Dr. Bianca Horner

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r. Bianca Lauria-Horner graduated from “Université de Montréal” Montreal Quebec in 1984 with a degree in medicine. In 1986, she began a private practice in Lower Sackville Nova Scotia for 13 years. She joined the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University in 1999 where she currently holds an academic position as an assistant professor. She also holds a position with the RCMP since 2004 as the Atlantic Region Health Services Officer with a mandate to manage the Occupational Health and Safety Program.

Her interests include teaching, and leading research projects particularly the design and evaluation of community based mental health awareness and promotion programs. Dr. Lauria-Horner co-directed a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) project which entailed enhancing psychiatry research capacity in Cuba in keeping with International Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines. She supervised two national research projects: 1) evaluating the feasibility of implementing a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy intervention tailored specifically for busy family physicians, and 2) evaluating effective methods of enhancing primary care physicians’ skills in the management of major depressive disorder. She directed the design and delivery of a recently launched national web-based training initiative in support of law enforcement first responders, such as police, sheriff, and correctional officers when dealing with, and responding to Emotionally Disturbed Persons (EDPs) with the goal to increase officer’s comfort in dealing with EDPs, and equip them with a range of management strategies in the course of carrying out their duties. She has also published a series of educational books for school children (primary to grade 9) on mental health; Healthy Mind Healthy Body, which have been approved by the Nova Scotia Department of Education for use as part of their Healthy Living curriculum.

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