Teaching
Learning by doing
At York University, I design courses around problems that require students to make and defend a decision. They use research to support their reasoning, then reconsider their work through feedback and reflection.
In Psychology and Law, students examine justice-system decisions through connected simulations and a policy letter. In Foundations of Clinical Psychology, actor-presented cases give students practice in differential diagnosis, including how to communicate uncertainty.
In supervision, I help undergraduate and graduate researchers take increasing responsibility for their projects, from the research question to the written report.
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PSYC 3310 · Undergraduate · York University
Psychology and Law
How can psychological research inform a fairer and more effective justice system? This course follows the Canadian justice system from lawmaking and policing to courts, sentencing, and corrections. Students examine how evidence, human judgment, and institutional decisions shape what happens along the way.
I bring these questions into the classroom through connected simulations and a policy-writing project. Students make decisions, see their consequences, and explain how research supports—or challenges—their choices.
MAKE-A-COP
Teams design a fictional Canadian police service and decide how to use its resources as new scenarios unfold.
Court in the Act!
Students take on courtroom roles to examine testimony, weigh evidence, and connect psychological research with the decisions made in a Canadian courtroom.
Research into policy
Students develop a policy recommendation for a Canadian justice-system decision-maker, revising their argument from an idea pitch through a complete draft to the final letter.
PSYC 6422 · Graduate · York University
Foundations of Clinical Psychology
Psychopathology and Personality
Course artwork: Constance Charpentier, La Mélancolie (1801), Musée de Picardie, Amiens.
What makes a diagnostic conclusion defensible—and what should remain uncertain? This graduate course examines adult psychopathology and personality through diagnostic classification, psychological theory, and the cultural and social contexts in which distress and impairment occur.
Students connect DSM-5-TR criteria with case evidence, compare plausible diagnoses, and identify what they still need to know. Throughout the course, I emphasize careful reasoning, awareness of bias, and the limits of diagnostic labels.
Cases brought to life
Actor-presented cases, in which I portray the client, give students practice observing clinical information and weighing competing diagnostic explanations.
Formulation and context
Guided case formulations connect diagnostic evidence with explanatory models, cultural context, and questions that require further assessment.
Reflection and revision
Scribe protocols, diagnostic reports, and self-marking exercises help students distinguish evidence from inference and improve how they communicate uncertainty.
PSYC 3320 · Undergraduate · York University
Forensic Psychology
The syllabus, course schedule, and learning activities are coming soon.
How students learn
Evidence in practice
Students compare possible responses to a problem and explain which response the evidence supports.
Reasoning and revision
Students revisit their assumptions and revise their explanations in response to feedback.
Supervision and development
As students take greater responsibility for a project, supervision supports their decisions about how to carry it out and explain the findings.
Continue learning
Current training offerings
Explore my current professional training, including workshops on risk assessment and risk communication.