Dr. Cynthia Baxter
MD FRCPC DABPN
Forensic Psychiatrist
Assistant Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Email: baxter@theforensicgroup.ca
Dr. Cynthia Baxter is a Canadian forensic psychiatrist who has been assessing and managing violent offenders, sex offenders, and severe personality disorders for the criminal justice system, law enforcement, and the health care system since 2002. She is board-certified in both Canada and the United States and enjoys collaborating with a variety of different professionals in order to assess and manage difficult cases.
She is also a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine. Further, Dr. Baxter is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (DABPN) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) with forensic sub-specialty certification.
Dr. Baxter’s interests and expertise focus on risk assessment, violent offenders, sex offenders, criminal behaviour, and general psychiatry. Her expertise in the field of forensic psychiatry is well recognized and she serves as an expert witness at both the Provincial Court and Court of King’s Bench levels. She has sat on multiple committees, expert panels, and provided special consultation to the field of forensic psychiatry.
With a clear passion for the field of forensics and a humour that engages her audience, Dr. Baxter is regularly invited to provide talks and speaking engagements that are informative, relatable and interesting to a variety of different groups on a variety of topics.
Dr. Baxter has received a number of awards and distinctions from various professional organizations. The most distinguished award was in 2009, whereby Dr. Baxter was the recipient of the Canadian Psychiatric Association/Council of Psychiatric Continuing Education Award for Most Outstanding Continuing Education Activity in Canada. Most notable to her down-to-earth personality is the “Best Psychiatrist to be On-Call With” Award (2011) and The Daniel A. Lupin Scholarship (1999) from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta that recognized her demonstrated level of humanity while providing quality care.
With a goal of ensuring that forensic psychiatry is more accessible in the community, Dr. Baxter opened her community office in 2013. She has selected a superb and accomplished clinical team to form the Baxter Forensic Group.
To gain more insight into Dr. Cynthia Baxter’s distinctions, appointments and teaching activities, review her curriculum vitae here.
Ms. Jacqueline Leland
MPsych (For) RPsych
Forensic Psychologist
Email: leland@theforensicgroup.ca
Ms. Jacqueline Leland has been a forensic psychologist since 2003 with an interest and expertise in clinical psychological assessment and treatment within forensic contexts. She is registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and the Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (CRHSPP). Her mission is to provide psychological services in order to enhance understanding and improve personal lives, while maintaining an appreciation for the implications within forensic contexts. Ms. Leland has served as an expert witness at both the Provincial Court and Court of King’s Bench level.
Ms. Leland worked for Alberta Health Services (AHS) at a maximum security inpatient forensic psychiatric hospital for several years. In her role, she provided assessments for individuals with potential mental health difficulties who had been charged or convicted of a criminal offence. She routinely completed court assessments addressing issues around fitness to stand trial, criminal responsibility, recidivism risk, as well as Long Term and Dangerous Offender applications. During her employment, she also volunteered with the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) committee, which provided ongoing learning opportunities to colleagues with forensic grand rounds and annual conferences.
Ms. Leland worked at medium and maximum security prisons where she provided psychological assessments for intake, suicide risk, program suitability, security classification, and the National Parole Board (NPB) to address risk and release of correctional inmates back into the community. She also provided individual therapy and group treatment for violence prevention, sexual offending, and family violence programming. In 2006, Ms. Leland was bestowed an appreciation award from the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) for her dedication and work as a member of the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, which provides services to correctional staff who were involved in serious incidents.
In addition to working in the federal system, Ms. Leland was employed at the Calgary Young Offender Centre (CYOC), working with adolescents and young adults who have been charged or convicted of a criminal offence. In 2012, Ms. Leland was bestowed a professional recognition award from the Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security for her work as the Clinical Team Lead for the development and implementation of a violence prevention program for at risk male youths who have been convicted of a serious violent offence. Ms. Leland continues to be a respected treatment provider for adolescents and young adults in the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) program, a federal program responsible for providing specialized therapeutic services for youth with mental health needs who are convicted of a serious violent offence.
Ms. Leland is an esteemed colleague with the Baxter Forensic Group. She values her positive relationships working with individual clients and as a consultant to other mental health clinicians, medical doctors, legal professionals, the Courts, and government agencies. Ms. Leland’s private practice is Lex Psychology Corporation where she provides psychological evaluations, fitness for duty (FFD) evaluations, and litigation support. Clinical psychological assessments include the use of psychometric tests and provide information regarding diagnostic impressions, cognitive and executive functioning, memory, personality, and psychopathology. Ms. Leland also values her role as a treating clinician, working with individuals from a variety of contexts, including the Calgary Police Service (CPS), adolescents and young adults, offenders, and the general public.
