Dr. Nichole Fairbrother

Dr. Nichole Fairbrother is a registered psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor with the UBC Department of Psychiatry and the Island Medical Program. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2002, and subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in women’s reproductive health through the Child and Family Research Institute and the UBC Department of Health Care and Epidemiology.

Dr. Fairbrother’s research is in the area of perinatal anxiety disorders and epidemiology, with a focus on new mothers’ thoughts of infant-related harm and perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Current research activities include a large-scale study of maternal thoughts of infant-related harm and their relation to postpartum OCD and child harm, and several inter-connected studies of fear of childbirth. She is currently in the planning stages for a study of perinatal anxiety disorder screening and two randomized controlled trials of online CBT for fear of childbirth, and postpartum OCD.

Here are the projects Dr. Fairbrother is currently working on:

Perinatal anxiety disorders screening study

Canadian Institues of Health Research, Project Grant Competition, Bridge funding award from the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) Priority Announcement. Nichole Fairbrother (PI); Martin Antony, Sarah Norris, Arianne Albert, Patricia Janssen, Fanie Collardeau, & Benicio Frey (Co-Is)

Unwanted intrusive thoughts in new parents: Development of a psychoeducational video

Canadian Institues of Health Research, Planning and Dissemination Grant Competition. Nichole Fairbrother (PI); Fiona Challacombe, Jonathon Abramowitz, Maria Bavetta, Diane Wilson, & Alissa Antle (Co-Is)

Pregnancy Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS): Instrument development and psychometric testing.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Hamideh Bayrampour (PI); Patricia Janssen, Rollin Brant, Michelle Butler, Nichole Fairbrother, & K.S. Joseph (Co-Is)