David Collict

In my approach to psychological treatment, I believe strongly that you enter the therapy space as the expert on yourself, and I bring with me knowledge of psychological processes and interventions. Together, we can explore your emotions, address thoughts and behaviours that you find challenging, and create new ways of being in a safe and welcoming environment. Over the past 7 years, I have worked with adult clients experiencing a variety of negative emotional experiences, including social and general anxiety, worries and depression, and to process grief and loss. Furthermore, I have worked with many clients in individual psychotherapy to address self-esteem/self-confidence, relationship difficulties, the effects of complex and interpersonal trauma and PTSD (emotional, physical and sexual abuse trauma), anger management and emotion regulation challenges, and OCD. I have worked extensively with 2SLGBTQIA+ adult clients in both individual and group therapy environments, and have a strong interest in contributing to queer and trans communities through my clinical and research work. I thoroughly value the importance of developing a warm, empathic and understanding relationship with my clients. My approach to psychotherapy is rooted in empathy itself, meaning I aim to communicate my understanding of your pain and difficulties, explore where they come from developmentally, how they have and continue to impact you, all ultimately so that we can have a shared understanding of your story and develop a collaborative treatment plan. Over the course of therapy, I communicate to you my working theory of what underlays your difficulties in early sessions, establish your goals for change, and check in with you to assess your felt progress. In terms of specific modalities, I draw primarily from Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and interweave Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles and interventions. I have some training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as well, and tend to incorporate DBT particularly to encourage the development of emotion regulation and distress tolerance coping skills. Overall, my psychotherapy is integrative and individualized to you. I mesh these modalities together to best meet your therapeutic goals; to explore and make meaning of your emotional experiences, address thought processes and behaviours, and create coping skills in an empathic therapy relationship. I completed my Master’s degree in Clinical and Counselling Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2019, and have been completing my Ph.D. in Clinical and Counselling Psychology also from the University of Toronto between 2019-present. I am a Ph.D. Candidate and anticipate finishing my doctorate around November 2024. I have completed all clinical training required as part of my Ph.D., and am currently finishing the research component of my degree, specifically my doctoral dissertation. I completed my pre-doctoral residency training program with the Toronto Area Residency Consortium (TARC). I have provided psychotherapy and comprehensive psychological assessment services in a variety of settings, including private practises, university student clinics and psychology training clinics. Specific locations of my training include the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Psychology Clinic at the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), York University’s Psychology Clinic (YUPC), Church Wellesley Counselling and Psychotherapy (CWCP), and Psychological and Counselling Services Group (PCSG). At these sites, I have provided individual psychotherapy with adult clients. I have also conducted comprehensive psychoeducational (i.e., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD], Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD] and Specific Learning Disorder [LD]) assessments, psychodiagnostic assessments (mood, anxiety, OCD, trauma and adjustment disorders), and transition-related surgery assessments for Gender Dysphoria for queer and trans clients seeking gender-affirming care in Ontario. I have extensive experience with research and have published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scholarly conferences. Much of my research focuses on 2SLGBTQIA+ sexual and mental health, and particularly on encouraging the development of positive psychological outcomes. I also have received prestigious external research scholarships throughout my graduate-level training. These awards have been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), including the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship at the doctoral level, and the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (CGS-M) at the Master’s level, and also Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) awards at both the Masters and Doctoral levels. A few of my publications include the following: Barry, A., Brennan, D., Davies, A. & Collict, D. (2024). Dating apps and shifting sexual subjectivities of men seeking men online. Sexuality and Culture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-024-10231-1 Gillis, J.R. & Collict, D. (2022). Sexual orientations and the group of seven. In Kassan, A. & Moodley, R (Eds). Diversity and social justice in counselling, psychology and psychotherapy: A case study approach. Cognella. Brennan, D., Kesler, M., Lachowsky, N., Davies, A., Georgievski, G., Adam, B., Collict, D., Hart, T., Salway, T. & Griffiths, D. (2021). Sociodemographic and psychological predictors of seeking health information online among GB2M in Ontario: Findings from the #iCruise Project. International Journal of Sexual Health, 34(2), 337-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2021.2000087 Collict, D., Pfund, G., Rodriguez de los Reyes, G. & Hill, P. (2020). Identity formation among gay men, lesbian women, bisexual and heterosexual samples: Associations with purpose in life, life satisfaction, pathways to purpose and implications for positive sexual minority identity. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 22(5), 2125-2142. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s10902-020-00313-w Rodriguez de los Reyez, G. & Collict, D. (2020). “It’s not only about clinical tools but also our roles as agents of social change”: Implementing an LGBT competency training in Mexico. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(2), 230-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2020.1815433 I am also a member of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and Ontario Psychological Association (OPA).