Dr.
Peter Norton – The man that makes Anxiety anxious
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| Photo Credit: Dr. Peter Norton |
In the last 3
months I had an amazing opportunity to work with an outstanding individual
named Dr. Peter Norton. As the president of the UWinnipeg Alumni Association,
it was upon me to get in touch with him after the Alumni council voted for him
to be awarded the distinguished alumni award for this year.
I was expecting to speak to a boring
individual after glancing through his resume.
But, boy was I
wrong?
One of his
research areas are in studying the anxiety immigrants go through when they come
to a new country and how it affects the society that is being created. And as a
new immigrant, I had a few details to add to his points. And what followed rest
was a 3 and half hour conversation on Psychology and anxiety in a global level.
It is hard to explain, but, I believe that
things happen in life when we least expect them, and Dr. Norton was someone I
least expected to make an impact on me with such a vital topic not many people
addresses. And being an immigrant myself with all those anxieties, it was just
like when Harry met Sally; well, not quite a like, but you get the point.
Below are his achievements that give him the
credits he deserves.
Dr. Norton
graduated from The University of Winnipeg in 1995 with a B.A. in Psychology and
Sports Science. He went on to attain his Masters of Science in Sports Psychology
from The University of Western Australia and his Masters of Arts in Clinical
Psychology at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2003, after completing his
pre-doctoral residency at The University of British Columbia Hospital, Dr.
Norton obtained his PhD in Clinical Psychology from The University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
Currently, Dr.
Norton is applying his expertise and skills at the University of Houston’s Department
of Psychology as a Professor of Psychology. He is also the founder and Director of the University of
Houston Anxiety Disorder Clinic, a specialty research, treatment and
graduate-training clinic accessible to many individuals who might otherwise be
unable to afford treatment, as it is the only low-cost specialty anxiety
treatment centre in Houston.
Dr. Norton is
dedicated to providing low-cost treatment to patients – essential because it is
estimated only fifteen to twenty per cent of people receive adequate treatment
for anxiety-related problems. Much of Dr. Norton’s work focuses on increasing
dissemination of evidence-based treatment practices and increasing
accessibility of such treatments for individuals with anxiety disorders. He
co-authored The Anti-Anxiety Workbook,
which takes the best practices of clinical psychology and puts them into a
how-to manual format aimed at people suffering anxiety disorders.
Dr. Norton is recognized as a leading
researcher in the field of anxiety disorders. He has authored three books and
nearly 100 scientific journal articles or book chapters. His papers have been
cited 1,369 times, an achievement that could be expected of a researcher after
22 years, but which Dr. Norton has achieved in just 12 years. His clinical and service works have made a
difference in many lives.
In 2009, Dr.
Norton received Theodore Blau Early Career Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Professional Clinical Psychology from the American Psychological Society. He
has received numerous awards and research grants from the U.S. National
Institute of Mental Health, U.S. National Institute for Drug Abuse, University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Houston, Anxiety Disorders Association of
America, and from the American Psychological Association.
I know it is pretty long and boring with lots
of jargon. But, I can assure you that he is nothing but full of vibrancy.
Live Long Dr. Norton! What he does, changes problems that people did not know they had in the first place.
