Alexander L. Chapman, PhD, RPsych., is a professor, director of clinical training, and clinical science area coordinator in the psychology department at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Chapman completed his B.A. at U.B.C., his M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Idaho State University (APA accredited), and his predoctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center. After completing a post-doc at the University of Washington with Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, he joined the faculty at SFU in 2005, where he established the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL). Dr. Chapman’s research at the PERL focuses on complex psychopathology characterized by emotion regulation problems, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-injury, and related areas. Dr. Chapman has received over $4 million in external and internal funding for translational and treatment outcome research. He was Co-PI for the largest randomized trial of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) to date, comparing 6- to 12-months of DBT for chronically self-harming/suicidal patients with BPD. He has authored/co-authored over 100 refereed journal articles/book chapters and 12 books.
Dr. Chapman has received the Young Investigator’s Award of the National Alliance for BPD (2007), the Canadian Psychological Association’s Early Career Scientist Practitioner Award (2011), and an 8-year Career Investigator Award (2012-2019) from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. At SFU, Dr. Chapman received a Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence in 2017 and a Retention Award in 2019. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Canadian Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT).
Dr. Chapman is actively involved in university, academic, and community service. In his department, he has held service appointments continuously (excepting study leaves) since 2008, serving as associate chair (graduate), clinical science area coordinator, and director of clinical training. Actively involved in journal and grant peer-review process, Dr. Chapman is a member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) College of Reviewers, associate editor of the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, and a standing committee member for a CIHR grant committee. He serves as Certification Chair and as a member of the board of directors for the CACBT. In addition, Dr. Chapman regularly gives talks, workshops, and trainings and consults with community mental health clinicians, and is on the test-writing committee for the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.
Dr. Chapman is a registered psychologist with expertise in the assessment and treatment of complex mental health concerns, such as BPD, suicide risk, and self-injury. He co- founded the DBT Centre of Vancouver, a treatment centre emphasizing the care of people with complex mental health problems, from an evidence-based CBT and DBT perspective. Dr. Chapman greatly enjoys teaching and training clinicians and students in effective treatments for complex clinical problems. He has many years of experience training and consulting for multi-year projects to implement DBT across large correctional and community mental health systems. He also is board-certified in both cognitive behavioural therapy (CACBT) and DBT (Linehan Board). Outside of work, Dr. Chapman has extensive experience with mindfulness and martial arts. He enjoys outdoor activities, reading, and time with his wife, two sons, and his dog, Charlie.