Dr. Shelley McMain, Ph.D.
Clinic Psychologist / Clinic Director
She / Her

Dr. Shelley McMain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is Head of the Borderline Personality Disorder Clinic and a Clinician Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. She is a practicing psychotherapist, trainer, educator and researcher. Shelley is a certified DBT individual and group therapist and currently serves on the International DBT Strategic Planning Committee. Shelley’s research interests are personality disorders, DBT, emotion regulation, suicidal and self-harm behavior and substance abuse. She has authored more than 60 articles and chapters and has a book forthcoming. She is the Principal Investigator of a large research study designed to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of six months compared to one year of DBT for the treatment of suicidal individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Shelley has delivered 300+ conference, colloquia, grand rounds, and workshop presentations. Her work has led to numerous research and teaching awards including the distinguished research award from the European Society for the Study of Personality Disorders; the scientific paper prize from the American Psychoanalytic Association; the research award from the International Society for Improvement; and teaching awards from the Department of Psychiatry and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.