Two Persons Walking on a Grassy Field.
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FEELINGS MATTER.
ACTIVE STUDIES (AVAILABLE NOW!)
Well-being across the lifespan
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End date: January 1, 2027
REB #17559
ABOUT THE LAB
The EHRL brings together a number of researchers interested in studying the development of emotional and social abilities (ESAs), as well as the relationship between ESAs and mental and physical health. The EHRL has several broad goals. The first is to promote research activities that may extend current knowledge about ESAs and health and wellness. We are particularly interested in work on the assessment of key constructs in this area (i.e., “alexithymia”, “emotional intelligence”, and “personal intelligence”). A second goal is to help train new researchers, educators and health care professionals. The third goal is to promote knowledge about ESAs among educators, health care professionals, and the general public. Relevant activities for this goal include publications in journals, presentations at academic meetings, articles in non-academic sources, and informal presentations to community or professional groups.
OUR WORK
OUR GRADUATE RESEARCHERS
PhD Candidates
A. Geoffrey Crane, MSc, PMP
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
GEOFF left a career in investment banking technology to pursue interests in psychology. Joining the lab in 2014 during his undergraduate degree, he stayed to complete a Master's in Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods for which he won the President's Medal. Geoff has most recently joined Trent's Interdisciplinary Social Research (IDSR) program where has begun to focus on the personal intelligence construct and its implications for training and development.
Colin Henning, MSc
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
COLIN joined the Emotion and Health Research Laboratory (EHRL) in 2018 as a practicum student during the third year of his Bachelor's degree in Psychology and has been an active member of the lab ever since. Colin's research uses advanced statistical modelling techniques to evaluate psychometric tools, including measures of trait emotional intelligence, and examines relationships between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a variety of life success variables in adults.
Samantha van Rens, MSc
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
SAM completed her undergraduate degree at Trent in 2017 and returned in 2021 to complete her Master’s in the Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods program, under the supervision of Dr. Parker. She is now working towards her PhD in Psychology. Her research interests include personality, test development, and various outcomes related to emotional, social, and motivational competencies.
PhD Students
Holly Kristensen, MSc
PhD Student
PhD Student
HOLLY completed her Master’s in the AMOD program at Trent University under the supervision of Dr. James Parker. She has recently rejoined the lab as a Ph.D. candidate in Psychology, where her research explores the relationship between emotional intelligence and ADHD symptoms in adolescents and young adults. Her work focuses on how emotional skills foster resilience, well-being, and adaptive functioning.
MSc Candidates
Clarabel Glasbergen, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
CLARABEL joined the lab for her undergraduate thesis and is excited to continue her education in the EHRL for her Master's degree. Her research interests surround emotional intelligence and its relationship towards development. Clarabel's past research focused on whether generativity and social dominance orientation were able to predict alexithymia.
Sima Munshi, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
SIMA graduated with a degree in Statistics and has a decade of banking experience. She joined Trent University in 2026 and recently began working as an AMOD Master's thesis student under the supervision of Dr. Parker. Her research interests focus on emotional intelligence and its relationship with students' academic performance, stress management and psychological well-being.
Alyssa Steggal, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
ALYSSA completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton in 2025 and has since begun her MSc in Psychology. Her research interests include examining how specific facets of emotional intelligence (EI) are associated with maladaptive coping mechanisms, including substance use. After completing her master's degree, Alyssa intends to pursue a clinical PhD in the field of health psychology.
Maaike van Benthem, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
MAAIKE joined the Emotion and Health Laboratory in 2022 as a thesis student during the final year of her Bachelor of Science in Philosophy and Psychology. Maaike's research interests include structural equation modelling (SEM) as well as the multidimensional constructs of alexithymia, generativity, and schizotypy (or more specifically, absorption).
Anna Zhitareva, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
ANNA has completed her undergraduate degree in Behavioural Psychology BA (honors) at Seneca Polytechnic in 2026. Her honors thesis examined how attachment styles developed in childhood influence the conflict resolution styles used in adult, romantic relationships. Her goal in the future is to pursue a clinical PhD in psychology. Outside of school, she love to travel and explore new places.
