META Lab
Research in Memory Emotion & Therapy Applications
Chantal M. Boucher, M.A., Ph.D., C.Psych.
Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychologist
Research
When an upsetting or traumatic event happens, we often struggle to make sense of the experience and the way we feel about it. When recalling such events, our emotions can feel as intense as the original experience. Without a useful framework to guide the healing process, we may engage in a variety of unhelpful coping methods that, contrary to our intentions, can lead us away from what we really value.
An overarching aim of the META lab is to integrate research from subfields within and beyond psychology to better understand and promote psychological health and wellness in clinical and non-clinical populations. Our research focuses on relationships amongst autobiographical memories, emotions, self-views, and (meta)cognitive processes that enable different perspectives on experience or flexible ways of relating to experience. Our latest research has shown that memory-induced emotions can change depending on the ways in which individuals are guided to envision and describe events and associated reflections on the self-as-remembered vs. the self-as-rememberer.
We are particularly interested in identifying and understanding factors that support adaptive self-reflection, emotion change, psychological closure, and trauma resolution - all highly-relevant to psychotherapy. Hence, in addition to theoretical development, we hope to investigate applications for clinical practice.
About Dr. Boucher
Dr. Boucher earned her Ph.D. in Adult Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor. She completed predoctoral training with the Calgary Clinical Psychology Residency Program and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. She joined the University of Windsor as an Assistant Professor in 2021.
In addition to psychological assessment and diagnosis, she is trained in multiple models of psychotherapy (e.g., CBT, ACT, EFT, psychodynamic and interpersonal/attachment-based approaches), and is drawn to person-centered and culturally-responsive methods of integration. She is licensed in the province of Ontario with competencies across the lifespan, and for individuals and couples.
Dr. Boucher is the director of the Memory, Emotion, and Therapy Applications (META) Lab. She teaches Psychological Disorders (undergraduate), Introduction to Psychotherapy (graduate), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (graduate), and Advanced Adult Psychotherapy (graduate).
