Dr. Allison Kennedy completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Waterloo in 1995. She has worked as a Psychologist at CHEO for over 25 years with a focus on adolescent mental health and crisis intervention. She is currently Clinical Lead for Mental Health Crisis/Emergency Services at CHEO. Dr. Kennedy is also a clinical researcher who is currently a Co-Principal Investigator for the BRAVA Study which involves the development and evaluation of a brief group treatment for adolescents who experience suicidal thoughts. She additionally has a keen interest in the implementation and evaluation of care pathways and community-hospital partnerships.
Research Projects
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Building Resilience and Attachment in Vulnerable Adolescents: A Pilot Trial of a Brief Group Intervention for Adolescents with Mild to Moderate Suicidal Ideation and their Caregivers
11/11/2022
Study results demonstrate that the BRAVA intervention has the potential to reduce SI among adolescents who present to hospital services in crisis. Further studies are required to establish BRAVA's efficacy in a randomized controlled trial.
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Parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic: The sociodemographic and mental health factors associated with maternal caregiver strain
03/01/2022
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new stressors for parents (“caregivers”) that may affect their own and their child’s mental health (MH). We explored self-reported levels of caregiver strain (parents’ perceived ability to meet parenting demands), and the MH and sociodemographic factors of caregivers to identify predictors of strain that can be used to guide MH service delivery for families.
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Building Resilience and Attachment in Vulnerable Adolescents (BRAVA): a brief group intervention for adolescents with mild-to-moderate suicidal ideation and their caregivers
08/09/2021
Further studies are required to establish BRAVA’s efficacy in a randomized controlled trial.
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The HEADS-ED: Evaluating the Clinical Use of a Brief, Action-Oriented, Pediatric Mental Health Screening Tool
01/06/2020
Results support the HEADS-ED's use by PED physicians to help guide the assessment and referral process and for discussing the clinical needs of patients among health care providers using a common action-oriented language.