Dana Gorelik, M.A., Doctoral Associate
Dana Gorelik is nearing the completion of her PhD in Adult Clinical Psychology at York University. She is currently completing her residency at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and has prior clinical training across university and hospital settings. These include the York University Psychology Clinic, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and North York General Hospital.
Dana has a gentle, approachable, and compassionate therapeutic style. She is empathic, patient, and brings a non-judgemental stance to her therapy. She works collaboratively with her clients to identify and address meaningful goals, while recognizing and building on each person’s unique strengths.
Dana works with adults who experience a range of clinical issues such as Depressive Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Anxiety Disorders (e.g., Generalized Anxiety Disorder), and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Dana also has experience providing treatment for other areas of concern including self-criticism, low self-esteem, perfectionism, sleep problems, transitions and loss, chronic pain, emotion regulation difficulties, and family of origin issues.
Dana has trained in a number of therapeutic modalities and personalizes her approach to meet clients’ needs. She may draw more heavily on a particular approach or integrate several to provide the best fit. Dana draws from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), including exposure-based approaches (e.g., ERP) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Emotion Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Short Term Dynamic Therapy, and mindfulness therapies. She also incorporates skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and self-compassion in her work.
Dana is currently completing her residency at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Her rotations include the Sans Souci Program for Transition and Recovery, where she is providing assessment and primarily CBT-based treatment for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness including psychosis spectrum disorders (e.g., Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder), substance use, depression, and anxiety. She is also completing a rotation at the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) Program, providing CBT treatment for individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress and depression, and conducting psychological assessments to determine diagnosis and eligibility for treatment. Lastly, she is working at the Outpatient Assessment and Treatment Service (OATS), providing Short Term Dynamic Therapy for individuals experiencing moderate to severe mental health challenges, including treatment resistant anxiety (e.g., severe Generalized Anxiety Disorder), depression, and posttraumatic stress.
Previously, Dana completed a clinical practicum at the intensive outpatient program at Sunnybrook Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre, where she provided treatment to individuals with severe OCD. In addition to individual therapy, she co-facilitated CBT, DBT, and ACT groups in this program.
Additionally, Dana trained at North York General Hospital’s (NYGH) Assessment and Wellness Centre, where she provided therapy to adults who sustained musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace and experienced ongoing chronic pain, depression, grief, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At NYGH, she also worked at the Adult Eating Disorder Program where she conducted psychological assessments and individual therapy for Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED), and co-facilitated group therapy for BED.
Early in her training, Dana provided individual therapy, family therapy, and conducted comprehensive psychoeducational assessments at the York University Psychology Clinic (YUPC) for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and intellectual disabilities. At Toronto Psychology Centre, Dana works under the supervision of Dr. Prosser where she will also be incorporating emotion-focused therapy into her treatment.
Dana’s doctoral research focused on developing a deeper understanding of the propensity to become bored, as well as building a strong measurement tool to identify individuals struggling with chronic boredom. She is currently working on publishing her results.
Outside of her professional roles, Dana enjoys practicing yoga, travelling, spending time with family and friends, and playing the piano. Dana is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association.