Jean Gagnon, MPs, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, a neuropsychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Montréal. His field of teaching is psychological assessment and personality theories. He is a full member of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR) at the Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition (CERNEC).

My research projects focus on improving treatment for people with severe mental illness, either by creating new treatments, evaluating needs or training mental health workers. For instance, I have collaborated on creating and validating group interventions in cognitive behaviour therapy to improve self-esteem or the symptoms of people suffering from psychoses. My current research bears mainly on first-episode patients, but I am also interested in patients with longer clinical histories.

My current research looks at the impact of cognitive behaviour therapy on the symptoms and functioning of people after a first psychotic episode (CIHR grant); profiles of first episodes who follow or ignore treatment recommendations for their psychosis (MSFHR grant, Norma Calder); the impact of motivational interviews on treatment persistence among first-episode patients; care and clinical profiles, and the creation of group treatment, for people suffering from psychoses as a result of methamphetamine abuse (CIHR grant); the impact of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis on an incarcerated psychiatric clientele; support for employment (CIHR grant) and education for people with severe mental illness; cognitive remediation related to social functioning among people with psychoses and cognitive deficits. I am also interested in the stigmatization of psychosis and knowledge transfer in the community.

A few objectives of our research at our electrophysiology and traumatic brain injury impact study laboratory (CRLB-CRIR and CERNEC):

• The use of visual and cognitive electrophysiology and neuropsychological tests to objectify alterations in brain function and means of recovery after a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• The study of the effectiveness of cognitive and rehabilitation interventions and the links between brain function, symptomatology and some indicators of post-TBI development, such as ability to work and quality of life