Ghia Townsend, MSc. C. Psych

BIOGRAPHY

Professional License and Certification

Ghia (Pronounced “Gia”) is a Clinical and Counselling Psychologist and Registered Member of the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO), licensed to work with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families ages 2 to 65 years old. Ghia fulfilled all provincial requirements for licensure as a psychologist, including completing the Examination for the Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), Jurisprudence and Ethics Examination (JEE), independent studies in Psychodiagnostics and five years of Supervised Clinical Experience with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families.

Ghia is also a Certified Sex Therapist with the Association of Sex Therapy in Ontario (ASTO). She completed all training requirements and associated examinations in fulfillment of her Sex Therapist designation.

Education

Ghia graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Human Resources Management in 2003, with 1st Class Honours. She completed her Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology in 2006. She also completed Advanced Couples and Family Therapy courses at the University of Guelph – Open Learning and Educational Support between 2012 and 2014. Ghia is in the final phase of her Doctor of Psychology Program at California Southern University and anticipates graduating between 2024 and 2025 upon completing and defending her final doctoral project.

Ghia’s Doctoral Research will make a unique contribution to the field of psychology by introducing Innovative and Comprehensive Psychological Assessment Management and Report Writing Software. In general, her current doctoral project revolves around: 

• Advancing Evidence-Based Psychological Assessments (EBPA) by systematizing the assessment process to improve the reliability and validity of the assessment results. 
• Reducing the need for client waitlists when accessing psychological assessment services by removing the report writing barrier that makes it challenging for psychologists to write their psychological assessment reports consistently and promptly. 
• Creating a systematic framework in which Research continuously informs Clinical Practice and Clinical Practice seamlessly informs Research, consistent with the Scientist-Practitioner Model. 

Ghia has distinguished herself scholastically, earning grades ranging from 92 to 100 across all her doctoral-level psychology courses, including but not limited to Psychological Assessments, Advanced Psychopathology, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Advanced Personality Theories, Psychological Tests and Measurement, Ethical and Professional Issues, Research Methods in Psychology, Statistical Methods and Analysis, Human Sexuality, Cultural Diversity, Clinical Supervision and Consultation, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy, etcetera. Ghia is currently on track for graduating Suma Cum Laude, having completed all (core and elective courses) but her final research project. Toronto Psychological Services & Research Centre (TPS) and our clients benefit from Ghia’s commitment to excellence in psychology and her extensive knowledge and clinical expertise in psychological assessments and therapy directly and indirectly through her clinical supervision.   

Previous Work Experience

Ghia has had the privilege of working in diverse positions across the discipline of Psychology and Counselling, gaining more than 18 years of experience in her prior professional roles that included:

• Part-time Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the West Indies, Mona (2003 to 2006) 
• Deputy Director of Counselling and Psychological Services at the International University of the Caribbean (2006 to 2007)
• Clinical Psychologist and Case Manager at The Mico University College CARE Centre (2007 to 2008)
• Consultant Psychologist for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (2006 to 2010)
• Lecturer and Coordinator of Doctoral Programs at the International University of the Caribbean (2008 to 2010)
• Psychometrist at Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK; 2010 to 2012)
• Adjunct Professor in Counselling and Psychology at Canada Christian University (2015 to 2019) 

Current Work Experience

Ghia’s tenure at TPS commenced in 2012, and her primary responsibilities involved conducting Reunification Therapy, Clinical, Psychoeducational, Gifted, ADHD, and Autism Assessments, and providing evidence-based therapies to children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families under supervision initially and then autonomously since 2015.

Ghia transitioned into her current role as Director/Clinical Psychologist/Clinical Supervisor at TPS in January 2020.

Individual, Couples, Family, Sex, and Reunification Therapies

Ghia provides evidence-based therapeutic care to her clients directly or indirectly via supervision. She primarily uses cognitive behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural couples and family therapy, and cognitive behavioural play therapy modalities.

Ghia specializes in providing exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, exposure and response prevention for OCD, and prolonged exposure for PTSD. She specializes in mindfulness-based CBT and acceptance-based techniques. Ghia also specializes in evaluating the presence of possible parental alienation and providing associated reunification therapy sessions via her reunification therapy team at TPS. Ghia has training in understanding the dynamics and impact of parental alienation and working with alienated children and families. She completed training in traditional systemic family therapy approaches, emotion-focused therapy, and solution-focused therapy. Ghia also incorporates dialectical behavioural therapy techniques, interpersonal therapy and social rhythm therapy in her work with select clients, as appropriate.

Additionally, Ghia has worked extensively with therapy clients presenting with anxiety, OCD, depression, PTSD, dissociative disorders, ADHD, high-functioning autism, bipolar disorder, sexual dysfunctions, and substance use and addictive disorders.

Psychological Assessments
Ghia’s current clinical work at TPS primarily involves conducting psychological assessments. Her expertise is in psychodiagnostics. More specifically, her expertise lies in conducting psychological evaluations geared towards identifying the presence of DSM-5-TR neurodevelopmental, mental, behavioural, and personality disorders.

Gifted Assessments
Ghia conducts gifted assessments for children, adolescents and adults by determining whether a client would meet the criteria for giftedness accepted across most Ontario school boards.

Autism Assessments
Ghia has experience with diagnosing autism in children, adolescents, and adults ages two years and older. She is skilled at identifying persons presenting on the mild end of the spectrum whose autism may be masked and is, therefore, barely detectable. She also has experience with diagnosing autism in persons with more severe clinical presentations (with or without intellectual and language impairment) that hinder their functioning across multiple domains and limit their independence.

