Webinar Library

Speaker: Dr. Allison J. Ouimet
Date: July 9, 2026
Time: 1:00-2:30 PM (EST)

Webinar Description:

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and remain distressing and impairing despite effective treatments. This talk highlights what experimental psychopathology can teach us—not only about anxiety models, but also about how we conduct research. Using examples from anxiety and CBT research, this presentation will show how well designed experiments have refined theoretical models, informed treatment, and sometimes failed in instructive ways. Emphasis is placed on grounding experiments in real world concerns, learning from methodological missteps, and iteratively improving design. The presentation distills practical lessons for researchers and trainees on building more informative experiments to advance anxiety science and treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• Define experimental psychopathology and its role in anxiety research;

• Describe how experimental methods have advanced models and treatments of anxiety; and

• Identify ways to leverage research mistakes to improve scientific rigor and clinical relevance.

Biography:

Dr. Ouimet is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, and a licensed Clinical Psychologist with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. As the Director of the Cognition and Anxiety Disorders Research Lab, her research investigates how different types of cognition impact the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders, with a particular focus on emotion regulation. Dr. Ouimet is the laureate of the 2018 CPA President’s New Researcher Award and the 2024 CPA Clinical Section’s Scientist-Practitioner Early Career Research Award, and has published and presented her research in national and international outlets.