Dr. Linzi Williamson (PhD, CE)
Assistant Professor, Psychology & Health Studies, USask and Co-Director, Pawsitive Connections Lab
About
Dr. Linzi Williamson (PhD, CE) is an applied social psychologist, program evaluation specialist, and anthrozoologist who primarily studies animal-assisted services (e.g., service dogs, therapy dogs) and the role of the human-animal bond in addressing mental health and substance use. She is an Assistant Professor in Psychology & Health Studies and, alongside Drs. Colleen Dell and Darlene Chalmers, is Co-Director of the Pawsitive Connections Lab at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research program, currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) centers community-based and patient-oriented research approaches. You can learn more about her work at www.pawsitiveconnectionslab.com & www.linziwilliamson.com
Education
MA, Applied Social Psychology, USask
PhD, Applied Social Psychology, USask
Conference Presentations
Title: The helping roles of working dogs in substance use recovery.
Date: November 23-25, 2023
Conference: The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) Issues of Substance 2023 conference. Vancouver, British Columbia.
Co-Authors: Dell, C., Williamson, L., & Gibson, M.
Title: The varied helping roles of service dogs in the recovery journeys of veterans diagnosed with PTSD & substance use disorder.
Date: November 23-25, 2021
Conference: The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) Issues of Substance 2021 conference. Virtual format.
Co-Authors: Dell, C., Williamson, L., Gibson, M., & Pavelich, A.
Title: The Impact of Service Dogs on Veterans’ PTSD Symptoms and Substance Use: Project Update.
Date: November 24, 2020
Conference: Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Conservative Party of Canada Members of Parliament.
Co-Authors: Dell, C. (presenter), Chalmers, D. (presenter), Williamson, L., & Gibson, M.
Title: Insight into Social Influences on Veterans’ Use of Medical Cannabis to Manage their PTSD Symptoms.
Date: November 16-18, 2020
Conference: SK Health Research Showcase. Saskatoon: SK.
Co-Authors: Gibson, M. (presenter), Williamson, L., Dell, C., Chalmers, D., & DeGroot, P.
Title: Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among a sample of Canadian Veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory longitudinal study.
Date: November 12-17, 2020
Conference: INCAM Research Symposium. Saskatoon, SK. Virtual.
Co-Authors: Williamson, L. (presenter), Dell, C., Chalmers, D., Lohnes, C., Lapointe, M., Carleton, N., & Asmundson, G.
Title: A pilot test of the effect of psychiatric service dogs on PTSD symptoms and problematic substance use among a sample of Canadian veterans.
Date: November 21, 2019
Conference: Saskatchewan Health Authority Research Showcase.
Co-Authors: Williamson, L. (presenter), Chalmers, D., Osgoode, N., Lohnes, C., Lapointe, M., & Dell, C.
Title: E-Poster Presentation: Building Capacity for Social Return on Investment Analysis of Supervised Consumption Services in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Date: October 23-25, 2024
Conference: Lisbon Addictions European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies.
Co-Authors: Fornssler, B., Williamson, L., Dixon, J., Poncelet, E., Gibson, M., & Coupland, M.
Title: Poster Presentation: Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among a sample of Canadian veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory longitudinal study.
Date: June 22-24, 2021
Conference: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Forum.
Co-Authors: Williamson, L. Dell, C., Osgoode, N., Chalmers, D., Lohnes, C., LaPointe, M., Carleton, N., & Asmundson, G.
Title: Poster Presentation: PTSD-diagnosed veterans combatting problematic substance use with psychiatric service dogs: What community pharmacists should know.
Date: November 23-27 ,2019
Conference: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction Issues of Substance, Ottawa, Ontario
Co-Authors: Ahmed, A., Husband, A., Dell, C. A., & Williamson, L.
Title: Poster Presentation: Researchers learning about veterans’ experiences with opioid addiction by training a service dog: A patient-oriented approach.
Date: November 23-27, 2019
Conference: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction Issues of Substance Conference, Ottawa, Ontario.
Co-Authors: Chalmers, D., Dell, C. A., Williamson, L., Carey, B., Husband, A., & Rogers, N.
Title: Poster Presentation: The Impact of Service Dogs in the Lives of Veterans Who Problematically Use Opioids.
Date: October 18-19, 2019
Conference: Animal-Human Relationship: Ways of Knowing and Understanding, University of Saskatchewan.
Co-Authors: Cruz, M., Gibson, M., Williamson, L., Chalmers, D., Osgoode, N., & Dell, C.
Academic Research Publications
Rioux, W., Viste, D., Robertson, S., Williamson, L., Miller, A., Poncelet, E., & Ghosh, S. M. (2024). Virtual/mobile overdose response in Canada: A Social Return on Investment Analysis. Value in Health.
Dell, C. A., Williamson, L., McKenzie, H., Mela, M., Akca, D., Cruz, M., Ramsum, T., Sultana, S., Camacho Soto, N., & Kamal, A. H. M. (2022). Conducting Patient Oriented Research (POR) in a Forensic Psychiatric Facility: A Case Study of Patient Involvement Conducting Patient Oriented Research (POR) in a Forensic Psychiatric Facility: A Case Study of Patient Involvement. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2022.2080305
Williamson, L., Dell, C., Chalmers, D., Cruz, M., & De Groot, P. (2021). Strengthening Zooeyia: Understanding the Human-Animal Bond between Veterans Living with Comorbid Substance Use and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and their Service Dogs. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 10(2), 20-47. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2022.0018
Williamson, L. E., Dell, C. A., Osgood, N., Chalmers, D., Lohnes, C., Carleton, R. N., & Asmundson, G. (2021). Examining changes in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among a sample of Canadian veterans working with service dogs: An exploratory longitudinal study. Journal of Veterans Studies, 7(1), 1-13. http://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v7i1.194
Gibson, M., Williamson, L., Henwood, G., & Dell, C. (2021). Perceptions and Use of Alcohol and Medical Cannabis among Canadian Military Veterans Living with PTSD. Journal of Veterans Studies, 7(1), 59-70. http://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v7i1.200
Other Academic Outputs
Title: Harm Reduction Curriculum: Mid-Term Evaluation Report.
Date: 2025
Organization: Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) and Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH).
Co-Authors: Poncelet, E., & Williamson, L.
Title: Recommendations to Improve Access to Substance Use Health Information and Supports in Canada.
Date: 2025
Organization: Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) and Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
Co-Authors: Peters, B., De Moor, C., Garner, G., Williamson, L., & Epp, T.
Title: A Starting Place: Understanding Systematic Stigma Barriers to Knowledge About Substance Use Health and Associated Services in Canada.
Date: 2024
Organization: Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) and Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
Co-Authors: Peters, B., Garner, G., & Williamson, L.
SURGE-SK
5D40.28 Health Sciences, 107 Wiggins Rd. Saskatoon, SK
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