Directors
Stéphane Bouchard, Ph.D., Co-director and Chairholder of the Canada research Chair in clinical cyberpsychology
Stéphane Bouchard received is Ph.D. at the Université Laval in 1995. During the same year, he finished his first year of post-Doctoral studies and was hired by the Université du Québec en Outaouais. His work revolve around the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders and the mechanisms underlying its effectiveness. For the past few years, he is specializing in the use of virtual reality and telepsychotherapy delivered through videoconferencing. He continues to occupy a vital leadership position within the Cyberpsychology Lab, thanks to ongoing close collaboration with other research team members (publications, etc.) and his international collaborations.
Through his relatively short career, Dr Bouchard as received many prizes and honors, notably his Canada Research Chair in clinical cyberpsychology in 2003 and the award from the Canadian Psychological Association, in 1995, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the knowledge of psychology as a new researcher. He has already produced numerous publications to his credit and received many kinds of research grants. His current research projects focus in the treatment of specific phobias (e.g. flying phobia) and other more complex anxiety disorders (social anxiety, panic disorder, etc.), in the predictors underlying the effectiveness of telepsychotherapy (e.g. therapeutic alliance and motivation) and of virtual reality (e.g. sense of presence, role of emotions).
Patrice Renaud, Ph.D., Co-Director
Dr. Renaud received his Ph.D. in the dual disciplines of Experimental Psychology (physio-psychology) in ergonomics and in Clinical Psychology (specializing in cognitive-behavioural therapy).
His research during the past years has led to the creation of a program research making use of immersive virtual reality technologies. He is currently conducting analyses of data collected from research into the dynamics of positioning, orientation and ocular movements in virtual reality. His current research interests include exploration of the close links between the perceptual-motor systems and the virtual content explored as well as of different levels of immersion and presence.
The results obtained will thus include a fundamental analysis of performance and of attentional and perceptual processes (from the perspective of ecological psychology and ergonomics). These results will have important implications for the applicability of virtual reality in clinical psychology and training. Dr. Renaud’s research will also aid in the development of a behavioral test (for possible use in anxiety disorders) as well as an assessment protocol for sexual preferences (applicable for use in private clinics treating sexual dysfunction). These two clinical applications, transposed into cyberpsychology, also have the advantage of allowing a more advanced exploration of fundamental tropisms that lies at the base of the entire behavioral spectrum.
From a more speculative point of view, Dr. Renaud views virtual techniques, both in their capacity as assessment instruments and as generators of fictional spaces, to be suitable subjects of inquiry for research into epistemology of psychology. The latter field of investigation thus offers the opportunities to examine the a priori concepts on which both virtual reality and measurement of such phenomena are based.
Associate researchers
Annie Aimé, Ph.D.
Ilham Benyahia, Ph.D.
Stéphanie Cormier, Ph.D.
Ana-Maria Cretu, Ph.D.
Michel Dugas, Ph.D.
Daniel Fiset, Ph.D.
Geneviève Forest, Ph.D.
Hélène Forget, Ph.D.
Claudine Jacques, Ph.D.
Christophe Maïano, Ph.D.
André Marchand, Ph.D. (UQÀM)
Johana Monthuy-Blanc, Ph.D. (UQTR)
David Paquin, Ph.D. (UQAT)
Dominique Trottier, Ph.D.
Lab’s Coordinators
Giulia Corno, Ph.D.
Coordination of laboratory scientific activities
Contact: giulia.corno@uqo.ca
T: (819) 595-3900 ext. 2531
Technical director
Marie-Christine Rivard
Contact: marie-christine.rivard@uqo.ca
T: (819) 595-3900 ext. 1937
Computer specialist
Shany Carle
Contact: shany.carle@cegeotr.qc.ca
3D Animator
Simon Tremblay Contact: simtremblay@hotmail.com
Contact: simtremblay@hotmail.com
Supervised students
Post-doctoral students
Giulia Corno
Doctoral students
Maxine Berthiaume
Maxine Berthiaume (B.A.) is a doctoral student in experimental psychology at the University of Ottawa and a research assistant at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). She specializes in the study and application of presence in the field of virtual reality.
Catherine Brisebois
Catherine Brisebois (D.Psy. candidate) is a doctoral student in clinical psychology, whose research interests and projects are centered around cyberpsychology and autism spectrum disorder. She is conducting her doctoral research under the co-direction of Dr. Stéphane Bouchard, within the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO).
Chloé Chattat
Chloé Chattat (B.Sc.) is a doctoral student in psychology, clinical neuropsychology profile (D. Psy.). Her doctoral research, conducted at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), focuses on stress and perceived self-efficacy in a virtual reality job interview.
Audrée St-Onge
Charles-Étienne Leclerc-Therrien
Charles-Étienne Leclerc-Therrien (B.Sc.) is a doctoral candidate in psychology (D.Psy) at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). He is currently doing an internship in a private clinic with an adult and adolescent clientele with diverse problems, including anxiety disorders. For his doctoral essay, he is interested in the use of biofeedback using augmented reality as a stress management tool.
Baccalaureate students
Amélia Paquette
Amélia Paquette is a bachelor student in psychology and a research assistant at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). She is interested in the use of virtual reality in the treatment of body image distorsions, eating disorders and anxiety disorders.
Meghan Leblanc
Meghan Leblanc is a bachelor’s student in psychology and a research assistant at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). She is interested in clinical psychology, as well as social psychology.
Sébastien Nadeau
Sébastien Nadeau is a student in the Bachelor of Psychology program at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. He is doing his honorary thesis at CRANIlab with researcher Synthia Guimond, in partnership with the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais, on the use of virtual reality in cognitive remediation programs applied to schizophrenia.
Nicholas Carrier
Nicholas Carrier is a bachelor student in psychology and a research assistant at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). He specializes in the development of a treatment for the fear of public speaking of people who stutter, including virtual reality immersions.
Anne Pereira
Anne Pereira is a bachelor student in psychology and research assistant to a doctoral student at the Laboratoire de Cyberpsychologie of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). She is interested in the use of virtual reality in the management of stress and anxiety.