Linzi Williamson, PhD
Dr. Linzi Williamson is currently completing a three-year funded Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Patient Oriented Research, Transition to Leadership Fellowship with Dr. Colleen Dell. The overall research is related to Understanding the role of stigma for Veterans with PTSD and determining methods for better supporting the integration of service dogs into their lives.
You can learn more about this project here can watch her webinar here.
You can read more about Linzi’s experiences with research on canine-assisted interventions and love of dogs in her SCPOR interview.
Linzi just moved back to Ontario to be closer to her family. She is a novice therapy & service dog trainer and foster, sentimental greeting card writer, commonly sought-after speech writer, Cards Against Humanity empath, amateur origami artist, semi-hardcore gamer, yoga and meditation enthusiast, and avid non-fiction reader.
Photo Credit: Bronwyn Edwards
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
Williamson, L. E., Dell, C. A., Osgood, N., Chalmers, D., Lohnes, C., Carleton, R. N., & Asmundson, G. (in review). Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among a sample of Canadian veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory longitudinal study. Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health.
Gibson, M., Williamson, L. E., Henwood, G., & Dell, C. (accepted). Perceptions and Use of Alcohol and Medical Cannabis among Canadian Military Veterans Living with PTSD. Journal of Veterans Studies.
Williamson, L. E., Dell, C. A., Chalmers, D., Cruz, M., & de Groot, P. (in review). The Human-Animal Bond empowers Zooeyia between Veterans living with co-morbid posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use and their Service Dogs. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin.
Selected Conference Presentations
Williamson, L. E. (May, 2021). Causality vs contribution; How should we evaluate a service dog organization serving Canadian veterans with PTSD? Conference presentation given at the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Annual Conference, Ottawa, Ontario. *rescheduled due to COVID-19
Carey, B. (Presenter), Dell, C., Williamson, L., Pavelich, A., McKenzie, H., Gibson, M., & Cruz, M. (2020). Transitioning a Therapy Dog Program Online during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned. Virtual Solutions for Substance Use Care Conference. University of British Columbia. Virtual Platform. In abstentia.
Dell, C., Chalmers, D., Williamson, L., & Gibson, M. (2020). The Impact of Service Dogs on Veterans’ PTSD Symptoms and Substance Use: Project Update. Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Conservative Party of Canada Members of Parliament. Virtual Platform.
Dell, C. & Williamson, L. (November, 2020). Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among a sample of Canadian Veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory longitudinal study. Conference presentation given at the INCAM Research Symposium. Virtual Platform.
Williamson, L. E. (June, 2020). Causality vs contribution; How should we evaluate a service dog organization serving Canadian veterans with PTSD? Conference presentation given at the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Annual Conference, Ottawa, Ontario. *rescheduled due to COVID-19
Williamson, L. E., Chalmers, D., Osgoode, N., Lohnes, C., Lapointe, M., & Dell, C. (November, 2019). A pilot test of the effect of psychiatric service dogs on PTSD symptoms and problematic substance use among a sample of Canadian veterans. Conference presentation given at the Saskatchewan Health Authority Research Showcase, Regina, Saskatchewan.
C. Dell, L. Williamson, S. Gauthier, S. Mills, H. Goodfellow. (May, 2019). “Who Let the Dogs In!” From Teaching to Research Publication: The Fundamentals of doing SoTL. Saskatoon, Canada.
Williamson, L. E. (November, 2018). A Dog Lover’s Dream: Participatory Research with a Service Dog Program for Veterans. Conference presentation given at the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Annual Conference, Ottawa, Ontario.
Selected Posters
Gibson, M., Williamson, L., Dell, C., & Chalmers, D. (June, 2020). Insight into social influences on Veterans’ use of medical cannabis to manage their PTSD symptoms. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Forum, Hollywood California. Virtual Platform.
Ahmed, A., Husband, A., Dell, C. A., & Williamson, L. (November, 2019). PTSD-diagnosed veterans combatting problematic substance use with psychiatric service dogs: What community pharmacists should know. Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction (CCSA) Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Chalmers, D., Dell, C. A., Williamson, L., Carey, B., Husband, A., & Rogers, N. (November, 2019). Researchers leaning about veterans’ experiences with opioid addiction by training a service dog: A patient-oriented approach. Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction (CCSA) Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Cruz, M., Gibson, M., Williamson, L., Chalmers, D., Osgoode, N., & Dell, C. (October, 2019). The Impact of Service Dogs in the Lives of Veterans Who Problematically Use Opioids. Animal-Human Relationship: Ways of Knowing and Understanding Annual Conference, University of Saskatchewan.