Learn more about Ms. Jacqueline Leland, including additional information about psychological assessment and treatment services
Mr. Steven Harbourne
RN
Therapist and Registered Nurse
Email: harbourne@theforensicgroup.ca
Mr. Steven Harbourne is a well-respected nurse and therapist in the assessment and treatment of those with offending behaviours. He has been a registered nurse with the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta since 2006.
Mr. Harbourne initially made his mark in the forensic field while completing intake and court-mandated assessments as a nurse with the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatric Centre, Alberta Health Services. During this time, he fine-tuned his people management skills while collecting detailed personal histories and participated in the treatment of acute psychiatric disorders.
At Forensic Assessment & Outpatient Services, Alberta Health Services, Mr. Harbourne spearheaded the development of group therapy programs and individual therapy for individuals who have been convicted of a variety of offences. At this program, Mr. Harbourne supervised nursing students and provided specialized therapy programs on a variety of topics, from: family violence, sexual offences, self-esteem, cognitive behaviour therapy, and anger management.
Mr. Harbourne was Co-Chair of the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatric Services Continuing Professional Development committee. He helped coordinate and organize a wide range of workshops and conferences on topics such as: Therapeutic Skills for Deconstructing Shame and Guilt in Forensic Mental Health (presented by Dr. Karl Tomm) and Mental Illness and Offending, Stalking, and Psychological Autopsies (presented by Dr. James Ogloff).
Recognized for his outstanding work, Mr. Harbourne was selected by Dr. Cynthia Baxter to assist her in making forensic psychiatry and treatment more accessible in the community with her private clinic, the Baxter Forensic Group. Mr. Harbourne is accountable for providing individual therapy with clients seeking help with interpersonal difficulties, anxiety, depression, anger, assertiveness, problematic sexual behaviours, and a variety of life challenges. As a specialist in his field, he also delivers unique group therapy programs at the Baxter Forensic Clinic.
To gain more insight into Mr. Steven Harbourne’s accomplishments, review his professional resume here.
Mr. Richard Veldhoen
BA
Certified Threat Assessor
Email: rich@theforensicgroup.com
Mr. Rich Veldhoen was a police officer for over twenty years and retired at the rank of detective with a major metropolitan Canadian police agency. Mr. Veldhoen began his career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1996 before transitioning into a municipal police service. Mr. Veldhoen has consulted in threat assessment across a broad spectrum of areas including familial violence, homicide, stalking, sexual violence, workplace violence, school violence, and extremism. Further, Mr. Veldhoen has consulted extensively in threats to justice officials including federal, provincial, and local government officials. During his assessments of behaviour, he utilizes a variety of structured professional judgement and actuarial tools to understand the nature and degree of risk and, subsequently, provides risk prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce the risk to individuals and facilities. Mr. Veldhoen is also certified in Statement Analysis.
During his twenty year career in law enforcement, Mr. Veldhoen has worked in a variety of positions and is trained in numerous areas including mediation, VIP security, restorative justice, and he completed an Understudy Program where he was certified in threat assessment by the RCMP.
Mr. Veldhoen has been active in providing training or presentations to a wide variety of professionals since 2002, including the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, media outlets, and government officials. Mr. Veldhoen has worked in numerous areas involving sensitive matters including internal corruption. Mr. Veldhoen has completed investigations and provided reports to senior management in an oversight position within the organization, completing internal investigations and providing recommendations for change to prevent future occurrences.
As contribution to community is also important to him, Mr. Veldhoen is currently a member of the Community Advisory Committee with the Correctional Service of Canada’s Regional Parole Office and is the Vice President of a local Credit Union where he has been on the Board of Directors for several years. He also served as security for a medical team in Haiti.
