Lab - Depression Cognition & Culture
Current Lab Personnel & Students
Dr. Shadi Beshai
Lab Director
Dr. Shadi Beshai is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina. Research in the DCC Lab, as directed by Dr. Beshai, is aimed at the local and international promotion and adaptation of evidence-based psychotherapies (e.g., CBT and Mindfulness-Based Interventions). Dr. Beshai's research is funded by Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). Research by Dr. Beshai and other gifted DCC Lab members (see below) has been published in many highly esteemed, peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Clinical Psychology Review; Mindfulness; Behavior Therapy).
Matea Gerbeza
Lab Coordinator
Matea completed her Honours (2022-23) under Dr. Beshai's supervision. She is now Depression Cognition and Culture Lab Coordinator. For her honours, Matea examined the associations between dispositional mindfulness and components of mental health literacy, specifically psychological distress recognition and mental help-seeking attitudes. She is graduating (B.A.) in psychology in the Spring of 2023 with High Honours. Matea hopes to continue her training in the graduate program in clinical psychology, with a specific interest in adolescent eating disorders and children's anxiety. In the meantime, you can find her playing with her dog, Lupin, and cat, Finnick.
Saba Salimuddin
Doctoral Student (Clinical Psychology)
Saba is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. Her research is focused on treatment promotion through improved mental health literacy, and brief and scalable interventions.
Alexa Danyluk
Master’s Student (Clinical Psychology)
Alexa (she/her) is a Master’s student in University of Regina’s Clinical Psychology Program. She is interested in exploring how cognitive and behavioural coping strategies can offset social and psychological vulnerabilities and identifying factors that promote adaptive coping. For her Master’s thesis, she plans to examine how dispositional mindfulness interacts with coping behaviour to impact mental health outcomes. In her free time, Alexa enjoys baking, reading, and going for walks.
Katelyn Lockinger
Master's Student (Clinical Psychology)
Katelyn (she/her) is a Master’s student in the Clinical Psychology Program at University of Regina. She received her B.A. Honours in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2022. Katelyn's honours thesis revolved around examining psychological well-being and dysmenorrhea among women with ADHD. For her Master's thesis, she plans to examine the moderating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the relationship between adult ADHD symptoms and social functioning.
Jenna Kazeil
Honours Student (2023-2024)
Jenna is currently completing her Undergraduate Psychology Honours Thesis. For Jenna is examining the occurrence of method effects in the Short Version of the Five Fact Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF). Prior to completing her B.A. in Psychology, Jenna obtained a Bachelor of Animal Bioscience degree from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan and further went on to obtain a Certificate in Criminology and Addictions from the College of Arts and Science also at the University of Saskatchewan. After graduating with a B.A. in Psychology in Spring of 2024, Jenna hopes to continue her education and training in Clinical Psychology, with a particular interest in psychopathologies of children and youth.
Christianne Camba
Honours Student (2023-2024)
Christianne (she/her) is an Honours student under the supervision of Dr. Beshai. Her research is focused on the associations between dispositional mindfulness (DM) and self-compassion among individuals reporting a history of depression. She is graduating (B.Sc.) in Psychology in the Spring of 2024. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine.
Nadine Mounir
Internship Student (2024)
Nadine completed her Honours (2022-23) under the supervision of Dr. Natasha Gallant at the University of Regina, focusing on the intersectional impacts of discrimination on the social and psychological well-being of Muslim women in Saskatchewan. Currently, she is undertaking an internship with Dr. Beshai for her final semester as part of her Psychology Honours degree in the Depression Cognition Culture lab. She will be graduating with her BA in Psychology with High Honours in Spring 2024. For her internship, she is exploring the perceptions of cognitive-behavioral therapy and anti-depressant medication for depression. Her aspirations lie in clinical psychology, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between culture and mental health, especially among visible minorities living in North America. When she is not at school or work, you can find her drawing, writing poetry, or with her friends.
Zainab Tahir
Lab Volunteer
Zainab is currently a first-year undergraduate student pursuing her degree in psychology. She is currently a lab volunteer, hoping to learn about psychology, particularly the intersection of cognitive psychology and cultural studies. In the future, she hopes to research the impact of cultural upbringing on cognitive processes, such as decision-making and problem-solving. She aspires to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology, with a specialization in cognitive psychology. She hopes to contribute to her field by bridging gaps in mental health care accessibility and understanding across diverse communities. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family or volunteering.
