2023-2024 PD AWARD WINNERS

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Atara Lonn is a second year PhD student studying Psychology at Carleton University. Her research focuses on understanding how people can improve the quality of their social relationships, including romantic relationships and friendships. As a secondary interest, she aims to learn best practices in psychological research methods, as well as how to employ high-quality empirical research designs in her own work. The Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology Professional Development Award has enabled her to complete the Sample Size Justification Seminar as offered by Statistical Horizons. Through participating in this seminar, Atara has learned how to conduct high-powered, informative research while balancing resource constraints. She can apply the skills she developed in the Sample Size Justification Seminar to her future research endeavours, which will result in higher-quality research products.   

Kirsten (she/her) is a PhD Candidate in School and Applied Child Psychology within the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. She holds a Masters in School and Applied Child Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (hons) and minor in Neuroscience from McGill University. Kirsten is passionate about research and clinical practice with children and youth and has a special interest in working with families with neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research involves the investigation of social-emotional intervention programs for children and adolescents with ADHD. 

The award is supporting Kirsten’s professional development by helping her attend the Supporting Teens’ Autonomy Daily (STAND): An evidenced-based practice for ADHD in adolescence training. Supporting Teens’ Autonomy Daily (STAND; Sibley, 2016) is an empirically supported and award winning treatment program that is tailored to the realities of adolescence and provides skills to struggling adolescents and their parents. Adolescents with attention, executive functioning, and motivation difficulties often struggle at home, school, and with others. This two day live zoom training is aimed at providing specialized training in the delivery of STAND to mental health providers and trainees. Adolescents with attention, executive functioning, and motivation difficulties often struggle at home, school, and with others.