Sonya Varma

GRADUATE STUDENT

M.A. — In Progress
York University - Toronto, ON

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

Sonya Varma received her B.Sc. (honours) from the University of Toronto in 2016 and is in the second year of the adult-general clinical psychology program. Over the past several years Sonya has 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. Her primary role involved coordinating a multi-site randomized control trial evaluating a brief duration of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) for individuals with BPD. She has also collaborated on other research projects investigating the relationship between therapeutic alliance and outcome for individuals with BPD. Sonya has presented at national and international conferences on emotion processing in BPD, as well as retention strategies used to maintain BPD participant involvement in a longitudinal research study. Sonya’s current research interests are rooted in the desire to further understand how Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) impacts BPD symptomatology and severity. She hopes to use this deeper understanding of BPD processing to guide research that evaluates which components of psychotherapies work best for individuals who suffer from co-morbid BPD and PTSD. She has a specific interest in investigating how interventions designed primarily for PTSD (i.e., Cognitive Behavioural Conjoint Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy) may benefit individuals with BPD.