416-979-5000 ext. 552184
oprovostwalker@torontomu.ca
Degree in Progress
PhD Clinical Psychology
Degrees
2020 MA Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University
2016 BA (Honours) Psychology, University of Ottawa
Research Interests
Olivia’s research interests include anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. For her masters thesis, she examined reassurance seeking behaviour in body dysmorphic disorder. For her future research, she is interested in examining racial-ethnic disparities in the assessment and treatment of anxiety and related disorders, as well as growing our understanding of the role of contextual variables (e.g., power, oppression) in how anxiety and related disorders develop and are expressed.
Clinical Interests
Olivia’s training has primarily been in cognitive behavioural therapy. She completed her first clinical practicum in 2019-2020 at the Psychology Training Clinic (Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s Hospital), and is now completing a practicum placement at the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. At these practica she has worked with individuals with OCD, various anxiety disorders, PTSD, and mood disorders. She has experience with mindfulness based therapies and is interested in furthering her clinical training in modalities such as emotion-focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy.
Research Support
2021-2025 – Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) – Doctoral Fellowship
2020 –Black Graduate Student Fellowship, Toronto Metropolitan University
2019 – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships (CIHR)
2018 – Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)
Publications
- McCabe-Bennett, H., Provost-Walker, O., Lachman, R., Girard, T.A., & Antony, M.M. (2020). A virtual reality study of experiential avoidance, emotional experiences, and hoarding symptoms. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 27, 100590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2020.100590
Conference Presentations
- Provost-Walker, O., Tsekova, V., Rowa, K., Elcock, A., McCabe, R.E., & Antony, M.M. (2020, November 19-22). Treatment sensitivity of the STICSA in anxiety and related disorders [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 54th Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
- Tsekova, V., Provost-Walker, O., Rowa, K., Elcock, A., McCabe, R.E., & Antony, M.M. (2020, November 19-22). Group cohesion in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety and related disorders [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 54th Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
- Provost-Walker, O., McCabe-Bennett, H., Girard, T.A., Lachman, R., & Antony, M.M. (2020, June). Indecisiveness and perfectionism in hoarding disorder [Poster presentation]. Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Provost-Walker, O., McCabe, R.E., Rowa, K., Elcock, A., & Antony, M.M. (2019, November). Illness intrusiveness in anxiety-related and depressive disorders: A replication and extension [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 53rd Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA, United States.
- Provost-Walker, O., Ashbaugh, A.R., Lalumière M.L., Levaque, E., Kane, L. & Marinos, J. (2018, June). Biological sex and the impact of anxiety on sexual arousal [Poster presentation]. International Congress on Applied Psychology, Montreal, QC, Canada.