Dr. Peter Norton

Dr. Peter Norton – The man that makes Anxiety anxious

 

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.