The Lab Team

Dr. Alexander T. Vasilovsky, PhD (Ryerson University, 2019; MA, Ryerson University, 2012; BSc, University of Toronto, 2009) completed his doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University, including a residency at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto. His research has focused on the psychosocial construction of gender and sexual identities, as well as their relation to mental health. His dissertation research explored non-binary identities through qualitative and arts-based methods, with a focus on the negative impact of microaggressions and pervasive identity invalidation on mental health and well-being of non-binary-identified participants. Recent publications appear in: Psychology of Women Quarterly, Theory & Psychology, and Sexualities. He is currently completing his Supervised Practice at the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships.

Emily Thomas, MA (Ryerson University, 2017; BA, St. Thomas University, 2014) is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University. Her research interests are rooted in critical and feminist poststructuralist approaches to exploring sexual identities, negotiations of desire and agency in sexual relationships, and experiences of sexual violence. Emily’s Master’s thesis examined taken-for-granted concepts such as what counts as sex, what makes for good and bad sex, and how consent and desire are negotiated both internally and relationally. Particular attention was paid to how women’s lived experiences are (in)congruent with popularized discourses and media representations, and how experiences are constructed within and outside of available language. Emily was awarded a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from SSHRC and an O’Brien Foundation Fellowship for her doctoral research. Further, Emily was awarded a Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence for her Master’s thesis.

Dr. Amy Brown-Bowers (PhD, Ryerson University, 2016; MA, Ryerson University, 2011; BJourn, Ryerson University, 2005) completed her doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University with primary research interests in critical psychological approaches to understanding health, gender and sexuality. She began to work in the lab 10 years ago, when she was transitioning from a career as a print journalist to studying Psychology. Her dissertation, entitled Couples coping with prostate cancer: Women and men (re)negotiating discourses of gender, sexuality and intimate relationships, is a critical psychological investigation of couples navigating sexual and relationship changes following prostate cancer treatment. A core component of this research is contextualizing participant narratives within broader sociocultural discourses of ‘normal’ sexuality, ‘successful’ gender performance and ‘healthy’ relationships. Amy was awarded a Canadian Psychological Association Programme of Certificate of Academic Excellence for her dissertation. She also has an interest in fat studies and in exploring the ways fat bodies are problematized within medical and psychological spaces. Amy works as a Psychologist in private practice in Toronto and enjoys creating safe, playful, useful, and subversive space for therapy clients.

Stephanie Cosma, MA (Ryerson University, 2016; BSc, University of Toronto, 2011) is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University. Her research interests are in critical and feminist psychology, specifically in sexual scripts and gender as an element of identity. Her research focuses on how men’s lifestyle websites and the pick-up artistry community frame casual sexual activity with multiple women as a means to construct and promote a particular way of defining and experiencing heterosexual masculinity. Particular attention is paid to naturalizing discourses which describe casual sex with multiple women as something that is inherently necessary in order to fulfill a male role, and to neoliberal discourses which promote an imperative for individuals to be accountable for improvement, maintenance, and self-surveillance. Stephanie was awarded a Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence for her Master’s thesis.

Dr. Nicole Cormier, PhD (Ryerson University, 2019; MA, Ryerson University, 2010; BA, UBC-Okanagan, 2007) completed her doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University. Her undergraduate and Master’s research centered on issues in forensic psychology, including partner abuse, psychopathic traits and fire setting in children, deception detection, and sexual offending. Nicole’s ongoing interest in gender and sexuality encouraged her to pursue doctoral studies with Dr. Gurevich. Nicole’s research interests in the realm of sexuality include critical perspectives on women’s fantasy and desire, use of pornography and erotica by women, and deconstruction of mainstream research on the sexual response cycle and sexual orientation. Her dissertation research used feminist and poststructuralist epistemologies to inform a discourse analytic exploration of internet-based dialogues concerning women’s use of male homoerotic media; this includes gay pornography, yaoi, and slash fan fiction, and further queries how women slash fiction authors are using slash to (re)construct contemporary masculinities.