Larissa Rossen, PhD

Assistant Professor of Counselling Psychology

Larissa Rossen is a core faculty member in the MA Counselling Psychology Program at Trinity Western University and a clinician in private practice in West Vancouver, BC. Her research and practice focus on the early developmental years, with particular attention to perinatal mental health, loss and grief, maternal identity, attachment and bonding, and family systems.


She is the recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant for her project Maternal Intuition in a Digital World, which explores how mothers make meaning of their intuitive knowing in early parenthood. Her broader research examines maternal identity development, emotional availability, and innovative models of perinatal care.


Larissa is passionate about bridging research and practice, and has presented widely on maternal mental health, trauma-informed care, and identity development in motherhood. In her clinical work, she primarily integrates the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach to support individuals and families through transition, healing, and growth.


For more information, please visit her practice website: be-counselling.ca
 

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Developmental Psychology (University of New South Wales, Australia)
  • Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology (Trinity Western University, Canada)
  • Honours in Psychology (University of Sydney, Australia)
  • Bachelor of Science, Psychology (University of Sydney, Australia)

Expertise

Perinatal and maternal mental health, Maternal identity, Maternal bonding and attachment, Emotional availability, Loss, grief, and bereavement, Childhood development, Mental health, anxiety and depression, Quantitative and qualitative research
 

Awards & Honours

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant, Trinity Western University (2025-2027)
  • Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award, University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (2020-2022)
  • Graduate Valedictorian, Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada (2021)
  • Counselling Psychology Scholarship, Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada (2019-2020)
  • Society for Research in Child Development International Travel Award, Society for Research in Child Development, United States (2017)
  • University of New South Wales Postgraduate Research Travel Award, University of New South Wales, Australia (2015)
  • Best Research Poster Judges Award, University of New South Wales, Australia (2014)
  • PhD Top-up Scholarship Award, Australian Centre for Perinatal Science (ACPS) (2013-2015)
  • Four-year PhD Scholarship, University of New South Wales, Australia (2012-2016)
  • Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), The Federal Australian Government and Australian AID (2010)
  • President’s Award (Courage and bravery during a life rescue of a woman), Royal Surf Life Saving Australia (2000)

Recent Publications

Selected Publications:

  • Le Bas, G., Rogers, A., Mansour, K., Misuraca, G., Teague, S., Rossen, L., Spry, E., MacDonald, J., Olsson, C., Youseff, G, & Hutchinson, D. (2025). Paternal Perinatal Depression, Anxiety, and Stress and Child Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 16, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.0880.
  • Opie, J., Hartley, E, Rossen, L., Painter, F., Booth, A., McIntosh, J. (2023). Initiating the dialogue between infant mental health and family therapy: A qualitative inquiry & recommendations. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 44: 412–439. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1569.
  • Rossen, L., Oh, E., Mathew, D. (2023). Career Development of Working Mothers: Helping and Hindering Factors in Doing Well during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 23(1). https://cjcd-rcdc.ceric.ca/index.php/cjcd/article/view/383.
  • Rossen, L., Opie, J. E., & O’Dea, G. (2023). A Mother’s Voice: The Construction of Maternal Identity Following Perinatal Loss. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228231209769.
  • Chan, B., Rossen, L., Kwee, J. (2023). Voice of (m)otherhood: Listening to the experiences of single and childless women. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40(12), pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231190847.
  • McBride, H., Kwee, J., Rossen, L. (2023). Existential Fulfillment in Maternal Health: Affirmation of Four Fundamental Motivations in Childbearing Women’s Experiences. Existencia: Journal on Existential Analysis, No. 37. https://existencia.icae.cl/2023/05/realizacion-existencial-en-salud-materna-afirmacion-de-cuatro-motivaciones-fundamentales-en-las-experiencias-de-las-mujeres-en-edad-fertil/?ing.
  • O’Dea, G. A., Youssef, G. J., Hagg, L. J., Francis, L. M., Spry, E. A., Rossen, L., ... & Macdonald, J. A. (2023). Associations between maternal psychological distress and mother-infant bonding: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 26, pp 441–452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-023-01332-1.
  • Venema, M., Klaassen, D, Kwee, J., Rossen, L. (2023). Grieving in Community: Accompanying Bereaved Parents. Journal of Community Psychology, 51(5), pp. 2246-2260. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23025.
  • Le Bas, G., Youssef, G., Macdonald, J., Olsson, C., Teague, S., Honan, I., McIntosh, J., Khor, S., Rossen, L., Elliott, E., Allsop, S., Burns, L., Mattick, R.P., Hutchinson, D., (2022). The Role of Antenatal and Postnatal Maternal Bonding in Infant Development. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 61(6), pp. 820-829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.08.024. 
     

A full list of Larissa’s publications can be found at Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dVgoLS0AAAAJ&hl=en

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Member, Women’s Health Research Institute
  • Member, Women’s Health Research Cluster
  • Member, International Association of Maternal Activism and Scholarship
  • Member, British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors
  • Member, The International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health
     

  • CPSY 506 Theories of Counselling
  • CPSY 517 Advanced Data Analysis
  • CPSY 518 Research Seminar
  • CPSY 613 Crisis Counselling