Allison Kelly

Associate Professor

 

Dr. Allison Kelly

BA (Queen’s University), PhD (McGill University)

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Toronto General Hospital, Eating Disorders Program

Contact information

Self-Attitudes Lab website

I will be accepting a graduate student for Fall 2026.

Research Interests

My lab uses diverse methods to study theoretical models that help to explain the variation in well-being and psychopathology we see both across people (i.e., some people struggle more than others) and within a given person based on context (i.e., in certain relationships and on certain days, a given person enjoys greater well-being than others). The theory behind compassion-focused therapy (see Gilbert, 2005) has inspired a great deal of our research. We have examined shame and self-criticism as contributors to psychopathology, particularly eating disorders, and the role self-compassion and associated interventions play in preventing and alleviating psychopathology. Given the established benefits of self-compassion, my lab is currently interested in identifying the factors that influence self-compassion in daily life, for example, the characteristics of the people we interact with, the behaviours we engage in, and so on. We are interested in testing our ideas in a range of populations who experience psychological distress (e.g., people with mental illness or other marginalized identities, people working in emotionally demanding professions, people navigating a profound loss). Through our research, we aim to inspire novel, implementable interventions and strategies that can support the self-compassion of individuals, groups, and organizations. My greatest current interrelated research interests include:

  • Social factors (e.g., types of interactions, relationships) that support versus undermine self-compassion, and that heighten versus soften self-criticism.
  • Behaviours in daily life that support versus undermine self-compassion, and that heighten versus soften self-criticism.
  • Accessible interventions to support self-compassion in daily life.
  • Ways of promoting self-compassion in individuals who are highly self-critical and fearful of self-compassion.

Representative publications (A full list of our lab’s publications)

Lab

I run the Self-Attitudes Lab, which typically consists of 3-5 graduate students in our clinical psychology program, undergraduate honours thesis students, undergraduate research assistants, and a lab manager. We have regular lab meetings in which we get to learn about and offer suggestions on each other’s work in a supportive and dynamic environment. Our lab’s research has been funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Ontario Early Researcher Award, and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation.

Teaching

  • Psych 257 – Psychopathology
  • Psych 417 – Mindfulness
  • Psych 716 – Adult Psychopathology
  • Psych 728 – Psychotherapy: Classical Roots & Contemporary Developments

Clinical Training

I have been continuously involved in the clinical supervision of the graduate students in our clinical psychology program. Every year or two, I supervise a compassion-focused therapy group for adults with eating disorders in our Centre for Mental Health Research and Treatment (CMHRT).

Workshops

I am a registered psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. My areas of expertise are self-criticism, shame, self-compassion, and mindfulness. I am not currently seeing clients in private practice, but do offer experientially based workshops on self-compassion, mindfulness, and self-care for a range of audiences (e.g., clinicians, educators, organizations where employees face high stress and burnout).