Sherry Beaumont

Dr. Sherry Beaumont is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), where she has served since 1994. Her research integrates developmental psychology with positive and existential frameworks, focusing on contemplative practices, art therapy, and expressive processes to explore self-identity, wisdom, spirituality, and life meaning.

• Education: PhD in Psychology from the University of Waterloo
• Specializations: Positive psychology, existential psychology, art therapy, reflexive practice, and gender studies
• Teaching: Pioneered one of Canada's first undergraduate positive psychology courses over 15 years ago
• Supervision: Accepts graduate students in MSc Psychology, PhD Psychology, and MA Gender Studies programs

Her research investigates how creative practices like art-making and expressive writing foster identity development and psychological resilience. She applies these insights to therapeutic contexts, including gender-variant mental health care and complicated grief treatment.

Key publication trends show consistent exploration of identity processing across life stages, with particular emphasis on adolescence, emerging adulthood, and mid-life transitions. Her work connects identity flexibility with emotional intelligence, coping strategies, and spiritual meaning-making through artistic expression.

Dr. Beaumont's academic contributions span three decades, with early work analyzing conversational dynamics in adolescent girls' communications and later research expanding into therapeutic applications of art and expressive practices for identity and mental health.