*update*: Randi McCabe currently works as the Director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre
Randi McCabe currently works as the Associate Director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton.
“My position combines clinical, research, teaching and administrative roles. I provide assessment and treatment to patients referred to the clinic with a primary anxiety disorder. I also supervise and provide training to individuals from a variety of programs such as psychiatry residents, psychology interns and practicum students and postdoctoral fellows,” says Randi who earned an M.A. in Psychology from U of T in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Psychology from U of T in 2000.
“The hospital is a teaching facility associated with McMaster University. Through this affiliation I am also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. To be successful in my position an individual needs to be hard-working, organized and able to juggle multiple roles and demands. My work is made easy because I really enjoy my job and the variety of tasks that it involves.”
Randi completed her post-doctoral fellowship at her current place of employment as she went through the process of becoming licensed as a psychologist in Ontario. Following her licensure, she took the position she holds now.
“Other ways that I am involved in my profession include giving talks in the community, conducting training for other health professionals and acting as a supervisor for psychology training programs at other universities including the University of Waterloo and the University of Regina. I am also Chair of the Clinical Behavioral Sciences Program at McMaster University, a post-professional diploma program,” says Randi.
“Completing an undergraduate thesis in psychology was an important experience that helped to steer me towards becoming a clinical psychologist. I realized that I enjoyed research and I was able to learn what being a psychologist was all about.”
Randi says she knew at the beginning of her undergraduate degree that she would have to take further graduate training in order to achieve a career as a psychologist.
“The B.Sc. Was my first step towards my goal. Once I completed graduate school, the opportunities fell into place. I networked to see where there was a postdoctoral fellowship opening,” she says.
“The main key to my success is the enjoyment I get from my training and my career. If a student wished to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist, my advice would be to talk to different faculty members to find out about graduate school. Complete a thesis to gain research experience and then research potential graduate school faculty who might match your research interests. Volunteering in a research lab is also a good experience to learn more about your interests as well as make contacts for applying to graduate school.”