Dr. Lara Genik

Psychologist (Supervised Practice)

Professional Summary
Dr. Genik works as a psychologist (under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina Chiarella) with children and adolescents presenting with a range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, OCD, and behavioural difficulties. She uses an engaging, client-centred, strength-based and developmental approach to her work, and collaborates closely with parents and other teams (e.g., schools, health professionals) when working with the child or adolescent. Dr. Genik draws from evidence-based practices including cognitive behaviour therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, emotion focused family therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy in a formulation-driven and, where relevant, an integrated way.

Professional Specialties

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Emotion Regulation Difficulties
• Behavioural Issues/Behavioural Management
• Parent/Child Relational Issues
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Trauma
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders (e.g., Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Intellectual Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder)
• Psychoeducational Assessment

Professional Memberships

• Canadian Psychological Association
• Ontario Psychological Association
• International Association for the Study of Pain
  • Founding Member of the Pain and Intellectual Developmental Disabilities – Special Interest Group

Professional Credentials

• Clinical Psychologist (Supervised Practice) – College of Psychologists of Ontario

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, University of Guelph
• Master of Arts, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, University of Guelph
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Major: Psychology; Minor: Family and Child Studies, University of Guelph

Professional Experience

Dr. Genik completed her MA and PHD in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Her research focused on pain in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, developing and evaluating pain assessment and management-related resources and educational training for secondary care providers (e.g., respite workers). She completed her pre-doctoral residency training with the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium, where she worked at Victoria/Children’s Hospital, Vanier Children’s Mental Wellness, and the Health and Wellness Centre at Western University. She has completed additional training at the Centre for Psychological Services at the University of Guelph, the Halton District School Board, and the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre/Hamilton Health Sciences Centre.  Dr. Genik’s experience alongside participation in additional training opportunities has allowed for extensive and broad-based training across treatment modalities. She is proficient in cognitive behavioural therapy as well as a range of additional evidence-based approaches including behaviour management training, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy-informed work, emotion focused family therapy, and the integration of these approaches. Dr. Genik also works as a psychologist under supervised practice at Vanier Children’s Mental Wellness in London, Ontario.