Dr. Michelle Gagnon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Health Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Gagnon completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina. She completed her pre-doctoral residency in pediatric psychology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. Dr. Gagnon's research is funded by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
Over the past several years, Dr. Gagnon’s primary line of research has been focused on social and psychological influences in the pain experience across the lifespan. Her research has involved interdisciplinary collaborations within the health care system to improve pain assessment and management. Additionally, she has employed laboratory-based experimental research methodologies to gain a better understanding of pain expression and factors that influence pain responses. Her current research is focused in the area of pediatric pain, with particular focus on menstrual pain in adolescents.
Dr. Gagnon’s secondary line of research focuses on how health-related knowledge is acquired and implemented by families and health care providers. She has conducted research on how knowledge about pain practices is translated into clinical practice. She has also examined the role of mental health literacy in awareness and use of mental health services. Currently, Dr. Gagnon is conducting projects aimed at improving our understanding of mental health literacy among parents of adolescents.
Dr. Gagnon's clinical experiences broadly span child and adolescent clinical and health psychology. Her clinical interests primarily involve the use of cognitive-behavioural and acceptance-based strategies in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and chronic pediatric illness; and family-based therapy for the treatment of eating disorders. Dr. Gagnon is a registered doctoral psychologist in the province of Saskatchewan.