Dr. Mercedes Umana Garcia is a Registered Psychologist in Supervised Practice with the College of Registered Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical and Counselling Psychology from OISE University of Toronto. Dr. Umana Garcia’s experience in mental health clinical practice and research expands over 20 years providing assessment and psychotherapeutic services for individuals and communities dealing with complex mental health needs such as acute and chronic PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, psychosis, dementia, bereavement, and mental distress as a result of health concerns such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, fibromyalgia, diabetes and heart disease, among others. For over 10 years Dr. Umana Garcia provided emergency counselling/psychotherapy for victims/witnesses of crimes through the Ontario Attorney General Victim Quick Response Program (VQRP).

Dr. Umana Garcia is co-developer of Anti-Oppression Psychotherapy, a therapeutic model that was been featured as a continuing education accredited workshop in the 2014 American Psychological Association Annual Convention.  Dr. Umana’s practice integrates Anti-Oppression Psychotherapy with empirically supported treatments including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Humanistic Approaches.

Dr. Umana Garcia has been a course instructor in the graduate program in clinical and counselling psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and her work in relation to trauma informed clinical practice has been published by the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health.  Her areas of expertise and interest include Anti-Oppression Psychotherapy, community mental health, health psychology, trauma, post-traumatic growth, bereavement, HIV, and intersectional research methodologies and knowledge translation.