Overview
Message from the division lead, anxiety
Members of the Division of Anxiety focus on anxiety and related disorders by conducting innovative research, providing training for students and health professionals and delivering state-of-the-art care to individuals seeking assessment and treatment for these conditions.
The Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic (ATRC) at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton serves as the main hub of division activity. The ATRC is a specialized outpatient program dedicated to clinical service, education and research in the area of anxiety disorders. Located in a large community hospital affiliated with McMaster University, the ATRC receives over 3,000 referrals each year and provides comprehensive assessment and treatment services, including an early intervention assessment stream for youth with obsessive compulsive disorder.
In addition to offering state-of-the-art assessments and treatments for anxiety disorders, the ATRC is one of Canada’s leading centres for training and research in the area of anxiety. Each year, 25-30 students from various disciplines (psychology, psychiatry, nursing, occupational therapy and social work) complete clinical and research training at the clinic, making it an exciting hub of activity with numerous opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
The ATRC houses a network of established investigators with international collaborations researching various aspects of anxiety and related disorders. Research in the ATRC encompasses studies designed to further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders, as well as the development and evaluation of new assessment methods and treatment approaches including innovative cognitive behavioural interventions.
Message from the Division Lead
Members of the Division of Anxiety focus on anxiety and related disorders by conducting innovative research, providing training for students and health professionals and delivering state-of-the-art care to individuals seeking assessment and treatment for these conditions.
The Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic (ATRC) at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton serves as the main hub of division activity. The ATRC is a specialized outpatient program dedicated to clinical service, education and research in the area of anxiety disorders. Located in a large community hospital affiliated with McMaster University, the ATRC receives over 3,000 referrals each year and provides comprehensive assessment and treatment services, including an early intervention assessment stream for youth with obsessive compulsive disorder.
Our Impact
The teaching and training efforts of members of the division, both locally and in the community, contribute to the development of anxiety disorder expertise in health professionals, which increases access for those with an anxiety disorder to receive evidence-based interventions that reduce suffering and improve functioning and quality of life.
Faculty Directory
Information Box Group
Jennifer Hewitt
PhD, CPsych
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Jennifer Hewitt
PhD, CPsych
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Irena Milosevic
HonBSc, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty
Irena Milosevic
HonBSc, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty
Luciano Minuzzi
MD, FRCPC
Associate Chair, Education
Faculty
Luciano Minuzzi
MD, FRCPC
Associate Chair, Education
Faculty
Matilda Nowakowski
PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Matilda Nowakowski
PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Joseph Pellizzari
PhD
Associate Professor
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Joseph Pellizzari
PhD
Associate Professor
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Donald Richardson
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Donald Richardson
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Jennifer Hewitt
PhD, CPsych
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Jennifer Hewitt
PhD, CPsych
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Irena Milosevic
HonBSc, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty
Irena Milosevic
HonBSc, MA, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty
Luciano Minuzzi
MD, FRCPC
Associate Chair, Education
Faculty
Luciano Minuzzi
MD, FRCPC
Associate Chair, Education
Faculty
Matilda Nowakowski
PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Matilda Nowakowski
PhD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Faculty
Joseph Pellizzari
PhD
Associate Professor
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Joseph Pellizzari
PhD
Associate Professor
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Donald Richardson
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Donald Richardson
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty
Education
Members of the Division of Anxiety are actively involved in providing teaching, training and supervision in assessment and management of anxiety and related disorders to a range of learners from various disciplines, as well as health professionals.
Education Initiatives
Education activities in the division include:
- Teaching and supervision of psychiatry residents in McMaster University’s master’s of science psychotherapy program, for academic half-days and the cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) anxiety module
- Teaching and supervision of CBT Levels 1-3 in the clinical behavioural sciences program
- Supervision and teaching of graduate students in the research clinical training stream of the psychology graduate program and the neuroscience graduate program at McMaster University
- Supervision and teaching of trainees in the St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton Psychology Residency Program
- Supervision of undergraduate research students in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and honours health sciences program
Education Partners
Clinical
The Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic (ATRC) is the hub of clinical activity in the Division of Anxiety. Referrals to the ATRC go through St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s central intake program.
Clinical Initiatives
Members of the Division of Anxiety played a major role in the development of the Health Quality Ontario clinical guidelines for anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. Division members have also been active in disseminating evidence-based treatments through the publishing of books for consumers and clinicians. These books have been translated into many languages and have been distributed across the globe.
Anxiety-related books published by members of the Division of Anxiety:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression during pregnancy and beyond (Green, Frey, Donegan, & McCabe, 2018)
- Phobias: The psychology of irrational fear, an encyclopedia (Milosevic & McCabe, 2015)
- The Cognitive behavioral workbook for menopause (Green, McCabe, & Soares, 2012)
- Social Anxiety Disorder (Antony & Rowa, 2008)
- Overcoming fear of heights (Antony & Rowa, 2007)
- Cognitive behavioral therapy in groups (Bieling, McCabe, & Antony, 2006)
- Second edition in coming soon
- Overcoming animal and insect phobias (Antony & McCabe, 2005)
- 10 Simple Solutions to Panic (McCabe & Antony, 2004)
Research
Research in the Division of Anxiety encompasses studies designed to further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and related disorders, as well as the development and evaluation of new assessment methods and treatment approaches.
Research Initiatives
There are many ongoing research initiatives in the Division of Anxiety, including:
- Members of the division are partnered with the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research and are engaged in research examining the relationship between cannabis use and anxiety disorders, including understanding motives for use, relationship to anxiety symptoms and impact on treatment.
- Members of the division are partnered with the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and are engaged in research examining neuromodulation using transcranial direct current stimulation (tCDS) for enhancing learning during exposure for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as the application of behavioural economics paradigms to further our understanding of anxiety and related disorders.
- Members of the division led development and evaluation of the Diagnostic Research and Assessment Tool (DART) for DSM-5, an open access semi-structured diagnostic interview for use in research and clinical settings. A Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded study examining the psychometric properties of the DART is underway.
Research Partners
The Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART)
The Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART) is an open-access, semi-structured diagnostic interview for assessing DSM-5 mental disorders, which was developed by psychologists at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton who are also affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University.
About DART
Offering the DART as an open-access tool allows for greater access to a semi-structured psychodiagnostic tool that can be used in clinical and research settings with adult populations. In addition, the DART’s modular design offers interviewers the flexibility to administer the entire interview or individual disorder-specific modules, which can reduce the duration of the interview and make the interview less burdensome to interviewees. The DART can also be used in conjunction with the DART questionnaire, a self-report screening tool, which can guide interviewers to relevant modules to administer.
The following is a list of the DART modules and the DSM-5 disorders assessed in each module:
- Anxiety disorders: panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, specific phobia
- Depressive disorders: major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder; depressive disorders specifiers
- Bipolar and related disorders: hypomanic or manic episodes, bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, bipolar disorders specifiers
- Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, excoriation disorder, trichotillomania
- Trauma-and-stressor related disorders: posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder
- Substance-related and addictive disorders: alcohol use disorder, gambling disorder, substance use disorders
- Feeding and eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder
- Somatic symptom and related disorders: illness anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder
- Sleep-wake disorders: insomnia disorder
- Dissociative disorders: depersonalization/derealization disorder
- Schizophrenia spectrum and related psychotic disorders algorithm: delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, schizophreniform disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder
- Personality disorders: borderline personality disorder
- Screening modules: risk assessment (suicide, self-harm and homicide risk), psychosis screen
Additional information about the DART and instructions for use is available and can be found in our DART User Guide (.docx).
McCabe, R. E., Milosevic, I., Rowa, K., Shnaider, P., Pawluk, E. J., Antony, M. M. & the DART Working Group. (2021). Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART), Version 4. Hamilton, ON: St. Joseph’s Healthcare/McMaster University.
- The DART Working Group includes (alphabetically): Alcolado, G., Cameron, D., Donegan, E., Gavric, D., Gahagan, K., Ghai, A., Holshausen, K., Key, B., Laliberte, M., McNeely, H., Merrifield, C., Nowakowski, M., Szota, L., Waechter, S., Young, L.
To obtain a copy of the DART, please complete a request form.
For questions or more information about the DART, please email Dart@stjosham.on.ca
Access to this instrument is not restricted, however, the DART is intended to be used by trained professionals. It is the responsibility of the person(s) using this assessment to ensure that the right credentials, education and training are met to administer and interpret the results or that learners are supervised by a professional meeting these requirements.
The DART was developed in Canada by psychologists, primarily at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University.
A study of the psychometric properties of the DART is currently underway funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant.
- Pawluk, E. J., Musielak, N., Milosevic, I., Rowa, K., Shnaider, P., Schneider, L. H., & McCabe, R. E. (2021). An Evaluation of the Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART) Screener for DSM-5 Disorders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. Advance online publication.
- Schneider, L. H., Pawluk, E. J., Milosevic, I., Shnaider, P., Rowa, K., Antony, M. M., Musielak, N., & McCabe, R. E. (2021). The diagnostic assessment research tool in action: A preliminary evaluation of a semistructured diagnostic interview for DSM-5 disorders. Psychological Assessment. Advance online publication.
- McCabe, R. E., & Pawluk, E. J. (2021). The Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART): A new, open-access psychodiagnostic interview. Psynopsis, 43(1), 27.
Key faculty members
Contact Us
We invite you to learn more about the Division of Anxiety and the opportunities that are available at McMaster University. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.