Dr. Paul Grunberg, C.Psych.

Therapeutic Approach:

My intention as a therapist is to help you overcome barriers to change, open up to experience, heal old wounds, and increase trust in yourself. A mentor once shared with me that we are formed by our past, informed by our histories, and reformed by the decisions we make in the present. Together we will shed light on how your emotions, thoughts, and behaviours make sense, so that you can improve your self- understanding and make meaningful choices that allow you to grow.
There is no wrong place to start and I will meet you right where you are in your process. For so many of us, anger, shame, sadness, and fear were necessary defenses against past experiences. I will meet you from a non-judgmental place so that you can safely observe these thoughts and emotions and learn to relate to yourself and others in healthier ways.
Formally, I have completed doctoral-level training in cognitive-behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy, providing me with an integrative, well-rounded, and adaptable approach to working with a variety of people and presenting issues.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Honours), University of Guelph
PhD, Clinical Psychology, McGill University
My training included rotations across several university, hospital, and private mental health clinics, where I worked with people who received diagnoses of anxiety, mood, trauma, and/or personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder. Of course, these neat labels don’t include the numerous challenges brought to therapy, including shame, guilt, and insecurity; difficulties balancing work, family, and social lives; problems with transition or adjustment; problematic Internet use; disordered eating and body image concerns; hoarding; perfectionism; non-suicidal self-injury; hair-pulling (i.e., trichotillomania) and skin-picking (i.e.excoriation disorder); loneliness and isolation; and identity development.

Professional Affiliations:

2021-present Canadian Psychological Association
Early Career Year 2 Member

2021-present Ontario Psychological Association

Member

2021-present Ottawa Academy of Psychology

Full Member

2021-present Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

Professional Member

2012-present International Society for the Study of Self-Injury

Professional Member

2022-present Compassionate Mind Foundation

Member

2023-present Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder

Member

Research Publications:
Grunberg, P. H., Da Costa, D., Dennis, C., O’Connell, S., Lahuec, A., Zelkowitz, P. (2021). “How did you cope with such concerns?”: Insights from a monitored online infertility peer support forum. Human Fertility, https://doi.org/10.1080/14647273.2021.1959952
O’Connell, S., E. N. Gelgoot, P. H. Grunberg, Schinazi, J., Da Costa, D., Dennis, C., Rosberger, Z., Zelkowitz, P. (2021). “‘I felt less alone knowing I could contribute to the forum’: Psychological distress and use of an online infertility peer support forum”. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 9, 128-48.
Lemoine, M-E., O’Connell, S., Grunberg, P. H., Gagné, K., Ells, C., Zelkowitz. P. (2021) Information needs of people seeking fertility treatment in Canada: A mixed methods analysis. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 9, 104-27.
Grunberg, P. H., Dennis, C. L., Da Costa, D. Gagné, K., Idelson, R., Zelkowitz, P. (2020) Development and evaluation of an online infertility peer supporter training program. Patient Education and Counseling. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2019.11.019
Grunberg, P. H., Miner, S. A.a, & Zelkowitz, P. (2020). Infertility and perceived stress: the role of identity concern in treatment-seeking men and women, Human Fertility, https://doi.org/10.1080/14647273.2019.1709667
Grunberg, P. H., Dennis, C, Da Costa, D., Zelkowitz, P. (2018). Infertility patients’ need and preferences for online peer support. Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbms.2018.10.016
Kelly-Hedrick, M., Grunberg, P. H.b, Brochu, F., Zelkowitz, P. (2018). “It’s totally okay to be sad, but never lose hope”: Content analysis of infertility-related videos on YouTube in relation to review preferences. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(5), e10199. doi: 10.2196/10199
Lewis, S. P., Bryant, L. A., Shaefer, B. M., & Grunberg, P. H. (2017). In their own words: Perspectives on non-suicidal self-injury disorder among those with lived experience. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 205(10), 771-779. doi: 10.1097/NMD0000000000000733
Grunberg, P. H., Lewis, S. P. (2015). Self-injury and readiness to recover: Preliminary examination of components of the stages of change model. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 28(4), 361-371. doi: 10.1080/09515070.2014.998627
Lewis, S. P., Lumley, M. N., Grunberg, P. H. (2015). Early maladaptive schemas and non-suicidal self-injury among young adults: A preliminary investigation. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 28(4), 386-402. doi: 10.1080/09515070.2015.1074887