Gordon Asmundson

Gordon J. G. Asmundson, Ph.D., is a Registered Doctoral Psychologist and Full Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina. He received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Manitoba in 1991 and in 2005-2006 trained as a Beck Scholar at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia. He holds several editorial posts, including Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, and serves on the editorial boards for nine other journals.



His research and clinical interests are in assessment and basic mechanisms of fear, the anxiety and related disorders, and chronic pain, and the association of these with each other, maladaptive coping, and disability. His pioneering work on fear and avoidance in chronic pain and his shared vulnerability model of co-occurring PTSD and chronic pain have led to significant advances in understanding and treating these prevalent, disabling, and costly conditions. His empirical work on PTSD and other anxiety-related conditions has also influenced changes in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.



Dr. Asmundson has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, 60 book chapters, and 6 books. In addition to numerous prestigious awards received over the course of his career, in 2009 Dr. Asmundson received the highest accolade available to scientists and scholars in Canada – induction as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada – and in 2014 received the Canadian Psychological Association Donald O. Hebb Award for outstanding contributions to the science of psychology. His graduate students are also regular recipients of prestigious awards and five have received the CIHR Brain Star Award in the past several years. He is actively involved in clinical research, clinical research supervision, and has a small private practice.

Education:

1991 - 1993



Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba (supervisor: Murray B. Stein, MD & John R. Walker, PhD)



1989 - 1991



Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba (supervisor: G. Ron Norton, PhD)



1986 - 1989



Master of Arts (MA), Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba (supervisor: Lorna Sandler, PhD)



1982 - 1986



Bachelor of Arts (Honours: First Class), Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba (supervisor: John Whiteley, PhD)





Primary Professional Appointments:



2009 - present



Associate Member, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina, Full-time, Adjunct, Associate Professor



2008 - present



Professor, Deparment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Regina



2003 - 2008



Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina



2002 - 2003



Associate Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina (tenured 2002)



2002 - 2008



Associate Member, Department of Psychology, University of Regina



2002 - present



Faculty Research Director, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina



2002 - present



Research Associate, Clinical Research and Development Program, Regina Health District



1999 - present



Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan



1998 - present



Associate member, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba

Selected Awards:



2014



Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science



Canadian Psychological Association



Awarded January, 2014



2012



Top Cited Article 2007-2011



S. G. Hoffman and G. J. G Asmundson for Acceptance and mindfulness-based therapy: New wave or old hat? Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 1-16.



Awarded November, 2012



2012



Jillings Award in Psychology



Psychology Association of Saskatchewan



Awarded October, 2012



2011 - 2016



President's Chair for Academic Excellence



University of Regina



President's Chair in Adult Mental Health Research



2010



Self-Help Book of Merit Award



Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)



Awarded for: It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying About Your Health Could be Making You Sick - And What You Can Do About It (2005, Guilford)



2010



Fellow of Section on Clinical Psychology



Canadian Psychological



2009



Inducted as Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada



Induction November 28, 2009



2008



Saskatchewan Institute of Health Research Achievement Award



Awarded December 4, 2008



2005



Saskatchewan Centennial Medal



Awarded September 1, 2005



2005 - 2006



Beck Institute Scholar



Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research



2003 - 2008



Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Investigator Award



Saskatchewan CIHR Regional Partnership Program



2003 - 2005



President’s Scholar Award



University of Regina



Awarded June, 2003; award declined



2003



Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Research



University of Regina



Awarded May, 2003



2003



Highest-Ranked CIHR Awardee Funded in the 2002 Peer Reviewed Investigator Initiated Competition in the area of Musculoskeletal Pain Research



Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis



Awarded January 31, 2003



2002



President's and Dean’s New Faculty Research Award



Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina



2000



Elected to status of Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association



Awarded June 30, 2000 in Ottawa, ON



1999



Early Career Investigator Award



Canadian Pain Society, Chapter of the International Association for the Study of Pain



Awarded May 15, 1999 in St. John's, NF



1998



Young Investigators Research Award



Anxiety Disorders Association of America



Awarded March 27. 1998 in Boston, MA





Representative Projects:



- Understanding risk factors, co-morbidity, and global health issues in PTSD

- Maintenance of chronic pain: Cognitive and physiological mechanisms

- The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain syndromes





Representative Publications:



Asmundson, G. J. G., Fetzner, M. G., DeBoer, L. B., Powers, M. B., Otto, M. W., & Smits, J. A. J. (2013). Let’s get physical: A contemporary review of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for anxiety and its disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 30, 362-373.



Asmundson, G. J. G., Noel, M., Petter, M., & Parkerson, H. A. (2012). Pediatric fear-avoidance model of chronic pain: Foundation, application, and future directions. Pain Research and Management, 17, 397-405.



Hofmann, S. G., Asmundson, G. J. G., & Beck, A. T.  (2013). The science of cognitive behavioral therapy. Behavior Therapy, 44, 199-212.





Books:



Asmundson, G. J. G., Taylor, S., & Cox, B. J. (Eds.) (2001). Health anxiety: Clinical and research perspectives on hypochondriasis and related disorders. John Wiley & Sons.





Asmundson, G. J. G., Norton, G. R. & Stein, M. B. (2002). Clinical research in mental health. Sage.





Taylor, S. & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2004). Treating health anxiety: A cognitive behavioral approach . Guilford Press.





Asmundson, G. J. G., Vlaeyen, J. W. S., & Crombez, G. (2004). Understanding and treating fear of pain. Oxford University Press.





Asmundson, G. J. G. & Taylor, S. (2009). It's Not All In Your Head: How Worrying About Your Health Could Be Making You Sick -- And What You Can Do About It. Guilford Press.





McKay, D, Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S. & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2009). Current Perspectives on the Anxiety Disorders -- Implications for the DSM-V and Beyond. Springer Publishing Co.