Dr. Saunia Ahmad, Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Saunia S. Ahmad, PhD, C. Psych completed her Bachelors in Psychology (with a minor in Biology), and a Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology at York University, Toronto, Canada. She is registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario as a clinical and counseling psychologist. She presently sees individual and couples for psychotherapy in private practice. She has been providing clinical services since 2004. Dr. Ahmad has lived in Canada, the Middle East, UK and India.
Dr. Ahmad established a name for herself in being the first to initiate and complete a study on couple therapy with couples of South Asian background in collaboration with her graduate supervisor Dr. David Reid at York University (www.southasianfamilies.com). She identified culturally specific ideas that further improved the effectiveness of a mainstream approach to couple therapy with South Asian couples. Dr. Ahmad continues to do research to advance our understanding of culturally informed therapy. She also provides educational workshops and lectures on delivering culturally-sensitive psychotherapy.
In addition to private practice, Dr. Ahmad has been providing clinical training and supervision to graduate students at the York University Psychology Clinic (YUPC). She is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in psychosocial oncology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where she is collaborating on research examining the effectiveness of an online couple intervention for relationships affected by a partner diagnosed with cancer.
Relevant Publications:
Ahmad, S. (2012). Enhancing the quality of South Asian Marriages through Systemic-Constructivist Couple Therapy (SCCT): A culturally contextualized investigation of the role of couple identity in marital satisfaction. Dissertation completed for Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada
Reid, D., Doell, F., Dalton, J, & Ahmad, S. (2008). Systemic Constructivist Couple Therapy (SCCT): Description of approach, theoretical advances, and published longitudinal evidence. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 45(4), 477-490.