Dr. Dhrasti Shah

Clinical and Health Psychologist, Autonomous Practice; College of Psychologist of Ontario; https://cpo.on.ca/
Doctorate (Ph.D); Clinical Psychology, University of Ottawa, 2019; https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/programs/graduate/clinical-psychology
Master of Arts (M.A.); Psychology, Carleton University, 2010;
https://carleton.ca/psychology/graduate-studies/prospective-grad-students/masters-of-art/
Bachelors of Science (B.Sc.); Psychology: Honours: University of Ottawa 2007;
https://www.uottawa/ca/faculty-social-science/programs/undergraduate/psychology-bsc

Dr. Shah’s practice (assessment, diagnosis, and treatment) is in the service of adult populations (age 18-60) within the following area of focus:
Anxiety (Worry/Generalized, Social, Health, Panic, Agoraphobia, Specific Phobias)
Trauma/PTSD
Grief/Loss
Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar)
Insomnia and related disorders
Life Transitions
Health & Lifestyle goals (Stress, Balance, Burn-out; Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise)
Health Psychology (or work related to prevention, treatment or determinants of Health Conditions)
Obsessive-Compulsive and related disorders
AD(H)D/Difficulties with executive functioning (assessment)
Personality Disorders, emotion regulation
Motivational work
Interpersonal/Relational goals
Diversity informed-care

Dr. Shah’s primary approach to therapy is cognitive behavioural, and she also incorporates complementary evidence-based therapeutic modalities tailored to client needs.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
Interpersonal therapy (ITP)
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Exposure and Response Prevention
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Mindfulness & Compassion based approaches
Behavioural Activation
Applied Relaxation

Ontario Mental Health Foundation (OMHF), 2-Year Doctorate Student Award, 2014-2016
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), 2014
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR019245.html
Doctoral research Scholarship, Canadian Institute of Health (CIHR), 2011-2014
https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/50513.html
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Master’s, 200 & 2009
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR019245.html
Masters research scholarship, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), 2008
https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/50513.html
Dean of Graduate Studies Academic Excellence Scholarship for Domestic Students, Carleton University, 2008-2010
https://carleton.ca/awards/scholarships/entrance-scholarships/#:~:text=The%20Dean’s%20Entrance%20Scholarship%20of,students%20will%20automatically%20be%20considered
P.D. McCormack Fund Masters, Carleton University, 2008
https://www3.carleton.ca/calendars/archives/grad/9596/FRONT/awards/s53.html

Dr Shah is invested in life-long professional development as a personal and career-based value. The following are areas of training during and subsequent to her doctoral training.
Doctoral Training :
Centre for Psychological Services & Research (Areas of Training: CBT; Interpersonal; DBT; Schema Therapy, Psychodiagnostic assessment)
https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/centre-psychological-services-research
Centre for Research on Education and Community Services (Areas of Training: Program Evaluation)
https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/crecs
Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Areas of Training: CBT, Schema therapy, Group therapy)
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/
Brockville General Hospital; Inpatient and outpatient mental health (Areas of Training: CBT, DBT, Emotion Focused Interventions, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Mindfulness Practice)
https://www.brockvillegeneralhospital.ca/en/patient-care/mental-health-program.aspx

The Ottawa Hospital, General Hospital Campus, Gynecologic Oncology Division (Areas of Training: Interpersonal process psychotherapy, group therapy)
https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-medicine/obstetrics-gynecology/divisions/gynecologic-oncology
Children Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Neuropsychology (Areas of Training: Neuropsychological assessment with young children and adolescents)
https://www.cheo.on.ca/en/clinics-services-programs/mental-health-services-at-cheo.aspx
The Ottawa Hospital, General Hospital Campus, Maternal Fetal Medicine (Areas of Training: CBT, DBT, Schema Therapy, Trauma Focused care)

Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic

Post-Doctoral Training:
via certified Seminars & Workshops: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (areas: Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Psychosis); Dialectical Behaviour Therapy; Motivational approaches; Prolonged Exposure Therapy; Stabilization Skills for Complex Development Trauma Disorder, Compassion Focused Therapy, Emotion Regulation Psychotherapy, Behavioural Experiments; Behavioural Activation; ACT and Mindfulness-based Therapy; Diversity-Informed Care.

