Meet Dr. Jacqueline Beatch

Education, Research, and Training

Dr. Jacqueline Beatch is a Registered Psychologist. She received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calgary in 2019. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Regina and pursued graduate school at the University of Calgary. Dr. Beatch has over a decade of experience working with children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families both clinically and through research. In Saskatchewan, she began working with young children with ASD at a day camp and as an in-home interventionist, providing applied behaviour analysis. Throughout her graduate training, she gained assessment and therapy experience with children and youth between the ages of 3 to 18 years old. These experiences included work at the Hematology, Oncology, and Transplant program, Hearing Clinic, Pediatric Eating, Feeding, and Swallowing Clinic, Society for Autism Support and Services (formerly known as the Society for Treatment of Autism), The Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence, and Children’s Day Treatment Program.

During her clinical residency in Hamilton Ontario, Dr. Beatch worked in an outpatient mental health clinic and the ASD program. She completed psychoeducational, mental health, and ASD assessments. She also provided intervention (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy) to children and youth between the ages of 3 to 18. She also gained exposure to the Social ABCs program, an in-home early intervention program for toddlers with social-communication challenges.

Experience

After graduating, Dr. Beatch worked for three years at Providence, a special education program (PUF program) for children between the ages of 3 to 6 years old. At Providence, she completed autism assessment and Alberta Education code changes. Most of her role involved consulting with classroom teams and some daycares (LEARN program) on behaviour management strategies for children with complex and challenging behaviours.

For three years, Dr. Beatch also facilitated the parent/caregiver group as part of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Social Skills (PEERS). This evidence-based program helps teens and adults with ASD develop skills to make and keep friends.

In her work with children and families, Dr. Beatch uses a strengths-based and collaborative approach. She focuses on building relationships with caregivers and children and helping families become more connected. Dr. Beatch has received training in behavioural, attachment, and relationship building interventions (e.g., circle of Security Parent, Introductory Theraplay®, and Touchpoints). She is also trained in using a trauma-informed approach to working with children and families when appropriate (e.g., Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for Traumatized Children Web Course, Brain Story Certification, and Neurosequential Model in Education (NME)).

At Blossom Psychology, Dr. Beatch can provide gold standard assessments to children, youth, and adults who have questions around ASD, ADHD, learning disorder(s), giftedness, anxiety, and depression.

Dr. Beatch has a passion for working with caregivers. This work includes caregivers of children who experience big emotions and challenging behaviours, caregivers who seek to strengthen their relationship with their children, and caregivers whose children have feeding challenges. For her work with feeding challenges, families must already have a feeding assessment completed. Work with Dr. Beatch will consist of behaviour strategies and understanding the family dynamics around feeding behaviour. Any strategies related to nutrition, motor or structural difficulties with eating will not be provided.