Anastasia canell | va bedford health care | veterans affairs

Dr. Anastasia Canell is a staff psychologist with a specialty in dementia care and caregiver support. She completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Lehigh University and had the

privilege of training for both predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship in geropsychology at VA Bedford Healthcare System. Dr. Canell currently serves as a Staff Psychologist in

the Dementia Specialty Care Community Living Center as well as in other clinical capacities at VA Bedford.  Dr. Canell’s passion for geropsychology began at the age of 14 when she was a

caregiver to both of her grandmothers as they lived with major neurocognitive disorder. Since then, she has dedicated her professional life to bettering the mental health of older adults

through the application of innovative clinical practice. Dr. Canell is trained in evidence-based practices specific to dementia care, including Reminiscence Therapy, Montessori Approaches to

Person-Centered Care in VA (MAP-VA), and STAR-VA, as well as CBT-D, CBT-I, ACT, Later Adulthood Trauma Reengagement (LATR), and Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy. She feels energized by

applying her creativity to therapeutic communication and intervention to increase accessibility across diverse abilities and multicultural identities. She also has extensive experience

working with caregivers of individuals with dementia, autism spectrum disorder, and life-limiting illness as they navigate the journey of informal caregiving from diagnosis to end-of-life.

She believes that the best quality of care for Veterans includes caring for their chosen family as an integral part of the interdisciplinary team. Her research interests include informal

caregiving across the lifespan, caregiver identity, impacts of ageism, and intergenerational contact.    Dr. Canell strives to always integrate advocacy into her professional identity as a

scientist-practitioner, volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement on her free time. She has also held leadership positions on the Council for Professional Geropsychology Training

Programs (CoPGTP) and the American Psychological Association Division 20 Adult Development and Aging executive committee.   Within a few minutes of meeting her, you will probably learn that

she is Greek, has a Brussels Griffon named Ollie, and has watched every episode of Survivor. She is in a constant battle about whether to bring her New York sports mugs to work at risk of

revealing that she is, indeed, a Yankees fan living in Massachusetts.