Dr. Felicity Sapp PhD. - Registered Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Felicity Sapp, PHD. - Owner and Clinical Director
I am a Registered Clinical Psychologist in both Alberta and Ontario, Canada with past registration in the state of California. I have worked in the area of mental health for close to 20 years with particular expertise in the area of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Anxiety Disorders and working with children and adolescents. I am accredited as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist by the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and on the Board of the Scientific Advisory Committee of AnxietyCanada. I have collaborated with leading clinicians in the area of Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders and regularly publish and present internationally at conferences in the United States and Canada. I also provide teaching and supervision to trainees as part of the Paediatric Behaviour Therapy Training Institute for the International OCD Foundation.
Throughout my career, I have practiced in a variety of different clinical settings with clients of all ages; however, my passion and natural instinct for treating clients with Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders soon became apparent to me. In 2006, I specialized my practice and gained international experience treating a diversity of people and cultures with moderate to severe anxiety disorders, (in particular Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders). I worked in an intensive Out Patient program at a leading private anxiety treatment center in Sacramento, California where I treated clients who came from not only California but from across the United States. I saw a wide diversity of clients whose anxiety was extremely debilitating, such that they were unable to function in their everyday lives. In addition, I had a thriving private practice specialising in the treatment of clients of all ages with Anxiety and OCD Related Disorders.
I obtained my Bachelor of Science (with Honours in Psychology) Degree from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario with my Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on developmental (child) psychology. I completed my clinical internship at the IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I have extensive experience working with children and adolescents with mental health issues. Prior to working abroad, I was a staff psychologist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario. In this role, I treated children/teens with a variety of complex psychiatric issues including, mood and anxiety disorders. I also worked in the area of Pediatric Oncology providing assessment and treatment services to children/teens diagnosed with cancer. In addition, I worked at Queen’s University Counseling Center, and in various private practices. I was affiliated with both the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Queen’s University as a lecturer and provided teaching and supervision to students.
Currently. I treat clients suffering from OCD and/or Anxiety disorders, including adults, adolescents and children in my private practice: OCD and Anxiety Psychological Services Inc. which I founded in 2008. I offer evidence based treatment in the form of cognitive-behavioural therapy (including exposure therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy and habit reversal training). I use an approach that is respectful and supportive by easing my clients into learning to face their fears at their own pace to ensure that you do not become overwhelmed. I will often use humour, when appropriate, to teach clients the necessary skills to manage their anxiety and OCD symptoms.
In addition, I am passionate about educating and raising awareness of of the impact that OCD and anxiety can have on an individual's ability to function in everyday life. In an effort to give back to my community, raise awareness and provide support for children, adolescents and their families suffering from OCD, I created a team - The OCD Challengers - and since September 2018 we have participated in the RBC Race for the Kids in support of the Alberta Children's Hospital and raised over $ 24K. I have participated in advocacy efforts speaking to representatives of the Alberta government in order to raise awareness and gain support for the treatment of anxiety disorders in Alberta.
Dr. Daniel kopala-sibley - Associate
Dr. Daniel Kopala-Sibley has joined OCD and Anxiety Psychological Servies as an Associate to provide psychological treatment to adults and older adolescents who suffer from Anxiety Disorders, OCD and mood disorders. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at McGill University and currently is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary. His clinical training was at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal where he trained in cognitive behavioural and schema-focused therapy approaches for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, anxiety, and depression.
He has a particular interest in helping individuals deal with adverse childhood experiences and issues pertaining to being harshly self-critical, perfectionistic, and having low self-esteem. His research also focuses on how childhood experiences influence how people develop thoughts and beliefs about themselves, and how these put people at risk for depression and anxiety. He enjoys working with individuals to help them better understand how their beliefs and attitudes influence their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in daily life.
He uses a compassionate, non-judgmental approach as he believes that the relationship between the therapist and client is integral to psychotherapy. While psychological difficulties are impairing and can be hard to overcome, he tries to motivate his clients to understand where their difficulties stem from and how to make meaningful changes in their lives to improve their wellbeing. He studies risk and resilience factors for depression and anxiety in youth and adults and has published a variety of studies on these topics. His approach to psychological treatment incorporates this research interest. In his spare time, he loves cooking (and food in general), travelling, reading, and exercise.