Episode 149: Vincent Santiago

<div><span class="il">Vincent</span> Santiago is a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in Toronto, Canada. His research interests include eating disorders, food addiction, body image, bariatric surgery, health psychology, anxiety disorders, LGBTQ+ health, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and motivational interviewing.</div> <div> <br /> In this episode, <span class="il">Vincent</span> describes his doctoral dissertation project, a randomized controlled trial that explored the use of an intervention for food addiction (the concept that individuals can be addicted to foods, particularly highly processed foods). This intervention combined Adapted Motivational Interviewing, a person-centered counseling approach, and CBT skills for eating-related issues, with a focus on harm reduction and moderation.</div> <div><br /> <span class="il">Vincent</span>’s master’s thesis explored psychosocial factors, such as attachment style and emotion regulation, related to cigarette smoking following bariatric surgery. For his undergraduate thesis, he studied the influence of video messages on healthier eating among students who engaged in restrained and unrestrained eating.<br /> <br /> Clinical Interests<br /> <br /> <span class="il">Vincent</span>’s clinical interests include the assessment and treatment of various mental health issues, including eating disorders, anxiety disorders (e.g., social anxiety disorder), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He is particularly interested in using approaches from CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.<br /> <br /></div> <div><span class="il">Vincent</span> completed his predoctoral internship at the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium in London, Ontario, and practicum placements at: (1) the Psychology Training Clinic within the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital; (2) the Intensive Residential and Day Treatment Program for OCD at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and