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Introduction

About Me

               Length of practice

I’ve been practicing as a psychologist in Alberta (with a 4-year break in Texas) since 1998.  My doctoral degree was in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and I’ve been practicing as a psychologist since then.  I’ve been able to work in a range of settings, including private practice and the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.  At the Glenrose, I was able to work on an assessment clinic for many years, which helped me develop skills in assessment of children and youth.  I also consult with several Alberta school boards, providing assessments and consultation to classrooms and teachers. 

Workshop

I also have some expertise in workshop development and facilitation.  Topics have included managing challenging behaviours, anxiety in children and youth, teacher understanding of trauma in students, and self-care for adults as well as children.  Self-care as been an especially important topic during this strange year of 2020, and I have provided workshops in this area to three school boards so far this school year.  I enjoy presentations, and have been blessed with a lack of anxiety when standing in front of a group of people. 

Assessments

Psychoeducational assessment of students is probably the primary part of my practice.  I am very thorough when doing these, doing a review of all of the student’s school records (including past report cards, reports from other professionals, and preschool documentation when available), as well as interviews with parents and teachers.  I have completed several hundred assessments in the past few years, and have decided I will keep doing these until I am no longer amazed by the students and families I get to meet! 

When parents or schools ask me for an assessment, their concern often involves challenges in learning from the student.  Learning challenges can come from many sources, including:

-        Cognitive ability

-        Learning disability

-        Anxiety

-        Mood difficulties

-        Behavioural challenges

-        Attentional weakness

-        Trauma

-        Unrealistic expectations

My job is to find out which of these (often, more than one) are affecting the student’s learning, and to then provide realistic, practical strategies that the school and family can use to make a difference.  I assess these areas in a variety of ways.

In addition to reviewing background information, an assessment also includes working directly with the student in a few ways.  This usually includes cognitive testing of the student (also known as IQ testing).  This helps me see how the student is able to learn, whether on verbal tasks or nonverbal areas like solving puzzles or recognizing patterns.  I also assess the working memory of the student (to see how well the student can take in information from the teacher), as well as the student’s speed on simple tasks (to see how quickly they are able to work when they know what they are supposed to do).  Cognitive testing measures some useful things, but doesn’t measure others, such as the student’s character, motivation, and frustration tolerance, so I try to learn about these as well during testing and in interviews with others who know the student well. 

Academic assessment is also usually a part of such an assessment.  This includes an understanding of fundamental skills in reading, writing, and mathematics.  I assess what the student can do independently; often, this looks different from what the student is able to show in a classroom setting with a teacher or nearby peers who are able to help them with assignments. 

In doing these in-person portions of the assessment, I always test the student myself.  I find that working directly with the student is the best way to understand the way that they approach tasks and manage difficult activities.  I am also not especially good at delegating, and simply prefer to do this direct work on my own. 

I also often ask parents and teachers to provide information, both in interviews and through questionnaires where I can compare their impressions of the student with those from the general population.  I want to get as much information as I possibly can about the student, from people who know the student better than I do. 

After the testing and information-gathering is completed, I generate a report (usually 10 or more pages, or about 6000 words) which provides a summary of background information, interview information, test results, consultations, recommendations, and a diagnosis if applicable.  I also spend time with the family and/or school to discuss the results in person.  I think this debriefing is perhaps the most crucial part of the process; while the report is helpful, I like to set up this debriefing as a conversation with the school/family to talk about real-life strategies that can help out.  This usually takes an hour or so; I know that when I see my doctor, I have to make sure I ask all the questions I need to ask, so I want to give everybody a lot of time to ask as many questions as they need. 

               Orientation

               Background

Services I provide

               Things I’m good at

While I was trained as a generalist, my practice has taken on a focus in certain areas over the years.  I think it is not reasonable to claim expertise in every possible area!  My areas of strength are in psychological testing, workshop presentations, and therapy with certain people and challenges.  My therapy practice mostly involves working with folks with challenges with anxiety.  In the last couple of years, I have increased my work with church pastors and staff, and find this matches with my own background and interests.  I have also completed training related to helping people slow down or stop undesired repetitive behaviours, such as hair-pulling or skin-picking.  When working with children and youth, a part of the session (often, the most important part) involves working with the parent, who can provide interventions on an in-the-moment basis in the home. 

My therapy approach generally involves short-term intervention.  My goal is to ensure that the client and I work together on strategies which will allow the person to progress independently over time, rather than creating a dependency relationship which can go on for an extended period of time.  I also work with people on more of a maintenance schedule (once every couple of months) after that, as a way of providing a “check-in” during the year.  I find that it is easier to prevent mental health challenges from becoming severe than to address them when they are at a severe level already. 

               Things I’m not good at

Sometimes people call me with a concern about an area that is not a strength for me.  When this happens, I believe it is much better to refer them on to someone who is more skilled in that area than I am, rather than to pretend that I am expert in such areas.  These would include substance abuse challenges, severe mental health issues like personality disorders or suicidal ideation, and play therapy.  While I have about 20 years of (mostly successful) experience in my own marriage, I find that I am not especially good at couples counseling. 

Fees

I follow the fee schedule used by the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta, which is currently $200/hour.  For a full assessment, my typical charge is $2000, though this can depend on the nature and complexity of the assessment.  Sometimes, costs can be offset by insurance; especially for assessment, I recommend that the family check with their insurance provider to clarify whether this is covered (and if so, how much).  Sometimes, therapy and assessment are covered differently by the insurer.  I do not do any direct billing to insurance companies. 

Contact Information

I can be reached at 780-887-9456, or by email at drshawn@shaw.ca.  I typically respond to calls within two business days.  I don’t have a way to set appointments on my website; this is because I like talking directly with the potential client before setting an appointment, to ensure that there is a good fit before working with you, and to offer other referral options if those are more appropriate for you.