CARE4YOU 2025 Speakers
Françoise Mathieu
MEd, RP
Educator, Trauma-Trained Therapist, Author of the “Compassion Fatigue Workbook”
Françoise Mathieu is a registered psychotherapist in the province of Ontario with over 25 years of experience in the field of mental health and crisis intervention. She is a nationally recognized subject matter expert on secondary traumatic stress and burnout.
Françoise is the author of The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, founding member of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium, and the executive director of TEND. She has been invited to speak to organizations across the world including Los Angeles Police, Cirque du Soleil, the Government of Canada’s youth Justice Department, the National Indigenous Circle Against Family Violence, and many others.
Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
MD
Psychiatrist, Author of “Real Self-Care”
Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, MD, is a psychiatrist, a best-selling author, and a contributor to The New York Times. Pooja graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Women’s Studies and the Biological Basis of Behavior. She received her MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and did her psychiatry residency training at Stanford University and George Washington University. She has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University School of Medicine since 2016.
Pooja has spent thousands of hours taking care of individuals struggling with burnout, despair, depression, and anxiety in her clinical practice. Her bestselling new book, REAL SELF-CARE: Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble-Baths Not Included, was named as an NPR Best Book of 2023 and has been featured on Good Morning America, NPR’s Code Switch and 1A, Talks at Google, The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, Vox, The Guardian, and more. Having gone down the rabbit hole of extreme wellness herself, Real Self-Care is Pooja’s solution to the gratitude lists and essential oils.
Sabrina Brando
CEO of AnimalConcepts, PhD Researcher
Sabrina Brando is the director of AnimalConcepts, including the Practical Animal Welfare Science platform, a PhD candidate at the University of Stirling in Scotland on the topic of animal and human wellbeing, is a Primate Care Training Instructor for the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, and Research Associate with the Smithsonian Institution.
She teaches at various universities and colleges as well as working with many zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries worldwide, on animal welfare, behaviour, environmental enrichment, animal training, the human-animal relationship, and other topics.
Doron Gold
BA, JD, MSW, RSW, CPCC
Speaker, Creator of TheLawyerTherapist.com
Doron Gold is a registered social worker, certified professional coach, and psychotherapist, as well as having previously practiced law for ten years, primarily as a family and civil litigator. Since 2006, Doron has assisted lawyers, paralegals, law students and judges with personal and professional issues such as addiction, depression, anxiety, and career stress.
Doron has written and been quoted extensively in publications such as Law Times, Precedent Magazine, Canadian Lawyer and LawPro Magazine on various topics related to lawyer distress and wellness. Doron is a member of the steering committee for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada is the co-author of the Canadian Bar Association’s “Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession” online course, In 2024, Doron was the recipient of the inaugural Ontario Bar Association Orlando Da Silva Award for Improvement of Mental Wellbeing in the Justice Sector.