Lab Alumni
Mabel Yu
Doctoral Student (2018-2023)
Mabel was a Doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Regina from 2018 to 2023. Mabel's Doctoral Thesis is focused on a randomized trial examining the effects of a self-compassion intervention to protect from future depression episodes among people with recurrent depression. She successfully defended her dissertation in the Fall of 2023.
Dr. Fereshteh Mehrabi
Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-2023)
Dr. Mehrabi Completed her Ph.D. degree in public health and health policy at the University of Montreal. Her research has focused on the impact of social isolation and loneliness on physical, mental, and cognitive health outcomes, particularly among frail older adults, and how cohort trends and social change affect later-life health profiles. As a postdoctoral fellow, she was involved in creating a brief mindfulness-based intervention to improve the mental well-being of Indigenous students.
Christine Bueno
Master’s Student (2020-2023)
Christine completed her Master’s in the Clinical Psychology Program. Her Master’s thesis examined the effects of an augmented online mindfulness and self-compassion intervention to increase connectedness.
Sarah Gulash
Former Honours Student
Sarah Gulash (she/her) completed her BSc Honours degree in psychology under the supervision of Dr. Beshai. Her research focused on perceptions of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and she examined whether various personality, demographic, and clinical factors predict these perceptions. This research will help identify whether an individual is likely to perceive MBIs favourably based on their dispositions. This will lead to future research on the relationship between MBI perceptions and the outcomes or success of MBIs. She is hoping to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.
Jenna Maierhoffer
Former Honours Student
Jenna completed her final year in Psychology in 2022, with an Honours in Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Beshai. Her research was focused on narrowing down the concept of mindfulness by defining the borderlines between mindfulness and the two related terms, non-attachment and equanimity in an effort to determine where each interconnect. Her research will also be testing to see if these terms exhibit a correlation between the symptoms of anxiety and depression. The results of her research project will be useful in the process of developing an operational definition of mindfulness. They will also be beneficial in indicating the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. She is interested in continuing to do research on the mental health effects of practicing mindfulness meditation.
Anthony L Elsom
Research Coordinator (Former)
Anthony completed his B.A (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Regina. His thesis focused on determining the correlates of suicide ideation for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He served as the research coordinator for the Depression, Cognition & Culture Lab (DCC) under the supervision of Dr. Beshai (2019-2022). He is starting his Master's in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba, and his thesis will focus on modifying or adapting evidence-based psychotherapies (e.g., CTB) to meet the needs of minority groups such as the Indigenous Peoples of Canada.
Ali Bukhari
Former Honours Student
Ali completed his honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Beshai (2020-2021). His research investigated the effect of an online mindfulness-based intervention (Mind-OP) on mitigating symptoms of envy. He is currently completing a Master's in Public Health.
Nicole Del Rosario
Former Master's Student (Clinical Psychology)
Nicole graduated from the University of Winnipeg with her B.A. (Hons.) in Psychology. She has recently successfully defended her M.A. thesis in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina. Her Master's thesis focused on public perceptions of mindfulness-based programs, and whether brief and specific psychoeducation may improve these perceptions. This research was funded by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Master's Scholarship. Additional research and clinical interests include exploring barriers to mental health service use and group therapy. When not in the lab, she enjoys roller skating and scrapbooking. Nicole is now completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Manitoba.
S. Yasmin Manjegani
Former Honours Student
Yasmin finished her B.Sc (Honours) in Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Beshai. Her thesis examined social and cognitive predictors of cognitive restructuring (CR) in relation to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She is interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
Saghar Chahar Mahali
Former Master’s Student (Applied and Experimental Psychology)
Saghar (Helia) finished her MA degree in Experimental and Applied Psychology under Dr. Beshai’s supervision at the University of Regina. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph.
Amanda (Mandy) Wuth
Former Master’s Student (Applied and Experimental Psychology)
Her research expertise is in cognitive schemas, social cognitions, risk attitudes, and life history theory. She is also interested in mindfulness and workplace mental health.
Adam Iskric
Former Master’s Student (Clinical Psychology)
Now completing Graduate Training in Clinical Psychology at Hofstra University in New York.
