Our History
In 1983,
Dr. Iris Jackson, C. Psych. founded Gilmour Psychological Services® (GPS) with the help of Karen Davies, who at that time had her Masters degree They had a vision of creating a caring, confidential, competent, and ethical private practice, in an era when most psychologists were employed in hospitals, school boards and agencies. They quickly developed a vision of having a full range of psychological services to assess and treat a broad range of difficulties and disorders across the age span.
Due to the level of sensitivity, skill, and knowledge of these psychologists, they drew other skilled psychologists to them. By 1992, They had expanded to five women psychologists. Dr. Jackson and Dr. Davies were joined by Dr. Frances Smyth, Dr. Doreen Gough, and Dr. Catherine Pink. A few years later, when Dr. Pink retired, Dr. Anne Boland joined the partnership.
As the business grew and demand for services increased, these psychologists responded to other like-minded psychologists who wanted to join GPS and who also added a skillset to the group. Over the years, the GPS group of psychologists has been able to cover almost all of the psychological needs of the community.
To read about some of our amazing past staff and partners, check out our
Tributes page!
Gilmour Today
Many of the psychologists have served as supervisors or examinees for the various levels of training that are required to become a clinical psychologist. In 2020, in response to the growing need for training opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, GPS began offering practicum placements for the PhD students in the
School of Psychology program at the University of Ottawa. In 2022, GPS became an official practicum site with
Dr. Deanna Drahovzal and
Dr. Emma Dargie as the co-directors. Dr. Drahovzal also serves as a clinical professor at the University of Ottawa teaching classes on assessment and intervention skills to the PhD students.
In 2022, the original partners of the practice retired from their roles overseeing the administrative aspects of GPS but have remained as practicing psychologists with the group.
Dr. Deanna Drahovzal and
Dr. Caroline Ostiguy have since stepped up as the co-directors of the practice.
Our Administrative Team
Ms. Susan McCallum joined GPS in 2017 as our administrative assistant. She brings to our team decades of experience and administrative expertise.
Presli Evasuk is a past volunteer at GPS and has now joined the administration team in April 2024. Presli is also training to become a Psychometrist with some of the doctors at GPS. She is working towards an undergraduate degree in psychology at Carleton University.
Kristi Rudolph joined GPS as Office Manager in April 2024. She has an abundance of administrative experience, a background in security, inventory management and an accounting degree. She maintains the day-to-day administrative operations of the GPS office and oversees administrative staff.
Our Psychometrists
A Psychometrist is a professional who has specialized skills in the administration of neuropsychological and psychometric tests. It is an unregulated profession, but Psychometrists are supervised by a registered and licensed Clinical Psychologists whose profession is regulated (e.g., by the College of Psychologists of Ontario). Psychometrists must be supervised by a Psychologist as many psychological tests can only be owned by psychologists or by other qualified mental health professionals.
Learn more about Psychometrists
Our Psychologists
All our psychologists use mainstream psychological treatments grounded in the science of psychology. They combine technical expertise, continually updated knowledge, years of experience and compassionate support. As well as psychotherapy and counselling, they offer psychological testing and consultation. Treatment is tailored to the needs of the client and services are offered in both English and French.
All partners and associates are fully qualified professional psychologists, all have PhDs, and are registered as psychologists with the Province of Ontario. Maintaining the highest professional standards is always our priority.
September 20, 2022
Dr. Jackson has focused on adult psychotherapy with individuals and couples since she opened her practice in Ottawa in 1981. She also conducts psychological testing of adults including psychological-legal assessments for specific types of civil, criminal and family law matters.
September 17, 2022
Dr. Davies provides psychological services to individual adults, couples, children, and their families. She has had her own private practice since 1989, and for seven years prior to that worked as a supervised associate in private practice.
September 15, 2022
Dr. Weinberger provides therapy and consultation services to adults. He also conducts assessments of adults (intellectual, memory, learning, behaviour, personality, mental health, vocational, disability, and career).
September 9, 2022
Dr. Drahovzal provides psychotherapy and assessment services to children, adults, couples, and families at Gilmour Psychological Services® in Ottawa.
September 7, 2022
Dr. Pantin's approach, tailored to her clients’ needs, integrates interpersonal and cognitive perspectives to assist them in developing strategies and skills to make positive changes in their lives.
September 5, 2022
Dr. Zahradnik provides psychodiagnostic assessment and psychotherapeutic services to both adolescents and adults.
September 3, 2022
Dr. Ostiguy provides psychotherapy to Anglophone and Francophone adults and young adults. She works with clients experiencing a wide range of challenges such as anger problems, low self-esteem, anxiety, and stress management. Her particular area of expertise is in the assessment and treatment of mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
September 1, 2022
Dr. Henry’s prevailing theoretical orientation integrates cognitive-behavioural and schema-focused theories. Valuing each person’s individuality, she tailors her approach to her clients’ needs. Additionally, she works collaboratively with each person to assist them to develop awareness and strategies to make positive changes in their lives.
