Originally from Nova Scotia, Erin graduated with an Honours degree in Psychology from Dalhousie University in 2020. She is now an PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program at UBC working in the SWell Lab. Her MA research used complex dyadic longitudinal and daily experience designs to discover factors (e.g., body image, sexual education, and more) associated with sexual and relationship well-being in couples as they transition to parenthood. Her PhD research uses this ground-work to develop and test the first prevention program designed to promote sexual well-being in couples across pregnancy and the postpartum. Erin is also interested in family systems and seeing how relationship factors are linked with parenting and child outcomes. Erin is a Cohort Member of the Guiding Interdisciplinary Research on Cis- and Transgender Women and Girls’ Health and Well-being Program. Outside of research and clinical work, Erin’s interests include cooking, camping, playing trivia, and making music!

Erin is passionate about discovering novel methods for improving couples’ sexual and romantic realtionships as they transition to parenthood (i.e., pregnancy and the postpartum) and beyond. In her MA, Erin discovered that factors such as sexual education, body satisfaction, infant temperament, and infant sleep were linked with perinatal sexual and/or relationship well-being. In her PhD, Erin is excited to transfer this knowledge and more into the first online prevention program to help expectant and new parent couples navigate common changes to their sexual and romantic lives.

Goldberg, S. Y.*, O’Kane, K. M. K.*, Fitzpatrick, E. T., Jang, G. E., Bouchard, K. N., & Dawson, S. J. (2023) Associations between genital self-image and individuals’ own and perceived partner sexual satisfaction. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. http://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2023.2269915

• Received Sandra R. Leiblum Best Student Manuscript Award 2023, Society for Sex Therapy and Research

Dawson, S. J.*, Fitzpatrick, E. T.*, Farm, G. H-J., & Rosen, N. O. (2023). Self-compassion and compassionate love are linked with sexual and relational well-being among expectant and new parent couples. Archives of Sexual Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02658-8

Fitzpatrick, E. T., Rosen, N. O., & Dawson, S. J. (2022). What to expect when you’re expecting: Perinatal sexual education is linked with couples’ sexual well-being in pregnancy and the postpartum. Journal of Sex Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2193570.

Fitzpatrick, E. T.*, Kolbuszewska, M. T.*, & Dawson, S. J. (2021). Perinatal sexual dysfunction: The importance of the interpersonal context. Current Sexual Health Reports, 13, 55-65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-021-00313-8.

Fitzpatrick, E., Squires, B., & Kay-Raining Bird, E. (2020). What’s that you say? Communication breakdowns and their repairs in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 25(4), 490-504. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enaa010.

*Denotes shared first authorship

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s
• Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral
• Guiding Interdisciplinary Research on Cisgender and Transgender Women and Girls’ Health and Well-being Scholarship