Dr. Janine Slavec, R.Psych.
Dr. Janine Slavec is a registered psychologist who specializes in the delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and behavioural interventions to provide practical skills to youth and their families. Dr. Slavec’s practice covers the range from very early childhood through young adulthood.
In children, teens, and young adults, Dr. Slavec provides evidence-based (scientifically-supported) assessment and treatment of a wide variety of pediatric concerns, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety, and repetitive behaviours (e.g., tics, hair-pulling, skin-picking). She maintains a specialty focus in working with youth with health-related or medical issues, such as chronic pain, coping with illness, adhering to medical treatment, sleep challenges, and toileting challenges. Dr. Slavec is passionate about working with individuals with somatization (i.e., the physical expression of stress and some emotions in the body, medically unexplained symptoms, or physical symptoms exacerbated by stress). Dr. Slavec also provides assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and treatment of common parenting struggles in younger children (ages 3-10), including behavioural challenges, kindergarten readiness, tantrums, and emotion regulation difficulties.
In addition to work with youth, Dr. Slavec enjoys collaborating with parents to better understand their children, to promote their own coping, and to help support their children’s adjustment. Dr. Slavec also works with adults to provide treatment for specific concerns, including OCD, coping with/adjusting to a child illness, and postpartum concerns such as anxiety, stress, and depression.
Dr. Slavec works within a compassionate and patient-centred framework to empower children and parents, to increase stress resiliency, and to provide families with the tools needed to improve closeness and overcome challenges. She emphasizes collaborating with families to tailor approaches and goals to their specific needs and preferences. Dr. Slavec draws on research and best practice standards, incorporating elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Interpersonal Psychotherapy into her practice.
Dr. Slavec completed her Ph.D. in Developmental-Clinical Psychology at the University of Maine where she worked with individuals across the lifespan. She gained additional training at Florida International University, concentrating on assessment and treatment of executive function challenges and ADHD, gender differences in ADHD symptoms, and behavioural and emotional regulation difficulties among young children. Dr. Slavec completed her residency and post-doctoral training at BC Children’s Hospital, where she gained additional expertise in treatment with specialty medical (e.g., somatization, multi-organ transplant, pain) and mental health (e.g., tics, OCD) populations.
Presently, Dr. Slavec also works as a staff psychologist at BC Children’s Hospital, splitting her time between the OCD Clinic and the Medical Psychology Department. She remains active in the professional community, providing training, consultation, and supervision to clinicians and students across the province.
