Sonya Varma

GRADUATE STUDENT

Ph.D. — In Progress
York University - Toronto, ON

M.A. — 2021
York University - Toronto, ON

B.Sc. Honours — 2016
University of Toronto - Toronto, ON

Sonya Varma is a doctoral student in the adult-general clinical psychology program at York University. Prior to starting her graduate training, she worked as a Research Analyst at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) under the supervision of Dr. Shelley McMain in the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Clinic. While there, her primary role involved coordinating a multi-site randomized control trial evaluating a brief duration of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) for individuals with BPD. Ever since, her research has been motivated by a deep desire to understand how we can most effectively, and efficiently, treat individuals struggling with BPD by targeting its central emotional and interpersonal components. She also has a particular interest in elucidating the various ways trauma-related experiences (e.g., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD], childhood trauma) exacerbate BPD pathology, and conducts research that informs how to optimally treat individuals suffering from comorbid BPD and PTSD. Sonya’s research also examines how therapeutic alliance and rupture repair processes in early DBT for BPD, informing how therapists may be able to best build and maintain a positive therapeutic relationship to optimize treatment outcomes.