DR. BONNIE E. ROBSON

Psychiatrist

MD, DPsych., DCP, FRCP(C)

Dr. Bonnie E. Robson has a 30-year tenure in clinical adult and child psychiatry specializing in performing arts medicine as well as mind and body stresses on vocal music students, dance students, dance teachers, and arts administrators. Additionally, Dr. Robson has extended clinical experience with severely troubled young children and adolescents. Currently, Dr. Robson has recently retired from a private consultation practice based in Belleville, Ontario.

Studies and conclusions from Dr. Robson’s original arts-related research, and research on the effects of divorce make her a popular speaker/presenter at national and international conferences. As part of her research, Dr. Robson visited extensively residential and non-residential arts schools in North America where administrators, staff and students contributed personal knowledge of the arts education process.

Research in the arts provided material for field-related publications, workshops and seminars on such topics as competition in dance, high school dancers’ treatment choices, psychological stress on dance teachers, cigarette smoking prevalence, effects of modeling in the dance world and dance injury prevention. Other topics include post-performance depression, jury and performance preparation for vocal majors, stresses on gifted and talented students and their teachers, support services, and audition anxiety. She participated in multidisciplinary productions of educational videotapes on dance injury prevention and audition anxiety. Recent publications include “Adolescent Development: How Dancers Compare with the Typical Teenager,” and “Disordered Eating in High School Dance Students, Practical Considerations.”

As a performing arts medicine specialist, Dr. Robson was a psychiatric consultant to the National Ballet School of Canada. Currently, she works with the Quinte Ballet School of Canada, a residential school and professional company.

While assistant professor to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Dr. Robson assisted the Director of the Postgraduate Education and was in charge of resident selection. In this post, she acted as consultant to Toronto Board of Education Student Services and Social Work Department, Victoria Day Care Services, Childbirth Education Association and the Ontario Education Communication Authority (TV Ontario).

Dr. Robson is a member of the International Dance Medicine and Science Association (IADMS), Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) and the International Network of Performing and Visual Arts Schools (Network). She has served on the boards of PAMA, where she was chair of the Liaison and nominating committees and NETWORK, where she chaired the research committee. In 2002 she was honoured by NETWORK as the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is only one of three individuals so honoured. She has reviewed for the “Journal of Dance Medicine and Science” and currently for the “Journal of Medical Problems of Musicians and Dancers”