Lynda Ashbourne

Lynda Ashbourne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph. Her work focuses on family relationships, migration impacts, and culturally integrative approaches to family safety. She holds a PhD from the University of Guelph (2008) and an MSc in Couple & Family Therapy (1993).

Research Interests:

• Family dynamics, including parent-adolescent and spousal relationships
• Migration experiences, particularly from conflict zones
• Culturally integrative service responses for immigrant families
• Human-dog interactions in therapeutic contexts

Grants & Collaborations:

• CIHR Team Grant: Gender, Violence, and Health (2011-2016)
• SSHRC Grant on Intergenerational Storytelling in Immigrant Families (2011-2012)
• Collaborations with the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI) and Doha International Family Institute (DIFI)

Labs & Teams:

Her research group explores human-dog interactions in families and therapy, alongside ongoing work on the Culturally Integrative Family Safety Response (CIFSR) model for refugee families.