OICBT Doctoral Residency Program in Clinical Psychology 2026-2027
The Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (OICBT) is a private practice located in Westboro, Ottawa, that promotes a scientist-practitioner approach to training, including the delivery of cognitive-behavioural therapies. Our Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)-Accredited residency program is part of the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP). We are also members of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). We offer three accredited residency positions, providing opportunities to gain experience in a community-based private practice setting. The primary focus of the residency is on adult mental health, with options for secondary rotations in the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Program or the Intensive Treatment Program. We also provide core experiences in supervision, intensive assessment, diagnosis, and program development and evaluation. Additional experiences in health psychology, ADHD treatment, and couples therapy are available.
We are committed to preparing residents for supervised practice as psychologists by offering training in the core competencies required by provincial licensing authorities. These core competencies include assessment, intervention, consultation, program evaluation and development, interpersonal relationships (e.g., therapeutic relationships), professional standards and ethics, diversity and individual differences, and supervision.
While our primary focus at the OICBT is on delivering cognitive-behavioural therapy, many of our staff also have experience with empirically supported treatments such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (both individual and couple), and transdiagnostic approaches. The psychologists at the OICBT are committed to staying current with the latest research to inform their clinical work and are actively engaged in ongoing training and supervision.
Therapists at the OICBT mainly see clients from the community whose symptom severity and impact on functioning vary greatly. This likely reflects our referral sources, which include, but are not limited to, self-referrals, family physicians, community psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as primary care hospitals and specialized mental health psychiatric facilities in the Ottawa region.
Diversity and Inclusivity
OICBT recognizes that it is located on unceded Algonquin territory and benefits from European colonialism, the impacts of which continue to this day. OICBT Directors are familiar with and endorse the CCTC 2020 Consensus Statement and CPA’s Psychology Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Report, with particular mindfulness of how clinical psychology needs to address the impact of social determinants of health and experiences in its conceptualizations of Indigenous and other racialized peoples.
An essential part of OICBT is holistic care that is client-centered, diversity-informed, and integrates biopsychosocial and spiritual determinants of care. During the Intake, Assessment, and Treatment phase, the OICBT asks all clients if any aspects of their being are fundamental to them and that they would like to see incorporated into services, including but not limited to identity(ies) related to race, culture, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, sexual health, age, religion, disability, employment, and relational or family status.
A mental health model of diversity considers how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are intertwined with their diverse social environments. This includes the need to adequately address the impact of social determinants of health and experiences of oppression, microaggressions, and/or prejudice in the conceptualization of care for marginalized peoples.
As part of OICBT’s commitment to anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and social justice-based services and recruitment, OICBT actively integrates Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within their practice. This involves creating services and collective actions that are inclusive and committed to removing barriers (whether procedural, visible, invisible, intentional, or unintentional) that inhibit participation and/or contribution from underrepresented and/or disproportionately disadvantaged groups.
Stipends and Benefits
The stipend for each resident position for the 2026-2027 year is set at CAD 32,500. The OICBT will provide residents with $500 for professional development activities (e.g., attendance at conferences, therapy workshops, books). Residents receive three weeks’ vacation, three days of professional development leave (e.g., conferences, defending dissertation), five sick days, as well as statutory holidays.
Who Can Apply for the Residency Program at the OICBT
In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, only applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada will be considered. Applicants should be enrolled in a doctoral program in clinical psychology that is accredited by either the CPA or the APA. If the program in which the student is enrolled is not accredited by CPA or APA, the program’s content and structure. Therefore, the student’s academic and practical preparation, must be equivalent to those of CPA-accredited clinical psychology programs.
Eligibility for residency requires that students have completed the following before undertaking the residency year:
- all requisite coursework,
- all practicum requirements outlined by their doctoral training program,
- approval of their doctoral thesis proposal before application for residency.
Applicants who are more likely to be ready to submit or defend their thesis before beginning the residency will, all other factors being equal, be ranked higher.
Applicants must demonstrate a minimum of 600 practicum hours (including direct, support, and supervision hours), with at least 300 hours of direct client contact, comprising roughly 200 hours of clinical intervention and about 80 hours of clinical assessment. Additionally, 150 hours of supervision are required, in addition to the remaining hours allocated for support activities. Applicants are not evaluated solely based on the total number of practicum hours, as we believe the quality and depth of practicum training are more important than the overall hours.
Application Procedure
The OICBT’s residency program (APPIC program code number: 188011) in clinical psychology is a member of the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP) and a full member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). It adheres to APPIC policies regarding internship offers and acceptances. This residency site agrees to follow the APPIC policy that no individual at this training facility solicits, accepts, or uses any ranking-related information from any resident applicant.
This residency program participates in the APPIC Internship Matching Program. All applicants must register with the National Matching Services to be considered for this residency.
Applicants must complete the following through the Applicant Portal of the AAPI online:
- Completed APPIC Application
- Verification and electronic signature completed by the University Training Director attesting to the applicant’s readiness for a residency.
- The names and contact information (i.e., phone number, email address, title, place of employment) of 3 persons familiar with the applicant’s clinical and professional experience and performance. One of these referees should be the applicant’s thesis supervisor.
- Graduate transcripts
- Curriculum Vita
We encourage applicants to specify their training preferences in their cover letters, as this helps us to ensure that interviewees at our site have the opportunity to meet with potential supervisors.
Completed applications must be received no later than Friday, November 14, 2025
Aligned with the suggested CCPPP member program guidelines, we will follow the recommended two-step process for notifying and scheduling interviews. Specifically,
Step 1: All interview offers from OICBT will be made via email on Friday, December 5, 2025. Applicants are not expected to make any commitments on this day.
Step 2: After 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, December 8, 2025, applicants who have been offered an interview are welcome to contact OICBT via email to accept or decline the interview offer. We will not be scheduling any interviews before this time.
The OICBT will conduct interviews on the following dates within the CCPPP East/Atlantic window, from January 5 to 16, 2026
Please note that all interviews will be conducted virtually via phone or video conference. We will not be offering any in-person interviews.
This residency site agrees that no individual at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any resident applicant.
More Information
If you have any questions about our program, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Dr. Natasha Ballen, C. Psych.
OICBT Training Director – Doctoral Residency Program
411 Roosevelt Avenue, Suite 101, Ottawa, Ontario, K2A 3X9 Tel: (613) 820-9931 x227
Email: drnballen@oicbt.ca
For more information about the OICBT, please visit: www.ottawacbt.ca