(Ongoing) Clinical and Health Psychologist, Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/
(Ongoing) Clinical Lead of Intensive Treatment Program, Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/intensive-treatment
Clinical Psychologist, Barrhaven Psychological Services, 2018-2021
https://www.barrhavenpsychservices.ca/
CBT clinician, Barrhaven Psychological Services, 2017-2018
https://www.barrhavenpsychservices.ca/
CBT clinician, Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 2018
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/
Research Coordinator, Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research Laboratory, University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), 2007- 2011
https://www.theroyal.ca/research/clinical-eeg-neuroimaging

Research Publications:
Young, M. Y., Chan, K. J., Vandette, M. P., Cherner, R., Hatchard, T., Shah, D., & Kogan, C. S. (2022). Evaluating the Organizational Cultural Competence of a Clinical Psychology Training Clinic: Findings and Implications for Training Sites. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 41(2), 81-90.

de la Salle, S., Shah, D., Choueiry, J., Bowers, H., McIntosh, J., Carroll, B., … & Knott, V. (2021). N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonism modulates P300 event-related potentials and associated activity in salience and central executive networks. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 211, 173287.

de la Salle, S., Choueiry, J., Shah, D., Bowers, H., McIntosh, J., Ilivitsky, V., … & Knott, V. (2021). Resting-state functional EEG connectivity in salience and default mode networks and their relationship to dissociative symptoms during NMDA receptor antagonism. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 201, 173092.

Choueiry, J., Blais, C. M., Shah, D., Smith, D., Fisher, D., Illivitsky, V., & Knott, V. (2020). CDP-choline and galantamine, a personalized α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor targeted treatment for the modulation of speech MMN indexed deviance detection in healthy volunteers: a pilot study. Psychopharmacology, 237, 3665-3687.

Knott, V., Wright, N., Shah, D., Baddeley, A., Bowers, H., De la Salle, S., & Labelle, A. (2020). Change in the neural response to auditory deviance following cognitive therapy for hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 555.

Shah, D., Knott, V., Baddeley, A., Bowers, H., Wright, N., Labelle, A., … & Collin, C. Investigation of Emotional Expression Processing Following Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Patients with Schizophrenia: An Event-related Potentials Study . Applied and Clinical Neuropsychology (NCACN), Accepted (2019).

Choueiry, J., Blais, C. M., Shah, D., Smith, D., Fisher, D., Illivitsky, V., & Knott, V. (2019). Combining CDP-choline and galantamine: Effects of a selective α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist strategy on P50 sensory gating of speech sounds in healthy volunteers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 0269881119836217.

Choueiry, J., Blais, C. M., Shah, D., Smith, D., Fisher, D., Labelle, A., & Knott, V. (2019). Combining CDP-choline and galantamine, an optimized α7 nicotinic strategy, to ameliorate sensory gating to speech stimuli in schizophrenia. International Journal of Psychophysiology. [Epub ahead of print]

Shah, D., Cameron, C., Smith, D., Jaworska, N., Blais, C., Fisher, D., & Knott, V. (2018). An electrophysiological investigation of attentional bias in a PTSD population. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 10(5), 523.

Shah, D., Knott, V., Baddeley, A., Bowers, H., Wright, N., Labelle, A., … & Collin, C. (2018). Impairments of emotional face processing in schizophrenia patients: Evidence from P100, N170 and P300 ERP components in a sample of auditory hallucinators. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 134, 120-134.

Samosh, J., Rae, J., Jamshidi, P., Shah, D., Martinbault, J. F., & Aubry, T. (2018). Fidelity assessment of a Canadian Housing First program for people with problematic substance use: Identifying facilitators and barriers to fidelity, European Journal of Homelessness, 12, 55-81.

De La Salle, S., Shah, D., Choueiry, J., Bowers, H., McIntosh, J., Ilivitsky, V., & Knott, V. (2019). NMDA Receptor Antagonist Effects on Speech-Related Mismatch Negativity and Its Underlying Oscillatory and Source Activity in Healthy Humans. Frontiers in pharmacology, 10, 455.
de la Salle, S., Choueiry, J., Shah, D., Bowers, H., McIntosh, J. Ilivitsky, V., Knott V. (2016). Effects of Ketamine on Resting-State EEG Activity and Their Relationship to Perceptual/Dissociative Symptoms in Healthy Humans. Frontiers of Pharmacology, 7, 348-353.

