Dr. Jennifer Vriend provides psychological services to children, adolescents, parents, and families. She offers individual therapy for children and youth experiencing a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, perfectionism, sleep difficulties, interpersonal challenges, family conflict, and adjustment to significant life changes.
Dr. Vriend has a particular interest in grief and bereavement. She supports children, adolescents, parents, and families following the death of someone important to them, including losses related to suicide and addiction. She recognizes that grief can look very different from one person and family to another, and aims to provide a warm and supportive space to make sense of the many emotions and experiences that can accompany loss.
Dr. Vriend provides a warm, caring, and collaborative therapeutic environment. Her approach draws primarily from cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), while incorporating other evidence-based approaches according to the needs of each child, adolescent, and family. Her work focuses on helping young people better understand their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, while developing practical coping strategies, self-compassion, resilience, and confidence in navigating difficult experiences.
Dr. Vriend also offers psychoeducational assessments for children and adolescents with possible learning disabilities or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as assessments to evaluate giftedness.
Professional Biography
Dr. Vriend completed undergraduate degrees in Psychology (BSc Honours) and Biology (BSc) at Queen’s University. She then spent a year working in the sleep laboratory at Brown University before completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University.
Her clinical training has included work in a variety of hospital and community settings across Canada and the United States, including the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, the IWK Health Centre and QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, and Bradley Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.
Dr. Vriend is a registered psychologist with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario and co-owner of Queensview Professional Services. She maintains memberships in professional psychology organizations and is committed to ongoing professional development.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Vriend is an experienced speaker on topics including self-compassion, parenting, anxiety, resilience, and grief and bereavement. She has presented to professional and community audiences and organizations including the Canadian Federal Government, Bereaved Families of Ontario, Camp Widow, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Dr. Vriend also enjoys making psychological research and information accessible to the broader public. She has contributed to media stories and interviews with CBC, CTV, Global Television, SiriusXM Doctor Radio, and The Globe and Mail.
The Coping Toolbox Podcast
Dr. Vriend is a co-host of The Coping Toolbox: A Child Psych Podcast, alongside Drs. Laila Din Osmun and Mary Simmering McDonald. The podcast provides accessible, evidence-informed conversations about children’s and families’ mental health, including anxiety, mood, sleep, parenting, grief, self-compassion, neurodiversity, and other challenges faced by children, adolescents, and their caregivers.
Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Media Interviews
CP24 Television (Aired July 9, 2018)
CTV News Channel (Aired July 10, 2018)
- Interviewer: Angie Seth; Topic: Psychological Recovery of Thai Boys Trapped in Cave
- Watch the interview
Global News, The Morning Show (Aired July 19, 2018)
- Interviewer: Jeff McArthur; Topic: Focusing on the Emotional Well-Being of the Boys that were Trapped in Thai Cave
- Watch the interview
CTV Toronto (Aired September 2018)
