Igor Yakovenko, Ph.D.

Dr. Igor Yakovenko holds a PhD. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calgary. He completed a pre-doctoral clinical residency at Yale University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta. He is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry at Dalhousie University, where he has an active research program in addiction and co-occurring mental health problems, supervising clinical psychology and psychiatry students.

Dr. Yakovenko’s primary areas of clinical expertise lie in adult mental health, addiction, and couples therapy. He uses a combination of cognitive-behavioural, motivational, and mindfulness therapies to create tailored evidence-based treatments (i.e., treatment approaches proven to be effective through research) for a variety of conditions. Dr. Yakovenko has extensive expertise in the treatment of addiction, mood and anxiety disorders, PTSD and trauma, pain, behavioural issues, coping with stress, self-esteem issues, anger management, chronic impulsivity, emotional disturbance, grief, family conflict, psychosis and personality disorders. In addition, he has Level 2 training in the Gottman Method for couples therapy, which is one of the most evidence-based approaches to strengthen relationships. Dr. Yakovenko also provides adult psychodiagnostic, personality, and behavioural assessments, which may be used to confirm a variety of issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, maladaptive personality patterns, mood, and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Yakovenko works with clients in a tailored way, unique to each individual or couple, to try to understand how they can have more fulfilling and happy lives. He views psychotherapy as a safe, trusting, and collaborative space to engage in healing and create new possibilities. For him, the end goal is to build capacity for self-reflection such that therapy is no longer needed to maintain healthy habits.