There are two psychologists in our practice. Dr. Denis Belicki provides individual and marital therapy as well as psychological assessments. Dr. Kathryn Belicki provides workshops and talks.
I completed my undergraduate education locally at Brock University. Subsequently, I attended Wilfrid Laurier University for my Master’s degree and the University of Toronto for my doctorate. As a graduate student I was awarded an Ontario Graduate Scholarship as well as a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Scholarship. I have been registered as a psychologist since 1985.
For the first five years of my career, I was a psychologist at the Counselling Centre at York University. In addition to providing treatment to students, staff, and faculty, I was involved in the supervision of MA, PhD, and post-doctoral students.
In 1990, we opened our practice in St. Catharines and since that time I have been in full time private practice.
Over the course of my career I have periodically conducted research and presented findings at provincial, national, and international conferences. I have also published papers on a series of topics, such as the cognitive behavioral treatment of nightmares, nightmares and hypnotic ability, and forms of dreaming.
Most recently, in 2009, I was asked to go to Northern Iraq with a humanitarian, multi-disciplinary health team to meet with government and medical professionals regarding treatment issues in Iraq. The findings of the team were written up as a policy paper (Belicki, D., Belicki, K., DeMatteo, C., Dykeman, K. L., Hilts, L., Idenouye, P., Lee-Poy, M., 2009. Kurdistan Iraq, October 2009: The results of a Canadian interprofessional medical mission.) Subsequently, I also published with Kathryn Belicki a paper entitled “Five Hours to Baghdad: Lessons Learned by Two Psychologists on a Multidisciplinary Health Care Mission to Iraq” in a 2011 issue of The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.
In 2013, my wife Kathryn and I were co-awarded the Brock University Social Sciences Alumni Award. This award is given in recognition of “exceptional professional achievements and/or service to society”.
My hobbies include working on our farm, hiking in the far North, and learning how to build guitars.
I obtained my BA from Brock University, my doctoral degree from the University of Waterloo and, subsequently, a Masters of Theological Studies from the University of Toronto. I have been a registered psychologist since 1986, which is also the year I became a professor at Brock University.
In recent years, I have shifted my practice from psychotherapy to offering workshops and talks on such topics as working with dreams, forgiveness and forgiveness seeking, and spirituality. In addition, I have been assisting in organizing a biennual conference entitled Comfort and Hope www.comfortandhope.ca
For more information on my professional activities, please see:
What can I expect in psychotherapy?
All new patients are seen for an initial consultation. The consultation is a clinical interview in which a history is taken. It also provides the client an opportunity to meet the psychologist, see if they are comfortable with the setting, and ask any questions they may have.
The next step depends on the findings of the consultation. Treatment options will be discussed with you. At times patients are referred to other psychologists or therapists, if that is deemed appropriate. Sometimes limited psychological testing is recommended to clarify issues regarding diagnosis and treatment.
When the presenting problems are straightforward, a trial course of evidence-based therapy (typically cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT) is recommended.
We operate a small, highly personalized practice. It is our policy that patients are always seen at their scheduled time - - we do not keep people waiting.
Appointments are typically 60 minutes long.
Many people are naturally apprehensive about the idea of seeing a psychologist - - most of us want to solve our problems on our own. However, research has clearly demonstrated that, on average, individuals in psychotherapy work through issues more quickly than people who “go it alone”.
You’ll be reassured by coming to a home-like setting that is both comfortable and professional. You’ll also find that you will be treated with courtesy and respect, and our goal is to help you feel comfortable and at ease during your consultation and treatment.
What we treat
Our practice is a general clinical practice and this means that we treat a wide array of the most common clinical problems that people experience (such as, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Relationship Disorders, Eating Disorders). The most common issues are anxiety and/or depression. In addition, problems such as pain management, addiction, sleep dysfunction, grief, burnout, relationship problems, and adolescent issues are treated.
What We Don’t Treat
While we do provide marital therapy, we do not provide family therapy. Individuals must be at least 15 years old to be seen.
Copyright 2012 © Queenston Psychological Services. All rights reserved.