Rate My Professor Marie Damgaard

Marie Damgaard is an instructor in the Health Sciences Addictions Counselling Program at the University of Lethbridge. She holds a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology specializing in Mental Health and Addictions and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy, both from the University of Lethbridge. Damgaard has over 15 years of professional experience in trauma, addiction, and sexuality, beginning with research during her undergraduate studies on topics such as aging and sexuality, sexual experiences, and non-normative sexual patterns. She has taught courses including ADCS 1000: Introduction to Addictions, ADCS 3729: Sex Addiction, HLSC 3850B: Sex Addiction, and HLSC 3240: Issues in Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Lethbridge. Additionally, she has instructed Psychology courses at Lethbridge College and courses on Indigenous traditions at Red Crow College. Damgaard developed curriculum for the Addictions Counselling program for the Government of Saskatchewan and volunteered for five years in palliative care, supporting individuals with strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. She holds certifications as a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist (CSAT), Certified Multiple Addiction Therapist (CMAT), Certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist (SP), Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), and Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), and is licensed by the Province of Alberta.

Damgaard’s academic interests include adult continuing and professional education, aging, creativity, sex and gender, and gender studies. Her research background covers men’s mental health and depression, mindfulness and compassion in addiction treatment, somatic psychotherapy for trauma, female sexuality and pleasure, transgender mental health, LGBTQ issues, and non-normative sexual patterns. Key publications include “Video Game Play and Internet Gaming Disorder Among Canadian Adults: A National Survey” (2017, Canadian Journal of Addiction), “Fear and Loathing: Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experiences of a Mandatory Course in Applied Statistics” (2013, International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship), and “Diving into the Being of Resiliency from Addiction: A Nondual Approach” (2014, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, co-authored with Gary Tzu). She provides workshops, serves as a sessional instructor, and guest lectures on trauma, somatic psychotherapy, compulsive sexuality, and healthy sexuality at post-secondary institutions in western Canada. Damgaard also maintains a private counselling practice specializing in sexual addiction, sex therapy, and infidelity.