Dr. Breanna Lawrence

Dr. Breanna Lawrence
Position
Associate Professor, Graduate Advisor (Educational Psychology)
Contact
Office: A465
250-721-7815
Credentials

PhD, CPsych

Area of expertise

Educational Psychology

  • Child and youth mental health, well-being, and social-ecological resilience
  • Inclusion, disability, and belonging within educational systems
  • Neurodiversity-affirming education and school mental health
  • Work-life psychology, care work, and the psychology of working
  • Climate emotions, ecological grief, resilience, and collective care
  • Mixed methods, qualitative, arts-based, and research-creation methodologies

Breanna Lawrence is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and a Registered Psychologist in British Columbia. Her interdisciplinary research examines how social, relational, educational, and institutional contexts shape mental health, well-being, belonging, and resilience across educational, work, and community settings.

Drawing on social-ecological and relational perspectives, her research focuses on child and youth mental health, inclusive education and neurodiversity, care work, career development, and experiences of uncertainty and adversity. Current areas of research include neurodiversity-affirming and inclusive educational practices; academic accommodations and belonging in postsecondary education; ecological grief, climate emotions, and collective care; the well-being and working conditions of care workers; and career development and the psychology of working.

Her research is interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse, drawing on mixed methods, qualitative, longitudinal, arts-based, and community-engaged approaches. Her scholarship is also informed by her professional background in counselling psychology and her experience working with children, adolescents, and families across clinical and educational settings.

Selected publications 

Lawrence, B. C., & Leist, L. (2026). Stacked uncertainties: Understanding educator well-being and resilience in an era of rapid change. Behavioral Sciences, 16(8), 1403. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16081403

Lawrence, B. C., Hudson Breen, R. E., Lazinski, M., & Harrison, G. L. (2026). Hope as an organizing framework for family-school collaboration. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 41(1), 88–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735261431416

Kapil, M., Rostampour, R., Hadwin, A., Miller, M., & Lawrence, B. C. (2026). Supporting student success with the “Stress Stories Project” pilot intervention study: An integrated approach to regulating stress and enhancing learning management to support flourishing at school. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 41(1), 61–87.

Herron, R. V., Lawrence, B. C., Newall, N. E. G., & Ramsey, D. (2025). Older adults’ resilience in rural places: Explaining the role of place, time, and social connection during COVID-19. Journal of Rural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103579

Ramsey, D., Lawrence, B., Herron, R. V., Waddell-Henowitch, C., Newall, N., Rauch, K., & Pellerin, S. (2024). A comparison of the mental health impacts and resilience of healthcare workers in rural Manitoba during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Rural Studies, 111, 103410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103410

Milford, T. M., Lawrence, B. C., McGhie-Richmond, D., & Brenton-Haden, S. (2022). Inclusive education in British Columbia: Teaching to diversity. In W. Beamish & M. Yuen (Eds.), The inclusion for students with special educational needs across the Asia Pacific: The changing landscape (pp. 151–168). Springer.

Herron, R. V., Lawrence, B. C., Newall, N. E. G., Ramsey, D., & Waddell-Henowitch, C. M. (2022). Rural older adults’ resilience in the context of COVID-19. Social Science & Medicine, 306, 115153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115153

Hudson Breen, R. E., & Lawrence, B. (2021). A call for enhanced training and action on the intersections of mental health, decent work, and career in counselling and psychotherapy. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 55(1), 28–50. https://doi.org/10.47634/cjcp.v55i1.68542

Lawrence, B. C., Harrison, G. L., & Milford, T. M. (2019). Effects of positive parenting on mental health in adolescents with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 17(2), 215–236.

Lawrence, B. C., & Marshall, E. A. (2018). Young adults’ unintended and unpredicted work-life pathways in a small coastal community. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 17(1), 28–40.

Open Educational Resources

Lawrence, B., Miller, M., Wu, M. Q., Montoya, V., Bedi, S., & Garcia-Barrera, M. (2026). Pathways to Belonging: Co-Creating Inclusive Academic Communities. University of Victoria. BCcampus Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/pathwaystobelonging/