Degrees:
2016, MSc in Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University.
2014, BA in Psychology, Ryerson University.

Research Interests:
Andrea began volunteering in the CAP Lab in January 2011 and transitioned to the role of Lab Manager from October 2013 to August 2014. She has also volunteered with Dr. Margaret Moulson in the Brain and Early Experiences Lab from May 2012 to August 2014. Her research interests included identifying and developing treatments for cognitive biases present in mental health disorders for those with and without an acquired brain injury. Andrea was further interested in understanding how both internal and external aspects of motivation facilitate engagement in rehabilitation following brain injury. Her Master’s degree evaluated the psychometric properties of two measures of motivation designed specifically for acquired brain injury. Her Master’s research was fully funded by the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Scholarship in Rehabilitation-related Research for Graduate Students with Disabilities. In October 2017, she started her PhD at the University of Cambridge in the UK as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, a full-coverage scholarship awarded to approximately 1.5% of applicants.

Selected Publications:
Kusec, A., Tallon, K., & Koerner, N. (2016). Intolerance of uncertainty, causal uncertainty,causal importance, self-concept clarity and their relations to generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 45(4), 307 – 323.

Koerner, N., Mejia, T., & Kusec, A. (2017). What’s in a name? Intolerance of uncertainty, other uncertainty-relevant constructs, and their differential relations to worry and
generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 46(2), 141 – 161.

Kusec, A., DeMatteo, C., Velikonja, D., & Harris, J.E. (under review). What’s your motivation? Measures of motivation and engagement after acquired brain injury. Rehabilitation Psychology.

Selected Presentations and Published Abstracts:
Kusec, A., Panday, J., Froese, A., Albright, H., & Harris, J.E. (2016). Perceptions of
motivation: Identifying barriers and facilitators to engagement in acquired brain injury
rehabilitation. Brain Injury, 30(5 – 6), 625.

Kusec, A., Froese, A., Albright, H., & Harris, J.E. (2016, May). The importance of the client
perspective in understanding motivation after brain injury. Paper presented at the
meeting of the McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences Research Plenary,
Hamilton, ON.

Kusec, A., & Koerner, N. (2014, June). The relations of self-oriented, other-oriented, and
socially-prescribed perfectionism to generalized anxiety disorder. Poster presented at the
meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver, BC.