Dr. Ellen Gutowski
Dr. Gutowski (She/her) is an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto. Her broad interests include promoting the well-being of underserved populations, understanding the role of psychosocial factors (stress, trauma, relationships) in mental health and functioning, and engaging in social justice/anti-oppression work within teaching and clinical practice. Her specific interests are intimate partner violence and developing trauma-informed systems of care. She is particularly committed to understanding how systems-level responses to those who are affected by intimate partner violence may either promote well-being or cause harm.
She is a scientist-practitioner and received her PhD from Boston College, served as a clinical fellow for two years at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and completed her clinical residency at Emory School of Medicine.
Rawan Hedefa
Rawan is currently a first-year PhD student in Counselling and Clinical Psychology at the University of Toronto OISE. She holds a Master of Social Work and is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in Ontario. Prior to beginning her doctoral training, Rawan completed a Master of Arts in Counselling and Clinical Psychology, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Toronto.
Rawan has extensive clinical experience providing psychotherapy and conducting comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational assessments across hospital, community, and private clinic settings. Her work has included supporting clients presenting with mood, anxiety, trauma-related, and personality-related concerns.
Her clinical and research interests centre on the mental health and lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) individuals, with a particular focus on identity development, cultural context, and resilience in the face of marginalization. She is especially interested in the impact of intimate partner violence, intergenerational trauma, and systemic oppression on mental health outcomes within these communities.
Her doctoral research uses qualitative methods to explore coping, resilience, and identity among LGBTQ+ MENA emerging adults in Canada. Rawan is committed to culturally responsive, affirming care and aims to bridge clinical practice and research to better support underserved and marginalized populations.
George Fazaa
George Fazaa is a Master’s student in the Clinical and Counselling Psychology (CCP) program (PhD track) at OISE, University of Toronto. His research interests align with trauma- and violence-informed approaches, with a particular focus on intimate partner violence (IPV), suicidality, and the lived experiences of individuals from marginalized communities. His MA thesis examines how 2SLGBTQ+ young adult survivors of IPV make meaning of their experiences with suicidality and coping.
George completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology and German at Dalhousie University, where he was awarded the University Medal in Psychology. He has contributed to multiple research projects across several labs, with work spanning mental health and flourishing, positive psychology, personality, adverse behaviours, and interpersonal violence. George has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and has supported the development of an upcoming forensic psychology textbook through extensive literature review and editorial work.
His work is grounded in a commitment to equity-oriented and culturally responsive care, which is informed by both his academic training and lived experience. George is a recipient of the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (CGS-M) and is an active member of professional organizations including the Canadian Psychological Association, Ontario Psychological Association, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.
Olivia Arbess
Liv recently graduated from Queen’s University in spring 2025 and is currently a volunteer in the Trauma-Informed Responses Lab. Her research interests lie at the intersection of women’s health, trauma-informed care, and the lived experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). She is interested in exploring factors that contribute to effective interventions designed to support survivors. She hopes to contribute to research that centers survivors’ perspectives and explores how trauma-informed care practices can better support them. Her passion for women’s mental health deepened through her undergraduate research on women’s experiences of sexuality, particularly among those with low sexual desire. In her career, she hopes to build on this work, aiming to develop models linking sexual health and trauma recovery as interconnected areas of care. These experiences have inspired her to pursue research that deepens understanding of how sexuality and trauma intersect in the lives of women affected by IPV, with the goal of improving care practices and support systems for survivors. She is drawn to this work because it is where gendered power, trauma, and health inequity most urgently manifest.
Taylor Zaidel
Taylor Zaidel (she/her) is a second-year MEd candidate in Counselling Psychology & Psychotherapy at OISE. Taylor holds an Honours BA in Psychology from UBC and is currently completing a supervised psychotherapy practicum at the OISE Psychology Clinic. Her frontline work supporting survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence informs a practice grounded in safety, trust, and cultural responsiveness. Taylor’s interests span trauma-informed and anti-oppressive care, clinician development, and improving access to quality mental health services. In the Trauma-Informed Responses Lab, she is contributing to a project that clarifies and assesses clinician competence for IPV-responsive mental health care. Across roles, she values empathy, clarity, and practical solutions that reduce barriers to care while making high-quality, survivor-centered care more accessible.
Mikayla Lisi
Mikayla (she/her) is a graduate of the Developmental Psychology and Education program at OISE, and a HBSc graduate from The University of Toronto. She is a research assistant in the lab. Her primary research interests include understanding the effects of stress and trauma on development, cognition, behaviour, and both mental and physical health. She is passionate about promoting well-being through implementation of biopsychosocial interventions, and trauma-informed care practices. She aspires to pursue Clinical Psychology and focus on advancing research in these critical areas.
Chris Wong
Chris (he/him) is an incoming Master of Social Work student at the University of Toronto. His research interests focus on the mental health and well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ communities, particularly transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals. His previous research examined motivations for wearing or not wearing gender-affirming gear and how these experiences relate to psychological well-being and identity development among TGD adults. He is currently contributing to qualitative research on survivors’ experiences accessing psychotherapy services. Moving forward, Chris hopes to expand his work to address the diverse needs of 2SLGBTQ+ populations and to contribute to more affirming, accessible, and responsive social work practice.
Aradhna Chawla
Aradhna completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Alberta in 2020. She has worked extensively in community mental health, supporting individuals with complex psychosocial needs through program development, crisis response, and trauma-informed care.
Currently, she implements province-wide substance use recovery programming for Métis people across Alberta, with a focus on relational approaches that center lived experience and community context.
Within the Trauma-Informed Responses Research Group, she is involved in research examining clinician competence in supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, and contributes to work at McGill University exploring the social worlds of unhoused Inuit individuals.
Committed to integrating scientific rigor with community wisdom, Aradhna will begin graduate training in counselling psychology in Fall 2026, with the aim of strengthening evidence-based responses to trauma and violence in mental health systems.