Dr. Fiona Thomas
Lab BlueSky Account:
Biography
Dr. Thomas is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Advancing Research for Culturally Aligned Interventions (ARCAI) Lab at 91影视 (91影视). She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Department of Psychology at 91影视 and MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science in Health, Community and Development. She completed her predoctoral residency with the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium and a postdoctoral fellowship in implementation science and evidence-based trauma interventions on a joint project between labs at Stanford University and 91影视.
Dr. Thomas is a Registered Clinical Psychologist with clinical and research interests in the areas of trauma and perinatal mental health. Dr. Thomas鈥� research examines culturally-responsive and sustainable mental health interventions, focused on addressing structural inequities and reducing mental health disparities among marginalized communities. She works toward improving current systems of care by using multiple methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, participatory) with diverse stakeholders to understand the interconnections and complexity of factors that influence psychopathology. Another research area includes developing, adapting, implementing, and disseminating evidence-based protocols to better fit families and communities impacted by social upheaval and multigenerational traumas.
In collaboration with researchers locally (e.g., Toronto), regionally (e.g., United States) and globally (e.g., Sri Lanka), Dr. Thomas鈥� works at the nexus of clinical and public health interventions. Her research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Association for Psychological Science, and Mitacs. Please visit Dr. Thomas鈥� lab website 鈥� the ARCAI Lab - for more information on current projects, members of the lab, and how you can get involved!
Representative Publications (*Denotes trainees):
*Sinclair, E. S.-L. L., Kim, H. S., Yang, L., & Thomas, F. C. (in-press). Cross-cultural adaptations of gambling treatments for East Asians: A comprehensive scoping review and strategic recommendations. Current Addiction Reports.
Thomas, F.C., *McGuire, K., *Ng Ha Kwong, O., *Parmar, P.K., *Goldgruber, B., Doherty, S., Jayawickreme, N., Milligan, K., Dass, G., **Sivayokan, S., **Surenthirakumaran, R. (2025). From villages to floating islands: A qualitative study exploring maternal experiences of support and isolation in Northern Sri Lanka. Social Sciences and Medicine 鈥� Mental Health; Special Issue 鈥� From Trauma to Resilience to Peace?: Charting Paths Forward in Post-Civil War Sri Lanka, 8.
Taknint, J. T., Thomas, F. C., Gellatly, R., & Ameresekere, M. (2024). Responding to trauma: A critical review of mental health and psychosocial interventions for refugee women. Current psychiatry reports, 26(12), 866鈥�876.
Thomas, F.C., *Divirgilio, R., Jayawickreme, N., Sivayokan, S., McShane, K., Jayawickreme, E. (2023). Coping with the long-term impact of civil strife: A grief-centered analysis of Tamil Sri Lankan communities affected by ethnopolitical conflict. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 16(3), p. 822-850.
*Loskot, T., 鈥� *Lagdamen, J., 鈥� Mutschler, C., 鈥� Thomas, F., Kannan, K., Beristianos, M., Cook, J., Finley, E., **Monson, C., & **Wiltsey-Stirman, S. (2023). Multilevel factors in providers鈥� decisions to utilize CPT in military- and veteran-serving treatment settings. Psychological Services, 20(4), 798鈥�808.
a. 鈥� equal contribution and listed alphabetically
b. **senior authors, listed alphabetically
Thomas, F.C., Coulombe, S., Girard, T., Hart, T., Doherty, S., Dass, G., Wickramage, K., Siriwardhana, C., & McShane K. (2022). Displacement-related stressors in a Sri Lankan war affected community: Identifying the impact of war exposure and ongoing stressors on trauma symptom severity. Social Science and Medicine 鈥� Mental Health, 2: e: 100129. doi:
Thomas, F.C., *D鈥橲ouza, M., *Magwood, O., *Thilakanathan, D., *Sukumar, V., Doherty, S., Dass, G., Hart, T., Sivayokan, S., Wickramage, K., & McShane K. (2022). Examining post-conflict stressors in Northern Sri Lanka: A qualitative study. PLOS One, 17(9): ee0267018. doi:
Thomas, F.C., Puente-Duran, S., Mutschler, C., Monson, C.M.M. (2020). Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for children and youth in developing countries: A systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health. doi:
Thomas, F.C., Bowie, J., Hill, L., & Taknint, J.T. (2019). Growth-promoting supervision: Reflections from women of colour psychology trainees. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 13, 167-173. doi:
Khenti, A., Thomas, F.C., Mohamoud, S., Diaz, P., Ballarino, V., Dunbar, K., & Sapag, J. (2017). Mental health and addictions capacity building for community health centres in Ontario. Canadian Family Physician, 63, e416-e424. PMID: 29025818
Thomas, F.C., Jordans, M.J.D., Reis, R., de Jong, J., & Tol, W. (2016). Emic perspectives on the impact of armed conflict on children鈥檚 mental health in Northern Sri Lanka. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 22, 246-253. doi: