Dr. Sabrina Syan, a clinical psychologist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (St. Joe’s), is only a few years into her career and has already garnered recognition for her outstanding contributions to the field of psychology. 

She was recently honoured with the 2023 Dr. Ruth Berman Award from the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA). The award recognizes exceptional contributions from early career psychologists. 

“It’s lovely to be recognized for my work, especially at this early stage in my career. It was incredibly motivating,” says Dr. Syan. “I hope that I use this as a starting point to help launch my career and to continue to do meaningful work.” 

Dr. Syan was nominated for her “unique educational background” - she has a PhD in neuroscience and a second PhD in clinical psychology from McMaster University that allows her to blend her cognitive neuroscience research skills within her clinical practice to better understand mental health conditions and enhance patient care. Her research focuses on using neuroimaging, behavioural economics, and clinical variables to better understand substance use and mental health disorders and inform clinical care (i.e., predict treatment outcome, determine novel treatment pathways, and understand the biobehavioural basis for mental health disorders).  

She was also commended for her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in her work with the patient community.

Dr. Syan says she strives to ensure equitable access to care, decrease stigma – particularly among people with addictions and concurrent disorders, and ensure that patients are receiving a high standard of care regardless of their ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, or gender. 

“I am committed to continuously learning, providing compassionate care, practicing with cultural humility, and advocating for marginalized populations. My goal is to use my education and position as a clinical psychologist to be a vehicle for change,” Dr. Syan says. “Clinically, this has resulted in me working alongside colleagues to facilitate timely access to culturally sensitive care for marginalized populations in concurrent disorders.” 

Dr. Syan expresses deep gratitude to St. Joe's for providing her with a valuable educational experience that she believes was instrumental in shaping her career success. 

“St. Joe’s provided all of the training, mentorship and research opportunities I needed to help me become a confident clinical psychologist and scientist practitioner,” says Dr. Syan. “There are not enough ways for me to express my gratitude, and I cannot say enough wonderful things about the training opportunities at St. Joe’s.” 

Valuable training and mentorship opportunities for students  

While completing her PhDs in neuroscience and clinical psychology from 2013-2022, Dr. Syan’s student journey at St. Joe’s was brimming with various learning, training and mentorship opportunities to help prepare for her role as a clinical psychologist.  

Dr. Syan started doing research at St. Joe’s in the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at the West 5th Campus as an undergraduate student. She completed a PhD in Neuroscience through McMaster University’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, where her research was also conducted at St. Joe’s.  

She then started her second PhD in McMaster’s Research and Clinical Training (RCT) Program, a partnership between McMaster and St. Joe’s to train students in the hospital and completed her clinical psychology residency through the St. Joe’s Clinical Psychology Residency Program, gaining valuable experience by working in different clinics at St. Joe’s. She also worked in the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program to further her expertise. 

“The RCT Program created a partnership between two incredibly strong educational institutions: McMaster and St. Joe's. This has harnessed their ability to provide students and learners with the opportunity to engage in the highest levels of education, research, and clinical care that a tertiary care, academic medical centre can provide,” Dr. Syan explains.  

Dr. Syan emphasizes the importance of McMaster’s RCT program, as she believes that it provides an invaluable learning opportunity for students in their careers. 

“The research and clinical training program is unlike any other clinical psychology program in the country,” says Dr. Syan. “It really does a fabulous job of integrating research and clinical training within a tertiary care hospital system that allows students to get a full grasp of what having a career as a clinical psychologist can entail. This integration between clinical and research settings allows us to generate research questions based on the clinical needs we see daily and simultaneously conduct evidence-based research and generate novel programs to address these clinical needs.”  

She adds, “The program does a great job of also contributing to the surrounding communities to address wait times in mental health care by allowing PhD students to engage in assessment, intervention and a range of clinical opportunities. They’re meeting multiple needs in the community while training the next generation of clinical psychologists.” 

Today, Dr. Syan is a clinical psychologist in the Concurrent Disorders Program and leads the Young Adult Substance Use Program at St. Joe’s West 5th Campus, in addition to holding various leadership positions at St. Joe’s and McMaster University.  

“Addiction and concurrent mental health disorders are highly prevalent in our day to day lives,” says Dr. Syan. “I saw these conditions frequently throughout my training and felt that the way we conceptualized, researched, and treated concurrent disorders could be vastly improved. I recognized that I’d love to specialize in this area because there’s great clinical need for good quality evidence-based care and research, and I’d love to play a role in creating clinical infrastructure to support this, reduce stigma and generate research to inform care and policy. It is an incredibly rewarding field.” 

Dr. Syan’s goal is to continuously strive for a high standard of care in mental health and addictions. 

“It’s to enhance the state of addiction and concurrent disorders care within St. Joe's and continue to create a new gold standard treatment that is evidence-based and continues to generate high-level, academic research, novel treatments, and outcomes in the field,” she says. 

Continuous mentorship from St. Joe’s and McMaster University’s clinical leaders and researchers 

Dr. Syan is also deeply grateful for the mentorship she has received and continues to receive at St. Joe's. 

“Throughout my training, I've been exposed to world class researchers who I'm so grateful for; they really took me under their wing,” she says. “They mentored me and helped me grow professionally, taught me how to be an effective clinician, and emphasized the importance of integrating research throughout my clinical training and how to think like a clinician scientist. Through it all, they were truly invested in my success. I'm so grateful to be part of a team of psychologists and researchers who are so invested in the success of their young faculty and open to collaboration.” 

Dr. Joseph Pellizzari, a professional practice lead in the psychology department at St. Joe’s, spoke to the learning environment that sets students up for success.  

"Our psychology group here at St. Joe's has such a rich tradition of cultivating a culture where people want to come here to learn,” he says. “We set them up for success with expert mentorship in clinical training and research from our distinguished staff, many of whom are recognized national leaders in professional psychology. With Dr. Syan, who trained with our partner academic training program at McMaster, this culture has clearly led to her to stay here and launch her career. We are thrilled to have her.” 

Dr. Karen Rowa, psychologist and clinical director at the Anxiety Treatment & Research Clinic at St. Joe’s West 5th Campus and is Dr. Syan’s mentor. Dr. Rowa spoke to the value that Dr. Syan brings to their field. 

“Dr. Syan is the epitome of a clinician-scientist, conducting research that has direct implications for her clients,” says Rowa. “She is most deserving of this early career recognition and will continue to help shape the addiction services offered by St. Joe's throughout her career." 

Advice for students and career professionals 

Dr. Syan is also a mentor herself, serving as a clinical supervisor to aspiring students participating in the Research and Clinical Training Program.  

For students and career professionals looking to work in psychology at St. Joe’s, Dr. Syan shared this encouragement: 

“There are no shortages of opportunities at St. Joe's, whether they're research, mentorship, or clinical. I would encourage students to take on as much as they can, and really immerse themselves in the St. Joe's culture and spirit.