Kerri Gibson

I entered the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at UNB in September, 2004.  Before coming to UNB, I completed my Honours in Applied Psychology at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec--my home town. My Honours thesis explored selected personality characteristics in an Anglophone and Francophone community sample (Gibson, McKelvie & Deman, 2008). 

I have diverse research interests, and enjoy using a variety of approaches ( qualitative, quantitative, community-based, and critical analysis) which are all encompassed by my humanist and feminist standpoints. For example, I worked with Dr. Carmen Poulin for my first two research apprenticeships. They involved applying a combined psycho-social perspective using a feminist qualitative research paradigm to study women’s experiences with menopause, as well as the influences of the medical and pharmaceutical institutions on shaping these experiences. I am now working on my doctoral dissertation with Dr. Sandra Byers.  For my dissertation research, I am studying the sexual and relationship well-being of women in relationships who have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA).  I am also investigating the extent to which characteristics of the CSA, relationship satisfaction, and negative coping are associated with the sexual well-being of women in a romantic relationship.
 
I also had a number of experiences as  a research assistant on projects exploring  women’s experiences of marginalization. I have been involved with two projects conducted by research teams associated with the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research here at UNB:  the Provincial Strategy Team for Dating Violence Prevention in Adolescent Relationships in New Brunswick and the Family Violence, Firearms, and Animal Abuse study. In addition  I have been involved in research at the National Research Council of Canada, where I worked as part of a  Social Analysis team conducting studies on broadband visual communication among groups, organizations, and communities.I have also been involved with community-based participatory research with First Nations communities; I was involved in leading a project exploring the perspectives of community members and mental health professionals on telemental health.

In terms of my clinical interests, I would consider myself to be a “generalist” as I enjoy working with children, adolescents, and adults! While at UNB, I completed a child practicum and an adult practicum. I also completed  an advanced practicum in the private practice that Sandi shares with her husband Dr. Larry Heinlein.  I completed my predoctoral clinical psychology internship at Annapolis Valley Health in Kentville, Nova Scotia working primarily with their adult mental health team. I also conducted some groups with their child/adolescent team. I am currently working in a psychology position in Cape Breton

Selected Publications and Presentations

Gibson, K., & Byers, E. S.  (2012, June). Childhood sexual abuse and sexual well-being: Experiences of heterosexual women in romantic relationships.  In Many Faces of Violence Against Women. Symposium presented at the meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Halifax, N.S..

Gibson, K., & Byers, E. S.  (2011, September).  The sexual and relationship well-being of women in relationships: The impact of child sexual abuse. Paper presented at the meeting of the Canadian Sex Research Forum, Vancouver, B.C.

Gibson, K., Couson, H., Miles, R., Kakekayskung, K., Daniels, B., & ODonnell, S. (2011). Conversations on telemental health: Listening to remote and rural First Nations communities. International Electronic Journal of Rural and Remote Health Research, Education, Practice, and Policy, 11(2), 1656 (online).

Gibson, K., O'Donnell, S., Couson, H., & Kakepetum-Schultz, T. (2011).  Mental health professionals' perspectives of telemental health with remote and rural First Nations Communities. The  Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 17(5), 263-267.

Gibson, K., McKelvie, S., & De Man, A. (2008). Personality and culture: A comparison of Francophones and Anglophones in Québec.  Journal of Social Psychology.

Gibson, K., O’Donnell, S., & Rideout, V. (2008). The state’s project funding regime: Cmplications for community organisations and their staff. Canadian Journal of Public Administration, 50 (3), 411-435.

Gibson, K., & Byers, E. S.  (2008, October). The mediational role of automatic thoughts in adult sexual victimization surivors' sexual functioning. Paper presented at the meeting of the Canadian Sex Research Forum, Montreal, P. Q.