Dr. Ryan J. Ferguson
Dr. Ryan J. Ferguson (he/him) is a Clinical Psychologist under Supervised Practice with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. He works under the supervision of Dr. Kathryn Sexton, C.Psych, and specializes in the treatment of adult anxiety and anxiety-related disorders using cognitive behavioral treatments. He has a particular interest in the assessment and treatment of social anxiety. Dr. Ferguson also offers treatment for a wide variety of anxiety-related problems, including worry/generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks and agoraphobia, health anxiety, specific phobias, hair-pulling, skin-picking concerns, and posttraumatic stress disorder. His primary therapeutic approach is cognitive behavioral, and he routinely incorporates evidence-based CBT interventions such as Cognitive Therapy, Behavioral Activation, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention when clinically indicated.
When Dr. Ferguson’s waitlist is closed, it may be possible to work with doctoral practicum students/pre-doctoral residents who work under his supervision. Dr. Ferguson offers both in-person and virtual services
About Ryan
Clinical Psychologist, Supervised Practice; College of Psychologists and Behavioural Analysts of Ontario;
https://members.cpbao.ca/public_register/show/365143
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); Clinical Psychology, University of Ottawa, 2023; https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/programs/graduate/clinical-psychology
Master of Arts (M.A.); Applied Psychology, Laurentian University, 2017; https://laurentian.ca/program/psychology-ma
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.); Psychology: Honours, Laurentian University, 2015; laurentian.ca/programme/psychology/
Dr. Ferguson’s scope of practice focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals experiencing symptoms of anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. Dr. Ferguson’s authorized area of practice is Clinical Psychology and his authorized client population is adults. For more information, see:
https://members.cpo.on.ca/public_register/show/365143
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Health Anxiety
- Panic Disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Specific Phobias
- Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding Disorder)
- Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours (Hair-pulling, Skin-picking)
- Perfectionism
- Self-esteem
- Trauma and PTSD
- Insomnia
- Sexual identity (in particular, the intersection between identity and anxiety-related issues; e.g., gay, bisexual, or MSM experiencing difficulties asserting sexual boundaries and safe sex practices due to anxiety)
- Men’s sexual performance concerns (e.g., erectile disorder, social anxiety in sexual performance situations, excessive pornography consumption)
Dr. Ferguson’s theoretical orientation is cognitive-behavioural. He often incorporates various CBT-interventions (see below) depending on the nature of the client’s presentation, guided by evidence-based practice.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Exposure Therapy
- Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP)
- Behavioural Activation
- Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral award; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2019-2022;
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/doctoral-doctorat-eng.aspx
Ottawa Graduate Scholarship (OGS), 2018-2019;
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR019245.html
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s award; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2016-2017;
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/cgs_masters-besc_maitrise-eng.aspx
Undergraduate Student Research Award; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2015;
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/students-etudiants/ug-pc/usra-brpc_eng.asp
Doctoral Training (Pre-doctoral Residency; 1 year, full-time):
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (Primary rotation: Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic; Secondary rotation: Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic)
https://www.stjoes.ca/health-services/mental-health-addiction-services/mental-health-services/anxiety-treatment-and-research-clinic-atrc
https://www.stjoes.ca/hospital-services/mental-health-addiction-services/mental-health-services/mood-disorders-treatment-and-research-clinic
Doctoral Training (Practicum):
Centre for Change
https://www.centreforchange.ca
Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (Operational Stress Injury Clinic);
https://www.theroyal.ca/patient-care-information/clinics-services-programs/operational-stress-injury-clinic
Centre for Interpersonal Relationships
https://cfir.ca
Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Intensive OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders Treatment Program)
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/intensive-treatment
Centre for Psychological Services and Research
https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/centre-psychological-services-research
(Ongoing) Clinical Psychologist (Supervised Practice), Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(Ongoing) Clinical Supervisor; University of Ottawa; Centre for Psychological Services and Research;
https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/centre-psychological-services-research
