Hello!
My name is Mariana Bockarova. I am currently interested in trauma, interpersonal relationships and human behavior. Essentially, I am curious about how we are affected by other people.
I pursued my bachelor's degree at the University of Toronto and my Master's degree at Harvard University, where researched Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and graduated with highest distinction, at the top of my class. During this time, I was chosen to sit on the Board of Internal Affairs of the Harvard Graduate Council and served as co-Vice President of the Harvard Graduate Consulting Club, primarily responsible for the MIT vs. Harvard Case Competition. I returned to the University of Toronto to research the effects of experimental disclosure therapy (a narrative-based therapy focused on current emotions) on cognitive test anxiety for my PhD. Here, I was accepted into the Junior Fellowship of Massey College, awarded the Senior Doctoral Fellowship of New College in Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health, and awarded the University of Toronto TATP Teaching Excellence Award. I also spent two years researching the role of play in young children's learning and development, which was supported by a SSHRC government-funded grant of $2.8 million at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Throughout my studies, I consulted for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Fortune 500 clients including Nestlé, General Mills, New Balance, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Inc., and Scotiabank.
My husband and I are currently based in Toronto, where I teach various courses in psychology at the University of Toronto and consult on a range of topics. I am often interviewed by Cosmopolitan Magazine, and have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Daily Mail, The Sun (UK), Prevention Magazine, Vice, and Medium, among others. If you are interested in some of my current thoughts or have a question for which you'd like my advice, please visit my blog on Psychology Today.
Thank you for visiting!
Select Achievements:
University of Toronto TATP Teaching Excellence Award
Junior Fellowship of Massey College
Senior Doctoral Fellowship of New College - Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health
Ontario Graduate Scholarship
University of Toronto Academic Excellence Award
TEDx Speaker
Student Representative for the Harvard Graduate Council (Board of Internal Affairs)
Co-VP, Harvard Graduate Consulting Club
Canada's Top 20 Under 20 - Finalist
Government of Ontario's June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award
Undergraduate Representative for the Governing Council of the University of Toronto
Editor-in-Chief of the Review of Undergraduate Studies in Science
President of Women in Science and Engineering
CV available upon request.