Sandra Berzins

Sandy Berzins is the Director of Research and Outcomes at Calgary Counselling Centre, and has joint appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. Sandy has over 20 years of health care research and program evaluation experience, in areas ranging from primary care, mental health, chronic disease management to health promotion. She completed her PhD in epidemiology in 2014, with her dissertation research focused on risk factors for depression in multiple sclerosis. Her current work in counselling outcomes research and evaluation includes an emphasis on effective knowledge translation as a longstanding interest. A missing element of many research programs is the lack of a feedback mechanism between researchers and policy/ decision makers, causing a delay in integration of research findings into clinical practice. Experience working in both community and academic settings has enabled her to develop a strong understanding of how research findings can be implemented in the ‘real world’.