Research Assistant (Graduate Studies); Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies – Dr. Andrea R. Ashbaugh;
https://cacbt.ca
Undergraduate Instructor (2020); PSY 3171: Psychopathology (University of Ottawa); https://catalogue.uottawa.ca/en/courses/psy/
Teaching Assistant (2017-2019), University of Ottawa (School of Psychology); https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-social-sciences/psychology
Research Assistant (Graduate Studies); Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services (CRECS) – Drs. Virginie Cobigo and Allison J. Ouimet;
https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/crecs
Research Assistant (Graduate Studies); Cognitive and Anxiety Disorders Research (CADRe) Laboratory – Dr. Allison J. Ouimet;
https://collabzium.com/en/cognition-anxiety-disorders-research-laboratory
Research Practicum (Graduate Studies); Cognitive Health Research Laboratory – Dr. Melanie Perron
Research Assistant (2015-2017); Public Health Sudbury & Districts, Resources, Research, Evaluation and Development (RRED) Division;
https://www.phsd.ca
Teaching Assistant (2014-2017); Laurentian University (Department of Psychology); https://laurentian.ca/programme/psychology/
Laboratory Manager (Undergraduate Studies); Cognitive Health Research Laboratory – Drs. Joël Dickinson
Research Assistant (Undergraduate/Graduate Studies); Cognitive Health Research Laboratory – Drs. Joël Dickinson, Annie Roy-Charland, Melanie Perron
Research Publications (selected):
- Ferguson, R. J., & Ouimet, A. J. (2023). Does evaluating oneself cause evaluations of others while observing a social interaction? An experimental investigation of the cognitive and emotional consequences following a false-feedback task. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20438087231169897
- Ferguson, R. J., Ouimet, A. J., & Gardam, O. (2023). Judging others makes me forget: Assessing the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional consequences of other-evaluations on self-evaluations for social anxiety. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 80, 101763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2022.101763
- Gardam, O., Ferguson, R. J., Ouimet, A. J., & Cobigo, V. (2023). Measuring social isolation in older adults: A rapid review informing evidence-based research and practice. Clinical Gerontologist. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07317115.2023.2170843
- Ferguson, R. J., Ouimet, A. J., Gardam, O., Oueis, J., & Burla, A. (2022). Conducting experimental psychopathology research in an experimenter-guided online environment, Part II: Practical and technical considerations for experimental manipulations. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529604085
- Ouimet, A. J., Ferguson, R. J., Burla, A., Gardam, O., & Oueis, J. (2022). Conducting experimental psychopathology research in an experimenter-guided online environment, Part I: Clinical and ethical considerations for potentially vulnerable participants. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529604276
- Ferguson, R. J., Roy-Charland, A., Rowe, S., Perron, M., & Gallant, J. (2022). Examining featural processing of emotional facial expressions: Is trait anxiety a factor? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement, 54(3), 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000250
- Ouimet, A. J., & Ferguson, R. J. (2019). Innovations and advances in cognitive behavioral therapy: Insights from experimental psychopathology. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 10, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043808719874966
- Tutino, J. S., Ouimet, A. J., & Ferguson, R. J. (2020). Exploring the impact of safety behaviour use on cognitive, psychophysiological, emotional and behavioural responses during a speech task. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S135246582000017X
Research Symposiums & Workshops (selected):
- Ferguson, R. J., Narraway, E., Gaber, L., & Ashbaugh, A. R. (2023, May) Understanding Cognitive Behavioural Therapy training across mental health disciplines in Canada. Presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies.
- Ferguson, R. J., Gardam, O., McGuire, K., & Ouimet, A. J. (2021, May). If I judge your anxiety, do I judge myself more? Cognitive effects of negative other-evaluations on negative self-evaluations. In Ferguson, R. J., & Ouimet, A. J. (Co-chair), It’s not just me: Exploring interpersonal processes in anxiety disorders and how cognitive behaviour therapy can adapt. Symposium presented at the 11th Annual Convention of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies, Halifax, NS.
- Ferguson, R. J., McGuire, K., Gardam, O., & Ouimet, A. J. (2020, August). Do other-evaluations impact social anxiety memory? Symposium presented at the 81st Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Montréal, QC. In Giraldo-O’Meara, M. (Chair), How are we seen by others and ourselves? Negative evaluation in social anxiety and body dysmorphic disorders. Symposium presented at the 81st Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Montréal, QC.
- Ferguson, R. J., Gardam, O., McGuire, K., & Ouimet, A. J. (2020, May). If I judge your anxiety, do I judge myself more? Cognitive effects of negative other-evaluations on negative self-evaluations. In Ferguson, R. J., & Ouimet, A. J. (Co-chair), It’s not just me: Exploring interpersonal processes in anxiety disorders and how cognitive behaviour therapy can adapt. Symposium accepted at the 10th Annual Convention of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies, Halifax, NS (Conference cancelled).