ANNABELLE FELL, MA, MSW, RSW
Annabelle earned her Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Western Ontario. After completing this degree, she worked as a writer for the Ontario Minister of Health where her portfolio encompassed policy and individual issues related to Ontario’s mental health system, adult mental health, children’s mental health and aboriginal health.
During her tenure with the Ontario government, Annabelle shifted her career path from communications to mental health clinical work. To that end, she completed her Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) at the University of Toronto, after which she accepted a postgraduate fellowship in social work at the Hincks Dellcrest Centre, one of Toronto’s leading children’s mental health treatment and teaching centres. She concurrently completed a fellowship in child and adolescent mood disorders in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
In 2003, Annabelle began working at Integra, a children’s mental health center dedicated to supporting children and youth with mental health issues complicated by learning disabilities. Annabelle was a member of the clinical team at Integra, providing psychotherapy to individuals and families. In addition to her clinical work, Annabelle was also a member of Integra’s Community Consultation team. In this capacity, Annabelle delivered workshops to families, teachers, children and youth and provided consultation services to schools and other organizations with the goal of disseminating knowledge about learning disabilities and mental health.
While at Integra, in 2004, Annabelle was made an adjunct faculty member at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. She then went on to become one of the first clinical supervisors for the University of Toronto’s pioneering post-graduate clinical training program for practising social workers.
Annabelle continues to enrich her professional development by participating in on-going training to ensure she remains knowledgeable about current research and practice. For example, over the past three years, Annabelle has been participating in extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), an evidence-based treatment for individuals with complex mental health issues. She has completed this training primarily with Dr. Shari Manning (Treatment Implementation Collaborative, Seattle, WA) and Dr. Katherine Anne Comtois (University of Washington, Seattle, WA), both of whom are leaders in the research, training, and practice of DBT and have collaborated extensively with Dr. Marsha Linehan, the founder of DBT. She is also one of the few clinicians in Toronto who has achieved provider status in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), one of the three evidence-based treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Annabelle is currently in full time private practice, collaborating extensively with doctors, psychologists, social workers and other professionals working with children, youth and families. She is registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and is a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers.