Dr Alana Cook

Registered Psychologist

My areas of expertise

I provide evidence-based therapy for adults needing help with mood (depression, anxiety, anger), trauma, or substance use difficulties. I also provide treatment for psychosis and bipolar conditions, and problematic personality traits. I have an interest in working with people struggling with interpersonal or workplace conflict.

In my approach to therapy I provide an empathic, genuine, and collaborative professional relationship through which I work with my clients to achieve their goals, whether it be to work through an unexpected and challenging life event or to manage a chronic mental illness. I maintain current knowledge and skills for therapies that have been shown to be effective in the scientific literature for the types of problems I treat.

I primarily use a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) framework for treatment, but I also bring in elements of other evidence-based treatments depending on the needs and goals of my clients (e.g., mindfulness, DBT). I treat trauma using prolonged exposure (PE), trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) approaches.

My background

I am a Registered Psychologist of the College of Health and Care Professionals of British Columbia. I have been working in private practice since 2016. I have also worked in academic positions and at various organizations over the course of my career (WSBC, Correctional Facilities, Inpatient and Outpatient mental health services in forensic and non-forensic contexts). I currently hold a position as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University.

I completed my PhD in clinical and forensic psychology at Simon Fraser University and my Masters in clinical psychology at Pacific University in Oregon. I have been active in research, scholarly work, and supervision of students throughout my career. I also train professionals on topics related to mental health and violence risk. For more information, see my webpage.

In addition to providing treatment at Changeways Clinic, I provide psycholegal assessments (independent psychological evaluations and violence risk assessment). For more information, see my webpage.