About MJW-CYDC
We are a team of passionate professionals and graduate students dedicated to improving the health and performance of children and youth.
Situated in the heart of the community, Western' s Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic has one goal: Setting children and families up for success. We do this by supporting practice and research in real world settings with clients from the community and from Merrymount.
Graduate students in the School and Applied Child Psychology program at Western University, under the supervision of licensed Child Psychologists, provide high-quality and affordable psychological consultation, assessment, and treatment services to children and youth from three to 18 years of age.
Our goal is to improve the quality of life for children and youth and set children and families up for success.
Call 519-661-4257 to get more information about how to be added to our *intake list. You may also go to the Contact page of this website, and fill in the Contact Us section to provide us with some details around the issues you are currently facing and the services you’re looking for. This information, along with any reports from previous evaluations and/or school information, will help us plan the most appropriate assessment(s).”
* Wait times will vary depending on the specific types of services and supports required.
Privacy is important to us. Please read about our commitment to privacy here.
Dr. Mary J. Wright
Our story begins in 1973, when the late Dr. Mary J Wright, a psychologist at the Western University created a laboratory preschool. She wanted a place university researchers and students to conduct psychological and educational research and teaching demonstration projects intended to help children from a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds succeed at school and in life.
43 years later, a new chapter began. In 2015, the preschool laboratory was closed and the endowment transferred to the Faculty of Education at Western. The current centre, named The Mary J. Wright Research and Education Centre at Merrymount, is located in the heart of the community, within the walls of Merrymount Family and Crisis Centre, sending a strong message of an enduring university and community partnership.
Today, the Mary J. Wright Research and Education Centre continues to work at setting children and families up for success. We do this by supporting early childhood research and practice in a real world setting. The Centre has been proactive in keeping current with changing times and research methodologies.
Meet the team that keeps our clinic running successfully.
View the team
Dr. Colin King, Ph.D., C. Psych
Colin is the Director of the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic at Western University and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education. As a School and Clinical Child Psychologist, he has worked and trained in a variety of hospital, community, private practice, and educational settings working with children and youth with various learning, social-emotional, and behavioural challenges. Most recently, Colin worked as a School Psychologist and as the Coordinator of Psychological Services in the Thames Valley District School Board. Colin's research through the Improving Accessibility and Application in School Psychology lab focuses on reaching to support more students through collaborative research practices.
Dr. Katelyn Bryant, Ph.D., C.Psych
Dr. Katelyn Bryant is a registered School and Clinical Psychologist practicing with children, youth, and families. She is a Supervising Psychologist and Assistant Director at the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic. Dr. Bryant has trained and worked in school, community mental health, day treatment, intensive inpatient and private practice settings. She has a clinical interest in supporting children and youth with neurodevelopmental differences (such as Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder) and emotional and behavioural difficulties. She is especially interested in working with parents and caregivers.
Tiffany Trudgeon
Tiffany is the Administrative Officer at the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic. She came into this role with approximately 10 years of experience working at Western. Tiffany has worked in the Faculty of Education for about 8 years as a Graduate Affairs Assistant, overseeing the Applied Psychology Graduate Programs. Tiffany looks forward to helping each new family that comes to the Clinic.
Dr. Maisha Syeda, Ph.D., C. Psych.
Maisha is a psychologist (supervised practice) and a clinical supervisor at the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic at Western University. She is also a postdoctoral associate at the Centre for School Mental Health in the Faculty of Education. Maisha is trained in school-and community-based mental health and has experience providing therapeutic interventions to support children and adolescents with complex trauma and mental health challenges.
Maisha’s research focuses on intervention development and evaluation to promote mental well-being and resilience of newcomer youth and families. An important emphasis of Maisha’s research and clinical work is to develop and mobilize equity-oriented and culturally responsive strategies into mental health programming.
Dr. Lisa Archibald, Ph.D.
Lisa is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Associate Professor from the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Lisa’s research through the Language and Working Memory Lab focuses on links between memory and language processes particularly in children with language learning deficits. At the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic, Lisa and her graduate students in speech-language pathology provide a word study program aimed at improving spelling and word knowledge for children in grades 4 to 8. Lisa also works with the team at the MJW-CYDC to understand interdisciplinary training and service.
Psychology Internship Opportunities
Narwal Psychology Consortium
Narwal Psychology Consortium
The Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic is pleased to be a consortium partner with the London Family Court Clinic in offering a full-year psychology residency. The goal of the residency is to prepare students in the final year of their PhD for the practice of clinical and/or clinical-forensic psychology through systematic training in assessment, treatment, consultation, program evaluation/research, and the ethical guidelines and professional practice standards that underlie psychological practice in Ontario.
Please see the consortium brochure for further information.
Contact for further information:
Dr. Dilys Haner, C Psych
Clinical-forensic Psychologist, LFCC; Training Coordinator
200-254 Pall Mall St.
London, Ont.
N6A6P7
519-280-3737
Merrymount Children’s Centre
What is Merrymount?
Merrymount Children’s Centre is an accredited Children’s Mental Health Centre that provides around-the-clock family capacity building and support services, for children aged 0 to 12, across Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford counties. Merrymount provides a wide-range of crisis, respite, prevention and early intervention mental health services and programs to strengthen children and their families. All Merrymount programs are tailored to the individual needs of the child and the family to support with a focus on family capacity building.
Healthy emotional and social development in childhood lays the foundation for building strong mental health and increasing resilience throughout life. Early intervention services in children’s mental health are similar to that of physical health; just as we treat a cold before it becomes pneumonia, Merrymount addresses initial behaviour or emotional problems before they become more complex and deep-seated, requiring more intensive interventions. If mental health issues are left untreated, treated late, or treated poorly, negative consequences can result including school failure, strained relationships, violence, hospitalization, and family breakdown. Merrymount works with families to ensure their issues are addressed as early as possible.
Historic Documents
University Laboratory Preschool
Below: Mary J. Wright's early works with an invitation to the opening of the University Laboratory Preschool in 1974.
