Dr. Stephanie Cassin, C.Psych.

Biography

Dr. Cassin is Director of Clinical Training in the Psychology Department and Director of the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle (HEAL) Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition, she holds a faculty appointment at the University of Toronto (Department of Psychiatry) and is a member of the University Health Network Centre for Mental Health.  She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calgary and completed an accredited internship at the University of British Columbia / Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.  Following graduation, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Mood and Anxiety Treatment and Research Program).  Prior to joining the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, she held staff clinical psychologist positions in the Mood and Anxiety Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Bariatric Surgery Program at University Health Network. 

Dr. Cassin is a Registered Clinical and Health Psychologist with clinical and research interests in the areas of disordered eating, obesity, and bariatric (weight loss) surgery. Her current program of research focuses primarily on psychosocial predictors of bariatric surgery outcome, and psychosocial interventions with the potential to improve outcomes, including cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing.  She also investigates health care innovations that increase treatment accessibility.

Dr. Cassin is a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, and co-Lead of Project ECHO Ontario CBT (a virtual professional development program that aims to build capacity in CBT and develop sustainable communities of practice). She has taught a variety of courses related to clinical and health psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University (Psychological Disorders, Clinical Psychology, Advanced Clinical Psychology Seminar, Eating Disorders, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). She has also provided clinical supervision to many clinical psychology practicum students at the Psychology Training Clinic, which is a partnership between Toronto Metropolitan University and Unity Health Toronto.

Selected Publications

Sockalingam, S., Leung, S. E., Clement, M., Hawa, R., Wnuk, S., Jackson, T., Urbach, D., Brown, J., Sandre, D., & Cassin, S. E. (2023). Telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy for weight loss, disordered eating, and psychological distress after bariatric surgery: A multisite randomized clinical trial. JAMA Open, 6(8), e2327099.

Nightingale, B. A., & Cassin, S. E. (2023). Self-compassion may have benefits for body image among women with a higher body mass index and internalized weight bias. Healthcare, 11(7), 970. 

Santiago, V. A., & Cassin, S. E. (2022). Social and occupational impairment among individuals with ultra-processed food addiction. Current Addiction Reports, 9, 307-317.

Sockalingam, S., Leung, S. E., Ma, C., Hawa, R., Wnuk, S., Dash, S., Jackson, T., & Cassin, S. E. (2022). The impact of telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy on mental health distress and disordered eating among bariatric surgery patients during COVID-19: Preliminary results from a multi-site randomized controlled trial. Obesity Surgery, 32, 1884-1894.

Montemarano, V. & Cassin, S. E. (2021).  The effect of a food addiction explanatory model of eating behaviours on weight-based stigma: An experimental investigation.  Eating Behaviours, 41, 101507. 

Santiago, V., A., Cassin, S. E., Wnuk, S., Du, C., Hawa, R., Parikh, S. V., & Sockalingam, S. (2021).  “If you’re offered help, take it”: Bariatric patients’ experience of telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy. Clinical Obesity, 11(2), e12431. 

Cassin, S. E., Leung, S. E., Hawa, R., Wnuk, S., Jackson, T., & Sockalingam, S.  (2020).  Food addiction is associated with binge eating and psychiatric distress among post-operative bariatric surgery patients and may improve in response to cognitive behavioural therapy.  Nutrients, 12, 2905. 

David, L. A., Sijercic, I., & Cassin, S. E. (2020).  Pre- and post-operative psychosocial interventions for bariatric surgery patients: A systematic review.  Obesity Reviews, 21(4), e12926. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12926

Cassin, S. E., Sijercic, I., & Montemarano, V. (2020).  Psychosocial interventions for food addiction: A systematic review.  Current Addiction Reports, 7(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-020-00295-y

Cassin, S. E., Buchman, D. Z., Leung, S. E., Kantarovich, K., Hawa, A., Carter, A., & Sockalingam, S. (2019).  Ethical, stigma, and policy implications of food addiction: A scoping review. Nutrients, 11, 701. doi:10.3390/nu11040710

Cassin, S. E., Hawa, R., & Sockalingam, S. (2018).  Psychological care in severe obesity: A practical approach.  Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

David, L., Sockalingam, S., Wnuk, S., & Cassin, S. E. (2016).  A pilot randomized controlled trial examining the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of adapted motivational interviewing for post-operative bariatric surgery patients.  Eating Behaviors, 22, 87-92.

Cassin, S. E., Sockalingam, S., Du, C., Wnuk, S., Hawa, R., & Parikh, S. (2016).  A pilot randomized controlled trial of telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy for preoperative bariatric surgery patients.  Behaviour Research and Therapy, 80, 17-22.

Lyons, K., Meisner, B. A., Sockalingam, S., & Cassin, S. E. (2014).  Body image after bariatric surgery: A qualitative study.  Bariatric Surgical Practice and Patient Care, 9, 41-49.

Cassin, S. E., Sockalingam, S., Wnuk, S., Strimas, R., Royal, S., Hawa, R. & Parikh, S. (2013).  Cognitive behavioural therapy for bariatric surgery patients: Preliminary evidence for feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 20, 529-543.

Cassin, S. E., von Ranson, K. M., Heng, K., Brar, J., & Wojtowicz, A. E. (2008).  Adapted motivational interviewing for women with binge eating disorder: A randomized controlled trial.  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 417-425.

Cassin, S. E., & von Ranson, K. M. (2007).  Is binge eating experienced as an addiction?  Appetite, 49, 687-690.