., Böke, B. N., Mettler, J., Heath, N. L., & Khoury, B. (2019, April). The role of nature relatedness and mindfulness in emerging adults’ levels of positive and negative affected. Poster presented at the 4th Annual Human Development Conference, Montreal, QC.
Per, M., Spinelli, C., Sadowski, I., Anand, L., Schmelefke, E., & Khoury, B. (2018, November) The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Forensic Inpatient Populations: A Meta-Analysis. Poster presented at the Mind and Life International Symposium for Contemplative Research, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Anand, L., Sadowski, I., Per, M., & Khoury, B. (2018, June). Mindful parenting: A meta-analysis reviewing outcomes from a developmental perspective. Poster presented at the International Congress of Applied Psychology, Montreal, QC.
Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., Montoro, R., Miller, S., & Heath, N. (2018, May). Feasibility, Acceptability and Effectiveness of a Brief Mindfulness Workshop for Medical Residents. Poster presented at the 4th Canadian Conference on Positive Psychology, Toronto, ON.
Sadowski, I., Carsley, D., Montoro, R., Miller, S., & Heath, N. (2018, April). Evaluation of a Brief Mindfulness Workshop for Medical Residents. Poster presented at the 3rd Annual Human Development Conference, Montreal, QC.
Sadowski, I., Ong, S., Misri, S. (2017, May). Paternal postpartum depression: A review of the literature. Poster presented at the UBC Department of Psychiatry Annual Research Day, Vancouver, BC.
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Funding:
Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship ($15,000)
McGill University: Jackie Kirk Fieldwork Support Fund ($7,000)
Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship ($30,000)
Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral ($105,000)
Fonds du recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC) – Doctoral Scholarship ($84,000) (Declined)
McGill University: Adolescent Wellness and Community Engagement Award ($2,000)
McGill University: Graduate Excellence Fellowship ($8,000)
SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s ($17,500)
McGill University: Graduate Mobility Award ($4,080)
McGill University: Graduate Excellence Fellowship ($3,500)
Awards:
International Mindfulness Conference (ICM): Travel Scholarship
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging: Summer Program in Aging – Trainee Travel Award
McGill University: Graduate Research Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Award (2020, 2021, 2023)
McGill University: Graduate Student Enhancement Award for Research Development (2018, 2019)
McGill University: Dean’s Honour List
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