Biography

Dana Naismith, BA, RPN, BScPN, MHS, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatric Nursing at Brandon University and a practicing mental health and addictions counselor. With more than 20 years of clinical and academic experience, she has worked in acute psychiatry, adolescent mental health, addictions treatment, and community-based care. Dana is a sessional instructor at the University of Manitoba’s Extended Education program, teaching addiction-related courses. Alongside her academic role, she maintains a private practice in rural Manitoba, specializing in mental health, addictions and trauma therapy.

Education

Dana holds a Master of Health Studies from Athabasca University (2015), where her final project explored stigma in opiate replacement therapy. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing with Distinction from Brandon University (2003) and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Manitoba (2000). In 2024 Dana became trained and certified in Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy (EMDR) and uses this modality in her private practice.

Research Interests

Her research focuses on lived experience in mental health, psychiatric nursing education, and community advocacy. She is particularly interested in peer mentorship, student experiences in psychiatric nursing programs, stigma and addictions, and innovative pedagogies such as simulation and virtual reality in nursing education.

Selected Publications

Smith, N., Thomson, A., & Naismith, D. (2024). Communication in an undergraduate psychiatric nursing peer mentorship program: Considerations and strategies for facilitators. Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 33(1), 82-94.

Thomson, A., Smith, N., & Naismith, D. (2021). Peer mentorship in psychiatric nursing education: Preparation for future practice. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(10), 582-585.

Clements, K., Rossowski, S., Naismith, D., Hardy, K. A., & Dusome, D. (2020). Lived Experience Narrative as Practice: Describing the Work of Community Mental Health Activists/Advocates. Journal of Recovery in Mental Health, 3(2), 4-24. Retrieved from https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/rmh/article/view/34618

Herron, R., Young, T., Spence, S., Skelton, A., Naismith, D., Batson, K., & Ahmad, N. (2023, June). Knowledge User Advisory Committee report: A preliminary evaluation of Mobile Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (MRAAM) in Prairie Mountain Health from a service provider perspective. Centre for Critical Studies in Rural Mental Health, Brandon University.

Clements, K., Naismith, D., Rossowski, S., Hardy, K. A., & Dusome, D. (2020). Community Mental Health Activism/Advocacy in Manitoba: Through Personal Narratives (A Community Report). Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Thomson, A., Smith, N., & Naismith, D. (2020). The experiences of undergraduate psychiatric nursing peer mentors. Research Connection, 1(2), Brandon University. The experiences of undergraduate psychiatric nursing peer mentors | Research Connection