Ms. Kristen Dooley
Forensic Therapist
Email: kristen@itstherapy.ca
Ms. Kristen Dooley is a Registered Clinical Social Worker providing individual therapy to clients. Her reputation is that of a highly skilled, intuitive, and compassionate therapist. She has specialized education and training in working with individuals with addictive behaviours or problem substance use. She completed her Bachelors of Health Science with a specialization in Addictions Counselling, Bachelors of Social Work, and a Masters of Social Work in clinical practice. Ms. Dooley has completed additional training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Narrative Therapy, Emotions Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Feedback Informed Therapy (FIT), Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), and Gottman Relationship Method. Her passion for the field of forensic mental health and addictions has led to speaking engagements at various conferences in both Canada and the United States. Kristen has developed standardized addictions group programming for Alberta Justice, has published research on forensic populations, and worked extensively providing individual and group therapy to provincial offenders. Additionally, Kristen has experience as a contractor for the Alberta Impaired Driving Program, Operational Stress Injury Clinic, Workers Compensation Board, and Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Kate Hamilton
PhD RPsych
Forensic Psychologist
Email: drhamilton@mtcbt.ca
Dr. Kate Hamilton is a exceptional registered clinical and forensic psychologist who is particularly well-known for her depth of knowledge and commitment to high standards. Colleagues frequently turn to her for advice around individual and group therapies. For over twenty years, she was employed with Alberta Health Services (AHS) in the Department of Forensic Assessment and Outpatient Services (FAOS). She has extensive expertise in forensic risk assessment, with a specialization in sexual offender risk assessment and management. She regularly authored pre-sentence court reports addressing sexual and violent recidivism, and general criminality, and treatment management needs. She served as the Clinical Lead for an intensive in-custody group therapy program for sexual offending (formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Program, RMP) within the Calgary Correctional Centre between June 2017 and June 2024. She is a clinical member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). Her therapy practice includes cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), and trauma therapies, among others. In 2024, Dr. Hamilton transitioned to full-time private practice – offering clinical and forensic assessment and therapy.
Dr. Suzanne Lemieux
PhD RPsych
Forensic Psychologist
Email: dr.lemieux@icloud.com
Dr. Suzanne Lemieux is a clinical and forensic psychologist licensed with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) since 2003. She holds a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and has worked in a variety of settings including correctional institutions, outpatient mental health clinics, outpatient forensic mental health clinics, and in private practice.
Forensic expertise: Dr. Lemieux has extensive training and experience in the assessment, treatment, and risk management of adults charged or convicted with sexual and/or violent offences. She has worked with a specialized outpatient forensic mental health program within Alberta Health Services (AHS) for many years. In her role, she routinely completes presentence assessments. These comprehensive assessments address a range of topics including the accused person’s general mental health, personality & cognitive functioning, relevant risk & mitigating factors, risk to re-offend (criminally, sexually, or violently), and treatment needs. Dr. Lemieux is well-versed in the appropriate use of actuarial and structured professional judgement (SPJ) risk assessment tools. She has appeared as an expert witness and has provided documentary evidence to the Provincial Court of Alberta and Court of King’s Bench for more than 20 years.
Dr. Lemieux has a special interest in the treatment of sexual offenders. She has functioned as the Clinical Lead of an AHS outpatient sexual offender program since 2017. In this capacity, she is responsible for program development and mentorship / supervision of clinical staff and students. She provides individual and group treatment to individuals charged or convicted with both contact (e.g., sexual assault, sexual interference) and non-contact (e.g., child pornography offences, luring, exhibitionism, voyeurism) sexual offences. Dr. Lemieux provides individualized, evidence-based, collaborative care to address her clients’ mental health and criminogenic needs.
In addition to her forensic assessment and intervention services, Dr. Lemieux offers consultation services to legal professionals who are looking to have another expert’s evaluation (report) reviewed, as well as to other mental health professional who are engaged in forensic services.
Clinical expertise: In addition to her forensic practice, Dr. Lemieux offers individual treatment to adults struggling with a variety of presenting concerns including: anxiety-related disorders (e.g., panic, generalized anxiety / worry, obsessive compulsive disorder), depression, trauma, grief, self-esteem, interpersonal struggles (e.g., social anxiety, relationship problems, lack of intimacy), emotion regulation (e.g., anger management), and general coping with life transitions and other stressors. Dr. Lemieux also has a wealth of experience treating individuals struggling compulsive sexual behaviour (also known as “sexual addiction”) and problematic sexual preferences (e.g., sexual attraction to minors). Her primary therapeutic orientation is cognitive-behavioural, although she commonly integrates other evidence-based approaches depending on her clients’ unique needs, goals, and preferences. Her therapeutic style would best be described as supportive, respectful, and nonjudgemental.
