POST-SCREENING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS:

Dr. Kim Corace demonstrates how research and science inform clinical practice and lead to improved quality of care. Since earning her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from York University in 2008, Dr. Corace has demonstrated an outstanding track record in building regional, provincial, and national research and clinical collaborations and partnerships. She was recruited as The Royal’s Director of Research and Program Development in the Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders Program and as a Clinician Scientist at The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa. Dr. Corace’s research, clinical, teaching, and advocacy efforts have led to sustainable improvements in mental health and addiction care, better client outcomes, and reduced stigma. She inspires hope in clients and families, gives impetus to the research community, and is a catalyst to improve the mental health and addictions system. In 2017, she was the Inspiration Award Recipient. 

Alison Crosthwait, CFA, RP, CTP, Dipl, Registered psychotherapist, Author, and Blogger

A former capital markets trader, working for companies such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, Alison came to the world of therapy through a personal journey, which led to both a career and life change. Throughout her adult life, inner work has been of increasing importance to Alison. She engages deeply in therapy, meditation, and somatic practices to continue her exploration and her healing. She feels strongly that all healing practitioners must continue to actively engage with their own journeys while they work with others on theirs. Alison believes that therapy is much more than a health care treatment option, it is a way of life which she explores each week in her blog writing about psychotherapy and change.

For the past 17 years, Dr. Amy Porath’s research on substance use issues has focused on cannabis and drug-impaired driving. She is an internationally recognized subject-matter expert and in-demand speaker.  The Government of Canada, parliamentary committees and the Senate, and the World Health Organization regularly seek out her expertise. 

Dr. Porath holds a PhD in psychology from Carleton University and joined CCSA in August 2007. She is a member of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, and the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine. She is co-chair of CCSA’s Expert Advisory Group on cannabis and is on a working group developing new guidelines for cannabis use disorder among older adults. She ensures that CCSA advances and responds to gaps in knowledge in the substance use and addiction field to inform policies and practice.

Amy has served as an expert in Health Canada’s national cannabis public education campaign, starred in Cannabis Legalization in Canada: A Mini-Series, and been named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Health and Influencers of 2019 by OptiMYz magazine, a leading wellness magazine for women.