Knott, V., Bisserbe, J-C., Shah, D., Thompson, A., Bowers, H., Blais, C., Ilivitsky, V. (2013). The Moderating Influence of Nicotine and Smoking on Resting-state Mood and EEG Changes in Remitted Depressed Patients during Tryptophan Depletion. Biological Psychology, 94, 545-555.
Impey, D., Chique-Alfonzo, M., Shah D., Fisher D.J., Knott, V.J. (2013). Effects of Nicotine on Visuospatial Attentional Orienting in Non-Smokers. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 106, 1-7.
Knott, V., Shah, D., Millar, A., McIntosh, J., Fisher D., Blais, C., Ilivitsky, V. (2012). Nicotine, Auditory Sensory Memory, and sustained Attention in a Human Ketamine Model of Schizophrenia: Moderating Influence of a Hallucinatory Trait. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 3, 1–13.
Knott, V., Thompson, A., Shah, D., Ilivitsky, V. (2012). Neural expression of nicotine’s antidepressant properties during tryptophan depletion: an EEG study in healthy volunteers at risk for depression. Biological Psychology, 91(2), 190-200.
Jaworska, N., Thompson, A., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Ilivitsky, V., Knott, V. (2012). Acute Tryptophan Depletion Effects on the Vertex and Late Positive Potentials to Emotional Faces in Individuals with a Family History of Depression. Neuropsychobiology. 65(1), 28-40.
Shah, D., Impey, D., Chique-Alfonzo, M., Fisher, D., Lorenzo-Lopez, L., Knott, V. (2011). Neural Effects of Nicotinic Treatment on Visual Spatial Attention in Non-Smokers. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour, 100(2), 228-36.
Knott, V., Millar, A., McIntosh, J., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Blais, C., Ilivitsky, V., Horn, E. (2011). Separate and Combined Effects of Low Dose Ketamine and Nicotine on Behavioural and Neural Correlates of Sustained Attention. Biological Psychology, 88(1), 83-93.
Knott, V., Heenan, A., Bolton, K., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Villeneuve, C. (2011). Electrophysiological Evidence of Nicotine’s Distracter-Filtering Properties in Non-smokers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(2), 239-48.
Jaworska, N., Thompson, A., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Ilivitsky, V., Knott, V. (2010). Electrocortical Effects of Acute Tryptophan Depletion on Emotive Facial Processing in Depression-Prone Individuals. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 20(7), 473-86.
Fisher, D., Scott, T., Shah D., Prise, S., Thompson, M., Knott, V. (2010). Light Up and See: Enhancement of the Visual Mismatch Negativity (MMN) by nicotine. Brain Research, 1313, 162-171.
Knott, V., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Millar, A., Prise, S., Scott, T.L., Thompson, M. (2009). Nicotine and Attention: Event-Related Potential Investigations in Nonsmokers. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 40(1), 11-20.
Knott, V., Bolton, K., Heenan, A., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Villeneuve, C. (2009). Effects of Acute Nicotine on Event-Related Potential and Performance Indices of Auditory Distraction in Nonsmokers. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 11(5), 519-30.

