Research Assistant, McGill Mindfulness Research Lab

Research Interests: Human-animal relationships; Embodied awareness; Mindfulness; Compassion; Embeddedness

Biography: Keana Chacon-James has been involved with the McGill Mindfulness Research Lab since September 2024. She initially joined as an undergraduate student, completing an independent research project on the preliminary validation of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Counselling Scale. A measure assessing how individuals respond to uncertainty and complexity within counselling contexts. She has since continued as a research assistant, contributing to research grounded in the Embodied and Embedded Mindfulness and Compassion Framework developed by the lab. She is currently leading a qualitative study exploring participants’ experiences with mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions.

Keana’s research interests centre on how relationships with animals may foster embodied awareness, mindfulness, compassion, and embeddedness, as well as how these experiences influence the ways individuals understand and navigate suffering.

Supervisors: Dr. Bassam Khoury