Dr. Christine Knight

I always knew that I wanted to help people. At first I thought I'd be a lawyer, because I always enjoyed a good debate. But after my grandmother had a massive stroke and our family was left scrambling about what to do to help her, and how to support each other, I realized that I wanted to become a psychologist. I believed that in a psychologist role I would be well-positioned to assist people in coping with the various challenges they faced in their lives. 

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Growing up in Montreal, I completed a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Psychology, from McGill University. I then moved to Ontario to obtain a double Masters degree in Applied Psychology and Gerontology (the study of aging) from the University of Waterloo, before completing my Doctor of Philosophy degree in Clinical Psychology at Lakehead University.

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Since obtaining my PhD  I have had the privilege of working along the entire continuum of health care, including community outreach, day treatment, inpatient psychiatry, medical and rehabilitation units, supported housing and long-term or continuing care facilities.

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I have almost two decades of experience providing psychological and neuropsychological assessment, diagnosis and treatment to adult and geriatric clients with a wide variety of mental health issues (e.g. PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD), co-morbid medical conditions (e.g. cancer, stroke, IBS) and functional difficulties including cognitive impairment and dementia, traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities, personal injury and chronic pain.

 

Having worked within the area of geriatric mental health for over 15 years, I developed particular expertise in the area of assessment of cognitive impairment, dementia and decision-making capacity (e.g. guardianship, trusteeship, enacting personal directives). Not surprisingly, as as result, I have a great deal of experience assisting family members who are dealing with caregiver stress and the challenges of caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.

 

In my search for ways to help alleviate the suffering of many of my clients, I have also pursued advanced training in the treatment of trauma and post-traumatic stress, including Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). I have used these treatments effectively with clients from age 19 to 90 years old! 

 

In addition to my clinical work, I also have an appointment as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary. I actively participate in the training and supervision of psychology students, interns and medical residents.