A full-time postdoctoral fellow is required for a clinical trial on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). In this project, individuals with severe worry will be randomly assigned to receive one of two psychological treatments (either Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Motivational Interviewing combined with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).
The study is a 5-year project, funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research. There will be two Toronto study sites: York University & Ryerson University. The project team consists of three researchers (Dr. Henny Westra, York University, Dr. Martin Antony, Ryerson University, & Dr. Michael Constantino, University of Massachusetts) and a postdoctoral fellow (to be determined). Responsibilities include training & supervision of diagnosticians in using the SCID-IV, and training and supervision of research therapists in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for GAD and common comorbidities. All clients will have a principal diagnosis of GAD, with high severity of worry. Therapists will provide either CBT alone or MI with CBT (but not both).
The postdoctoral fellow will train all research therapists in CBT (in a group format) and provide ongoing supervision in the CBT alone arm of the study. Moreover, this individual will also see a minimum of 8 cases in the CBT alone condition. Following training, therapists will demonstrate competent treatment delivery in at least one pilot case before seeing study clients. All sessions will be videotaped, and videotape will be used to provide supervision. Therapists will receive weekly group supervision (and possible supplemental individual supervision). Training will begin in the Fall, 2011, with pilot clients beginning to be seen in February or March 2012. Therapists would begin seeing study clients in June or July, 2012 and continue for approximately 1 to 1.5 years (i.e., to approximately December 2013).
The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop and/or collaborate on research presentations and publications in the context of the clinical trial. They may also have opportunities to collaborate on related projects and/or develop collaborations with other Ryerson or York faculty. The position will be primarily based at Ryerson University, with some travel to York University for training and supervision. The successful candidate will primarily report to Dr. Martin Antony, Principal Investigator, Ryerson University site. At the York University site, they will also liaise with Dr. Henny Westra (supervisor of the MI-CBT arm) to coordinate training and study procedures.
Requirements:
• Training and Experience in CBT for anxiety
• Training and Experience in Diagnostic Interviewing
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Experience and interest in providing supervision
• PhD in Clinical Psychology or related field
• Strong interest in clinical trials and therapy provision
• Strong research interests & academic background in anxiety assessment and-or treatment
Duration: Duration of the position is 2 years (with a 3 month probationary period), with the possibility of renewal for a third year. Preferred start date is September or early October, 2011. Application Process: Please send an email to Dr. Martin M. Antony (mantony@psych.ryerson.ca