OUR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Honours Thesis Students
Saige Atchison
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
SAIGE is in her fourth year of the joint major Forensic Science and Psychology. She is currently doing her undergraduate thesis on ADHD and social functioning, with the goal to enter a clinical psychology program to help all kinds of struggling people. In her free time she loves to read and go to hot yoga classes.
Charlotte Docker
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
CHARLOTTE is an honours thesis student perusing her BScH in Psychology. Her research interests include social psychology, relationships and mental health. She is focusing on the effects of coping styles on problem gambling behaviour. When she is not in lab she enjoys hiking, swimming and reading.
Avery Ikede
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
AVERY
Ella O'Neill
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
ELLA is an honours thesis student currently completing her BScH in Psychology, with a specialization in Psychological Development and an option in Linguistics. Her research focuses on addiction behaviours and coping. She plans to pursue a Master's in applied psychology or rehabilitative sciences next year.
Melina Sharpe
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
MELINA is currently completing her BScH in Psychology, with a specialization in Health and Well-Being. She is focusing on the relationship between coping and gambling fallacies and attitudes. She hopes to do a Master's in Psychotherapy. She enjoys playing piano, reading, and being with friends and family.
Vivian Terranova
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
VIVIAN is an Honours Thesis student completing her BScH in Psychology at Trent University. Her research focuses on the relationship between alexithymia and social connection. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in psychology to further explore her interests in mental health and emotional well-being.
Research Assistants
Ava Goodison
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
AVA is currently completing her BScH in Psychology, specializing in cognitive and behavioural neuroscience. She has an interest in mental health and neuropsychiatric disorders. She hopes to pursue a Master's in psychology in the future.
Shaffun Inayat
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
SHAFFUN is an undergraduate student pursuing a BScH in Psychology. Her community-based research focuses on parental knowledge and confidence in navigating Ontario’s special education system. She hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in psychology and continue developing her research experience.
OUR ALUMNI
Ava Chartrand
BScH, 2026
Mary Danylyshyn
BScH, 2026
Hannah Kelpin
BScH, 2026
Alexa Ouellette
BScH, 2026
Ashley Watson
BScH, 2026
Yelnura Autalipova
PhD, 2025
Jeremy Barr
MSc, 2025
Amy van Elswyk
MSc, 2025
Penelope Chatila
BScH, 2025
Brenda Kimberley
BScH, 2025
Milo Ogar
BScH, 2025
Elora Singer
BScH, 2025
Jordan Wills
BScH, 2025
Shanzay Afzal
BScH, 2024
Havanha Bondi
BScH, 2024
Lucas Geeves
BScH, 2024
Kayla Carman
BScH, 2023
Amanda Gauthier
BScH, 2023
Jacob Persi
BScH, 2023
Gah-Lee Won
BScH, 2023
LAB UPDATES ON 
ABOUT DR. PARKER
Dr. James D.A. Parker is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Trent University (Ontario, Canada). He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from York University (Ontario) in 1991, and from 1991 to 1994 was a research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He held the Canada Research Chair in Emotion and Health at Trent University from 2002 to 2012.
Professor Parker has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters on a diverse range of topics connected to alexithymia, coping, emotional intelligence, personality and wellness. He is co-author of Disorders of Affect Regulation (1997) from Cambridge University Press, the co-editor of the Handbook of Emotional Intelligence (2000) published by Jossey-Bass, the co-editor of Assessing Emotional Intelligence (2009) published by Springer, and the co-editor of Emotional Intelligence in Education (2018) also published by Springer.
Professor Parker also co-developed several widely used assessment tools in the alexithymia, coping and emotional intelligence areas, such as the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), the Coping with Health Injuries and Problems Scale (CHIP), and the Youth Version of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi:YV), all published by Multi-Health Systems. He is co-author of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1994—the most widely used measure of alexithymia in the field.
CHALLENGE THE WAY YOU THINK
Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.
Trent University
Peterborough Campus
1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON Canada, K9L 0G2
Emotion and Health Research Laboratory
LHS/DNA C133, Department of Psychology
(705) 748-1011 x7644