Dr Sheri Turrell is a key innovator with an international reputation in the field of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), known predominantly for her work with adolescents. She has co-authored ACT for Adolescents: A Transdiagnostic Guide for Clinicians and The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Teen Anxiety.
She and her co-authors are currently developing a series of videos for parents of teens who struggle with anxiety, to complement the self-help book.
Dr Turrell works with young people individually and has run ACT-based groups for adolescents for the past 10 years, undertaking research to examine the effectiveness of ACT as a group-based therapy. She is currently adapting the group to an online format. As an ACBS Peer Reviewed ACT Trainer, Dr Turrell conducts clinical training workshops both locally and internationally. She provides consultation and supervision to students and mental health professionals in addition to running a full-time private practice, where she works with both adolescents and adults.
Dr Turrell began her career in mental health as a Registered Nurse, working mostly with adolescents with eating disorders, before shifting to her current career as a Clinical Psychologist. She finished her training to become a psychoanalyst in 2018 and is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Faculty with the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis (TICP). Dr. Turrell is most interested in the integration of ACT and psychodynamic ways of thinking and working.
Dr Turrell has trained staff in various hospital departments throughout Ontario and co-facilitated parent groups using ACT at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. She has been involved with the Ontario Chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) for many years, holding several positions on the Ontario Chapter Board. She is currently serving as the co-chair for the newly formed Psychodynamic CBS Special Interest Group within ACBS and is co-chair for the Board of Directors for the TICP Essentials Program.
