ABOUT
FRANÇOISE MAHEU, PhD, Psychologist
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ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Since 2015, I am exclusively dedicating my time to my clinical practice in psychology.
My fields of competence include:
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Psycholegal expertises for the court.
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Maltreatment (sexual, physical, psychological abuse; parental alienation), psychopathology (major depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, psychosis, attention and hyperactivity disorder) in children, adolescent or adult.
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Psycholegal expertise, psychological evaluation and therapeutic intervention with individuals from different cultural communities, or with First Nations’ people.
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Assessment of dangerousness, and recidivism risk, in sexual offenders (with a criminal record).
My professional practice is threefold:
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Psycholegal expertises: important experience with respect to the chamber of Family Matters and in Youth Protection Law (assessments in the context of custody and access rights cases, in maltreatment cases, in parental alienation cases), in the chamber of Civil Matters, and as an expert-witness for the court.
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Psychological evaluation of children, adolescents, and adults.
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Therapeutic intervention with children, adolescents, and adults (psychodynamic therapy, play therapy, tools from the cognitive-behavioral ACT therapy).
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PASSED PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
From 2008-2015, I occupied a position as an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, and CHU Ste-Justine Research Centre.
In that context, I have published many scientific peer-reviewed articles, gave many conferences (internationally, nationally, provincially), supervised students at the doctoral and maters’ levels as their principal supervisor, and taught courses at the doctoral and masters’ levels at the University of Montreal. I was also invited as a guess professor to teach doctoral and masters’ level courses at McGill University.
A FEW SCIENTIFIC PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
published by Dr Maheu’s research laboratory:
The conditioning and extinction of fear in youths: What’s sex got to do with it?
Fear conditioning and extinction in anxious youth, offspring at-risk for anxiety and healthy comparisons: An fMRI study.
Chronic harsh parenting and anxiety associations with fear circuitry function in healthy adolescents: A preliminary study.
La mémoire aux prises avec les émotions et le stress : un impact nécessairement dommageable ?
In French.
On a continuum to anxiety disorders: Adolescents at parental risk for anxiety show smaller rostral anterior cingulate cortex and insula thickness.
Prefrontal cortex and amygdala anatomy in youth with persistent levels of harsh parenting practices and subclinical anxiety symptoms over time during childhood.
CHOSEN CONFERENCES BY DR MAHEU:
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« Entrée principale, segment: When your child is consulting a psychologist », Radio-Canada télé; February 24th 2016.
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«Dessine-moi un dimanche », hosted by Franco Nuevo, Ici Radio-Canada Première-Montréal, topic: preventing adolescents from being recruited by street gangs; February 7th 2016.
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Conference “Anxiety disorders in youths: how to intervene”, Jeunesse J’écoute, Montreal, December 10th 2014.
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Conference “How maltreatment hits the brain”. 6ième Colloque québécois sur la maltraitance envers les enfants et les adolescents, CHU Ste-Justine and Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal. Montreal, October 28th 2013.
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Internalized disorders in adolescents: When parental and environmental risk factors threaten the brain. Hôpital universitaire San Ignacio, Université Javeriana, Bogota, Colombie, February 27th 2013.
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Conference « L’adolescence: cerveau et corps en herbe », conference on the development of the brain in children and adolescents, presented to schools of the Montreal metropolitan area, Scientific Evenings of the CHU Ste-Justine, may 31st 2012.
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Conference on the neurobiology of anxiety disorders for the non-profit organization Phobie-Zéro, which helps and supports individuals with anxiety disorders; April 28th 2012; November 5th 2011, April 25th 2009.
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Conference on the neurobiology of anxiety and mood disorders for the non-profit organization Revivre, which helps and supports individuals with anxiety and mood disorders; February 9th 2010.
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TRAINING ACADEMIC
2005-2008
Postdoctorat in developmental neurosciences and psychopathology, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
1998-2004
Doctorat in experimental neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, and Research Centre of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute/McGill University.
TRAINING CLINICAL
Internship-major in clinical psychology: Evaluation and intervention, psychodynamic therapy and play therapy, Clinique socio-juridique, CHU Ste-Justine/University of Montreal.
Internship-minor in clinical psychology: Evaluation and intervention, cognitive-behavioral therapy, Mood Disorders Program-child psychiatry branch, Douglas Mental Health University Institute/McGill University.
TRAINING COMPLEMENTARY
Recent training
Since 2013, I yearly pursue training in my fields of competence.
Here are a few examples of the training performed:
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Assessment of personality profiles using projective methods (2015- ).
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Training: coding separation-reunion behaviors in preschool children; Department of Psychology/UQAM (2015).
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Training: intervention based on attachment in the mother-child dyad; Department of Psychology/UQAM & Centre Jeunesse de Lanaudière (2013).
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Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for sexually abused children and adolescents; Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent (2013).
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Training in ACT cognitive-behavioral therapy adapted to adolescents and adults (2014 and 2015).
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Training in cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adults (2009 and 2013).
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PRIZES & DISTINCTIONS
2013
Gaumont Prize for research in mood disorders
(anxiety disorders, major depression and bipolar disorder) in adolescents.
2010-20016
Awards from the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) and Fonds de recherche du Québec-santé/FRQS.
2006-20016
Research grants from the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), Fonds de recherche du Québec- santé/FRQS, CHU Ste-Justine, and Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (USA).
1999-2006
Postdoctoral and doctoral studentships from the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) and Fonds de recherche du Québec- santé/FRQS.