Research Symposiums & Workshops:
Shah, D., Beaudion, A., Bowers, H., Wright, N., Labelle, A., Fogl, T., Attwood, D., Muira, C., Robertson, S., Knott, V., Collin C. (Sept. 2014). Investigation of Facial Affect Processing Following Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Patients with Schizophrenia: An Event-related Potential (ERP) Study. Poster will be presented at the 16th World Congress of Psychiatry meeting, Madrid, Spain.
Shah, D., Cameron, C., Smith, D., Jaworska, N., Bias, C., Knott V., Collin, C. (June 2013). Allocation of Attention during Dual Tasks in PTSD Population and Healthy Controls. Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science, Calgary, Canada
Shah, D., Cameron, C., Smith, D., Jaworska, N., Bias, C., Fisher, D., Knott V., Collin, C. (May 2013). Electrophysiology Findings of Visual Attention Bias Away from Angry Faces in Patients with PTSD. Poster will be presented at the Vision Sciences Society 13th Annual Meeting, Waldorf Astoria Naples, Florida, U.S.A
Shah, D., Cameron, C., Smith, D., Jaworska, N., Bias, C., Fisher, D., Knott V., Collin, C. (August 2012). An electrophysiological investigation of attentional bias towards fearful and angry faces in a PTSD population. Poster presented at the European Conference on Visual Perception, Alghero, Italy.
Shah, D., Thompson, A., Jaworska, N., Fisher, D., Ilivitksy, V., Knott, V. (June 2012). Effects of tryptophan depletion and nicotine treatment on mood and emotive Facial processing in depression vulnerable individuals: An event-related potential study. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science, Kingston, Canada.
Shah, D., Cameron, C., Smith, D., Jaworska, N., Villeneuve, C., Fisher, D., Knott., V. (September 2011). Electrophysiological investigation of attentional bias in a forensic PTSD population: An avoidance to threat. Poster Presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of Society for Psychophysiological Research, Boston, USA.
Shah, D., Heenan, A., Choueiry, J., Clough, E., Jaworska, N., Fisher, D., Ilivitsky, V., Knott, V. (September 2010). Electrophysiological effects of acute combination pharmacology on executive control of attention in morning abstinent smokers using a modified Wisconsin card sorting task. Poster Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Portland, USA.
Jaworska, N., Thompson, A., Shah, D., Fisher, D., Ilivitsky, V., Knott, V. (September 2010). The late positive potential to emotive faces after acute tryptophan depletion in individuals with a family history of depression. Poster Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Portland, USA.
Impey, D., Chique-Alfonzo, M., Fisher, D., Shah, D., Knott, V. (September 2010). Effects of acute nicotine administration on later visual spatial processing. Poster Presented at the 15th World Congress of Psychophysiology, Budapest, Hungary.
Shah D., Thompson A., Jaworska N., Fisher D., McIntosh J., Villeneuve C., Ilivitsky V., Knott V. (May 2010). Effects of tryptophan depletion on mood and neuronal indicators of emotive facial processing in depression vulnerable individuals treated with acute nicotine. Poster Presented at the 2010 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting Jointly Presented by CAN and CCNP, Ottawa, Canada.
Impey, D., Chique-Alfonzo, M., Fisher, D., Shah, D., Meinke, A., Knott, V. (May 2010). Enhancement of early visual processing by nicotine in responsive non-smokers; an event-related potential (ERP) study. Poster Presented at the 2010 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting Jointly Presented by CAN and CCNP, Ottawa, Canada.
Jaworska, N., Thompson, A., Shah D., Fisher, D., Ilivitsky, V., Knott, V. (May 2010). The late positive potential to emotive faces after tryptophan depletion in individuals with a family history of depression. Poster Presented at the 2010 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting Jointly Presented by CAN and CCNP, Ottawa, Canada.
Knott V., Thompson A., Shah D., Fisher D., Villeneuve C., McIntosh J. (May 2010). Nicotine antagonism of depressed mood and brain deactivation induced by acute tryptophan depletion in healthy volunteers with a family history of depression. Poster Presented at the 2010 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting Jointly Presented by CAN and CCNP, Ottawa, Canada.
Villeneuve, C., Fisher, D., Shah, D., Labelle, A., Knott, V. (November 2009). Auditory hallucinations and the cortical response to auditory stimulation and speech in schizophrenia: an electrophysiological imaging (eLORETA) coherence study. Poster Presented at the 15th Biennial Winter Workshop in Psychoses, Barcelona, ES.
Shah, D., Impey, D., Chique-Alfonzo, M., Fisher, D., Lorenzo-Lopez, L., Knott, V. (October 2009). Enhancement of N2pc by nicotine in responsive non-smokers. Poster Presented at the 49th Society for Psychophysiological Research Annual Meeting, Berlin, Germany.
Jaworska, N., Thompson, A., Shah D., McIntosh, J., Villeneuve, C., Fisher, D., Knott, V. (October 2009). Neural and behavioral effects of tryptophan depletion on emotive facial processing in depression-prone individuals. Poster Presented at the 49th Society for Psychophysiological Research Annual Meeting, Berlin, Germany.
Knott, V., Heenan, A., Shah D., Bolton, K., Fisher, D., Villeneuve, C. (April, 2009). Electrophysiological and behavioural evidence of nicotine’s distractor filtering properties in non-smokers. Poster Presented at the Joint Conference of SRNT and SRNT-Europe, Dublin, Ireland.
Villeneuve, C., Fisher, D., Shah, D., Labelle, A., Knott, V. (March 2009). Auditory hallucinations and the cortical response to auditory stimulation and speech in schizophrenia: An electrophysiological imaging (LORETA) region of interest study. Poster Presented at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, San Diego, California.
Fisher, D., Shah, D., Prise, S., Scott, T., Thompson, M., Knott, V. (April 2009). Effects of nicotine on visual pre-attentive cognition as measured by the vMMN. Poster Session at the 5th Conference of Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and its Clinical and Scientific Application, Budapest, Hungary.
Villeneuve, C., Shah, D., Heenan, A., Bolton, K., Fisher, D., Millar, A., McIntosh, J., Knott, V. (August 2007). Neural Effects of nicotine during auditory selective attention and the stimulus-filter hypothesis: an event-related potential study. Poster presented at the Twenty-ninth Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Nashville, TN.