ADHD Assessments
Ghia has expertise in investigating and diagnosing ADHD across the lifespan. She conducts a multimethod investigation that includes objective measures of attention and impulsivity and standardized questionnaires. Notably, her evaluation considers the implications of her clients’ complete history and the influence of cultural and other variables to understand each client’s symptoms and degree of impairment.

Psychoeducational Assessments
Ghia’s experience includes investigating and diagnosing learning disabilities. She is especially keen on completing an evaluation that is useful for understanding clients’ degree of impairment. More importantly, Ghia also ensures that she gains an understanding of each client’s strengths and weaknesses to provide valuable insights into how they might use their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. Understanding each client’s strengths and weaknesses makes it possible for Ghia to explain how they might maximize the benefits associated with her recommended interventions.

Ghia typically invests time in writing a personalized education plan for children in elementary school after completing a psychoeducational assessment. Providing each client with a customized education plan creates a unique opportunity for parents to address the identified problems in a targeted and systematic way that they can track over time. Working at TPS for over 12 years means that Ghia frequently has an opportunity to re-evaluate clients she previously assessed in the early years at varying intervals (e.g., transitioning to middle school, high school, and university). Notably, routinely conducting psychological re-evaluations has enabled Ghia to gauge the effectiveness of her recommended strategies and fine-tune subsequent recommendations based on client feedback that informs her knowledge of what works.

Clinical Assessments
Ghia is versed in distinguishing between and diagnosing comorbid mental health conditions and identifying the differential impact that each condition has on a client’s functioning when there are multiple diagnoses. As such, her clinical assessments primarily focus on 1) communicating clear diagnoses, where appropriate, while being mindful of not over-pathologizing her clients and 2) recommending appropriate accommodations and interventions.

Ghia frequently completes psychological evaluations for clients who previously attended extensive therapy sessions without making the expected therapeutic gains. Under these circumstances, clients who complete a psychological assessment that accurately identifies their underlying problems tend to make progress in therapy. Notably, a psychological evaluation can provide a clearer understanding of a client’s mental health and overall prognosis. Therefore, after completing a psychological assessment, Ghia generally makes recommendations based on research evidence concerning what may be effective or ineffective for addressing the identified problem(s). She also goes above and beyond by writing a targeted, evidence-based therapy treatment plan to address the conditions she diagnosed.

Commitment to Advancing the Profession of Psychology
Ghia creates space for prospective clinicians (Interns and Practicum students) who are eligible for registration with the College of Psychologists of Ontario to gain valuable experience and benefit from clinical supervision and mentorship. This exposure is crucial as it enables new interns and practicum students to develop and hone their skills. It also provides an opportunity for them to distinguish themselves as exceptional clinicians committed to the highest level of care, ethics, and professional psychology practice at the outset of their careers.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Since transitioning into her current role as Director/Clinical Psychologist/Clinical Supervisor at TPS, Ghia has remained committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all TPS staff and clients. Most notably, Ghia is committed to being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, demonstrating humility in her efforts to understand the community’s needs and taking action to identify how TPS might better equip itself to provide appropriate mental healthcare and support. As an ally, Ghia actively advocates for, models, and creates a space where members of the LGBTQ+ community have unconditional acceptance.

Ghia immigrated to Canada from the beautiful island of Jamaica with her family in tow. At that time, she was pleasantly surprised by the effort that went into welcoming immigrants. Since then, she has continued to be impressed by Canada’s overall commitment to being an inclusive society, which was evident in TPS’ workplace equity and diversity policies when she first joined the organization in 2012. As a Black, Cis-gendered Female Psychologist in Toronto, she places a high premium on understanding, respecting, appreciating, and embracing diversity. This value informs her clinical/counselling practice and guides her client interactions.

There is no other city in Canada where understanding and embracing diversity is more important than the city of Toronto and the GTA.  Here, visitors will find a mosaic of beautiful people who:

• Are differently abled, possessing physical, mental, sensory, or learning differences, etc.
• Are of varying races with differences that may or may not be apparent in their physical appearance
• Have cultural differences that are evident in their nationality, language, beliefs, ancestry, religion, etc.
• Identify as asexual, gay, lesbian, queer, heterosexual, bisexual, etc.
• Or identify as transgender, male, female, nonbinary, etc.

 Ghia believes that we are all united by our common humanity; therefore, our differences can enrich our experiences. As a psychologist, Ghia considers herself fortunate to do work that never feels like work. There is seldom a dull moment because each client is unique, which makes the therapeutic and assessment process dynamic and exciting. Ghia loves people and, for that reason, relishes the opportunity to be a facilitator of their change process while collaborating with clients to relieve their suffering and increase their sense of happiness and personal well-being.

 As Director of TPS, Ghia has implemented additional policies that intentionally acknowledge the rights of all individuals to mutual respect and acceptance of others without biases based on differences of any kind. Therefore, her commitment is always evident in her verbal and written communication and in her behavioural interactions with staff and clients.

Accessible, Available, and Affordable Mental Health Services

Finally, as Director, Ghia is committed to making mental health services at TPS accessible to persons with disabilities. Accordingly, she has taken the initiative to ensure that our facilities are conducive to meeting our staff’s and client’s needs, including those with physical and sensory concerns that necessitate accommodations and other types of support.

Additionally, Ghia is keen on ensuring that TPS offers all clients viable payment options so that service costs and waitlists do not pose a barrier to accessing evidence-based therapy and evidence-based psychological assessment services.