About Me
Dr. Gina Wong is a Professor, Psychologist, Consultant, and Global Speaker
I am so fortunate and fulfilled in my professional career. I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Alberta (2002) and became a Registered Psychologist in 2003. In 2003, I joined Athabasca University as an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology. In 2006, I was pleased to promote to the Associate Professor rank; and promoted to Full Professor in 2019. I qualified as a Perinatal Mental Health Forensic Expert in 2019 in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit, Canada.
I am a proud recipient of the 2022 Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association Leadership Award for my work in racial justice as well as in perinatal mental health.
I also received the 2022 Psychologist of the Year from the Psychologists' Association of Alberta.
I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.
-Emily Bronte
I live on Treaty 6 Territory and am a cisgender Asian woman (she/her). I am feminist who believes strongly in cultural humility, responsivity, stewardship of the environment, anti-racism, naming and identifying systems of oppression, advocating for perinatal mental health awareness, and affecting meaningful shifts in future generations through how I work as a psychologist, perinatal expert witness, who I am as an educator and researcher, and how I parent and live life. In this decade of life, my credo is Generativity, which Erik Erikson described in the 1950s as having a deep sense of responsibility and compassion in fostering and establishing the next generation to be grow and thrive.
Education
PhD., University of Alberta (2002)
Department of Educational Psychology, Division of Counselling Psychology
Dissertation: Reflective Practice in Counsellor Education & Development
Master of Science, University of Alberta (1997)
Faculty of Agriculture & Forestry, Department of Family Ecology & Practice
Thesis: Family Incidents: Impacting Hope of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS
Bachelor of Arts, University of Alberta (1994)
Major in Linguistics, Minor in Psychology
Academic & Administrative Appointments
Program Director/Chair
Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University, September 2019-Fall 2021
Full Professor
Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University, July 2019-ongoing
Adjunct Academic Colleague
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 2018-ongoing
Associate Professor
Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University, August 2006-June 2019
Program Chair/Curriculum
Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University, June 2010-January 2014
Assistant Professor
Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University, July 2003-July 2006
Manuscripts in Academic Journals
Writing and Editing
National and International Conferences
Book Reviews
FAMILY IS EVERYTHING
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
S]he may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes, because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
- Jellaludin Rumi
Personal Passions
I enjoy mindfulness-based stress reduction and inner connectedness through regular Yoga practice. In 2017, I integrated Hot Yoga into my everyday lifestyle.
I enjoy travel, adventure, and good food! I combined all three passions at a Food and Bike Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2019 and a Walking Food Tour in Tofino, B.C. in 2018
Major Awards
and Funding
Distinctions and Honors Received
Completed Tranings
Additional Certification and Training
Professional & Community Involvements