MD FRCPC CCPE

Dr. Alexandra Heber was a mental health nurse for 9 years before entering medical school. She completed residency training in Psychiatry at McGill University and the University of Toronto. From 1996 to 2003, she was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Coordinator of the Women’s Program in The HIV Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital. She was also the psychiatrist on an Assertive Community Treatment Team at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto.

Since 2003, she has worked for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). In 2006, Dr. Heber enrolled in the CAFat the rank of Major and was appointed the Clinical Leader of Mental Health Services for the CF Health Services Centre (Ottawa). She has presented nationally and internationally on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the military population, and has delivered educational sessions for Chaplains, Military Police, CF Interrogators, OPP, Ottawa Fire Services, and other first responders. In 2006, she was lead author on a NATO publication, “Combining Clinical Treatment and Peer Support: A Unique Approach to Overcoming Stigma and Delivering Care”.

In 2007, she co-authored a book chapter in: Combat Stress Injury: Theory, Research and Management. Between 2006 and 2009, Dr. Heber authored a number of reports for the Justice Department, Government of Canada on cases involving torture and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In 2009, she deployed to Afghanistan for a three-month tour as the Psychiatrist in Charge of the Canadian Forces Mental Health Services for Task Force Kandahar.

In 2012, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In August 2013 she accepted a position in the CF Health Services Group Headquarters’ Directorate of Mental Health, the national body which sets standards and develops programs for the military mental health clinics across Canada. In 2014, LCol Heber, along with a colleague, developed an online course sponsored by the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, entitled, “PTSD: A Primer for Primary Care Physicians”, which teaches doctors and other health care professionals how to recognize and treat PTSD. The course is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Dr. Heber is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa.