2020 PAA Award Winners
Awards are given in recognition of excellence in the field and these recognitions allow us to publicly acknowledge those contributions. PAA would like to acknowledges our own exemplars, honoring those who shape our profession in such meaningful ways.
The PAA Awards Ceremony is typically held with a banquet and a warmly celebrated time with family and friends. This year we have pivoted to host this online but have the added benefit of ‘” opening the doors” so much more broadly to our community as we are broadcasting live online on our YouTube channel which will capture this wonderful celebration. You can watch the Awards celebration here!
2020 PAA Award Winners
PAA Psychologist of the Year Award
Dr. Jac Andrews
Dr. Andrews exemplifies the role of an academic psychologist, particularly these last two years. Over his 32-year career, Dr. Andrews has played a critical role in advocating for the profession of school psychology. In the past two years, Dr. Andrews led the University of Calgary’s School and Applied Child Psychology (SACP) program towards accreditation with the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). He played a critical role in liaising with faculty and university leadership to gain their support, provided leadership in updating and revising the vision, mission, and goals of our program, and created and maintained strong connections to community partners and leaders.
PAA Pettifor Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Jacqueline Linder
Dr. Jacqueline Linder’s commitment to social justice, academic excellence, and ethical and compassionate clinical practice make her a worthy choice for recognition for the PAA’s Jean and Dick Pettifor Memorial Award. As an advocate and researcher, her work in the area of human trafficking and soul loss is groundbreaking. She has long been the voice for survivors of human trafficking and has publicly offered not only education but also testified on behalf of survivors. Dr. Linder also created an NGO to specifically work with this population.
PAA Excellence in Clinical Supervision Award
Dr. Nicole Kostiuk
Dr. Kostiuk has been supervising students for several years. She goes above and beyond to not only teach her students valuable therapeutic techniques and concepts but to also teach her students to engage in valuable self-reflection. She is cognizant of her supervisees’ level of knowledge and skill and adjusts her supervision to meet the supervisee where they are at. Dr. Kostiuk will also encourage her students to go outside of their comfort zones and try new techniques or deliver group material. She goes above and beyond to provide resources to her students to help them grow their knowledge base.
PAA Undergraduate Thesis Award
Jessie Swanek
Jessie is receiving this reward in recognition of her research for her Thesis entitled “Baby It’s Cold Outside: Psychopathic Traits and Sexual Coercion” In her study, Jessie provided an in-depth analysis of sexually coercive behaviour in those with psychopathic traits. Jessie’s study is truly unique in its significance for our existing scientific literature.
2020 PAA Best Poster
Jonathan Dubue
Jonathan’s poster titled “Canadian Psychologists’ Experiences of Conducting Suicide Risk Assessment” showcased the psychologists list suicide risk assessments (SRAs) as one of their greatest clinical challenges. Recent literature suggests health professionals have diverse SRA practices, the study of which has led to better training and consequently less patient suicide. This phenomenological study examines five Canadian psychologists’ SRA experiences, the results of which inform ethical, training, and practical difficulties in assessing suicide.
You can view Jonathan’s poster presentation here.