August 30, 2022
Dr. Miller’s theoretical orientation integrates interpersonal, cognitive behavioural, schema-focused and mindfulness-based approaches in helping clients develop an increased awareness of the factors that cause and maintain their difficulties. She guides them towards achieving their goals and making positive changes in their lives.
August 28, 2022
Dr. Angelina Chupetlovska provides treatment to children, adolescents, adults and families. She also conducts child custody and access assessments. In her psychotherapy orientation Dr. Chupetlovska brings together aspects from the psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, rational-emotive, and humanistic approaches.
August 24, 2022
Dr. Elisabeth Melsom provides psychological assessment services to children (age 6+ years), adolescents, and adults, including military and veterans, at Gilmour Psychological Services® in Ottawa
August 22, 2022
Dr. Dargie maintains a client-centered, evidence-based, sex-positive, LGBTQ-positive approach to psychotherapy. She provides individual and couple therapy to Anglophone adults experiencing a wide variety of challenges and circumstances
August 20, 2022
Dr. Karima Lacène provides psychological services, including assessment and individual therapy, to children, adolescents and adults. She works with clients experiencing a wide range of challenges including anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, grief, adjustment to life stressors, self esteem and stress management. She also provides psycho-educational assessments for children, adolescents and adults, including testing for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities.
August 18, 2022
Dr. Amanda Timmers provides psychological services by video or phone to couples and individual adults in the province of Ontario. Her primary theoretical orientations are cognitive-behavioural therapy and emotion-focused therapy, though she integrates other evidence-based treatment modalities to meet clients’ specific needs. Dr. Timmers takes a collaborative, supportive approach to psychotherapy, to help clients better understand themselves and make positive changes in their lives.
August 12, 2022
Dr. Murray provides assessment and treatment to adults and seniors. She uses a number of evidence-based treatments to address client’s needs and the challenges that they are facing. Dr. Murray works collaboratively with clients to identify their goals and guide them towards making positive and lasting changes in their life. Her main goal is to help clients identify their individual strengths and overcome barriers that may be preventing them from feeling content and fulfilled.
August 10, 2022
As a Clinical and Health Psychologist, Dr. Davies believes in promoting wellness and resilience, both mentally and physically. She works with adults and adolescents. Her primary approach to therapy is Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a type of treatment that has been extensively supported by research showing it to be highly effective for treating a wide variety of mental health concerns. This approach is complemented with other evidence-based tools and techniques such as mindfulness, self-compassion, acceptance and resilience building to better tailor her approach to an individual’s needs.
August 8, 2021
Dr. Fernie has worked extensively with childhood trauma and personality difficulties. Dr. Fernie has also worked with people who needed treatment overcoming single incident traumas, interpersonal difficulties, mood disorders (including anxiety and depression), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), self-esteem, stress and other major mental health issues. She is experienced in assessing and developing individualised treatment plans collaboratively with clients. Her therapy choices are client dependent and she uses an integrated approach.
August 6, 2021
Dr. Scarapicchia provides assessment and treatment services to adolescents, adults, and seniors, including psychotherapy, neuropsychological assessments, and psychodiagnostic assessments.
August 4, 2021
Dr. Leanne Kane provides individual therapy and psychodiagnostic assessment services to adults in English and in French. She obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa, where she also completed her internship at the Centre for Psychological Services and Research.
August 2, 2021
Dr. Dellouche welcomes French and English-speaking patients. She works with adults and seniors. She offers treatment for a wide range of issues. Her main areas of interest include anxiety, vulnerability to overwhelming or intense emotions, interpersonal issues, trauma, eating disorders and experiences of growth through adverse life events.
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Psychologists in Supervised Practice
Our Psychologist in Supervised Practice have completed all of their clinical training, as well as their clinical residency, and their doctoral degree. At this stage, they enter supervised practice and work under the supervision of a more senior colleague until they are formally registered as an “autonomous” psychologist. This process usually takes a year. These Psychologists are highly trained, and use both their own expertise as well as that of their senior psychologists in order to help their clients.
August 6, 2022
Dr. Jacques considers it an honour to journey alongside individuals in their desire to experience emotional health, create life change, and rediscover a hope-filled vision for their lives. Dr. Jacques’ primary therapeutic approach integrates cognitive, behavioral, emotion-focused, and psychodynamic theories. Dr. Jacques works to provide a collaborative, safe, and warm therapeutic relationship, keeping the client’s goals at the forefront of the treatment plan.
July 29, 2022
Dr. Arthur Braaten provides psychodiagnostic assessment and individual therapy to adults for a range of psychological concerns. He believes that psychotherapy is a collaborative process that is tailored to each individual and their unique background. His approach to therapy is integrative and is informed by several evidenced-based approaches.
July 25, 2022
Victoria Edwards is currently an intern in clinical psychology entering her supervised practice under the supervision of Dr. Deanna Drahovzal (C.Psych). She provides family therapy services to families of all compositions.
July 24, 2022
Dr. Brittany Mutsaers is a psychologist practicing under the supervision of Dr. Emma Dargie, C. Psych., and Dr. Jennifer Fernie, C. Psych. She provides individual and couples therapy services to adults and has a special interest in working with individuals adjusting to illness (e.g., cancer, chronic illness, end of life).