Marianne Arab MSW, BSW
Marianne Arab has her Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University and her master’s in social work from Dalhousie University. She spent her career of over 30 years, working as a Health Care Social Worker. She served as the Provincial Manager of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care with the Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program before retiring in 2026. Her career experience included working as an inpatient clinical social work in the areas of Family Medicine, Oncology and Palliative Care. She established the Grief and Bereavement Program for the Capital Health Palliative Care Program and was the Bereavement Coordinator for the Program for four years. She has co-chaired numerous initiatives to improve oncology and palliative care services in her province. She was instrumental in the development of the Paramedics Providing Palliative Care at Home program which trains paramedics to support palliative patients at home, who do not wish to be transported to their local emergency department. She also co-led the development and implementation of screening for and management of distress in oncology clinics across Nova Scotia.
Kimberley Thibodeau, MSW, CFT
Kimberley Thibodeau, MSW, CFT, works as a couple and family therapist at the Psychosocial Oncology Program, Supportive and Palliative Care Division at the Cedars Cancer Centre of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) since 2008. She earned a master’s degree of Social Work at McGill University, and additional training at the Jewish General Hospital to become a certified couple and family therapist and a registered psychotherapist with the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec. She sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) as vice-president and is the chair of the advocacy committee and the co-chair of the clinical advisory committee. As a clinician, she provides psychosocial services to cancer patients and their family members from diagnosis to end-of-life through evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions. She is a recognized expert on the impact of cancer on patients and their family members. She is actively involved in supervising and training the next generation of psychosocial oncologists with expertise in couple & family systems.
Celestina Martopullo, MSW., MA., BSW
Celestina Martopullo MSW., MA, works (for close to 20 years) as the Psycho-Oncology Clinician for the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tumor Group in the Department of Psycho-Oncology at the Arthur J. E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, in Calgary, AB. She holds an adjunct appointment with the Division of Psychosocial Oncology, Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. In her role, she provides a broad range of evidence-based multimodal interventions (supportive-expressive, humanistic, existential, meaning-centered therapies; CBT based interventions; psychodynamic oriented individual therapy; group and family interventions) to address patients’ and families’ psychosocial, distress across cancer pathways. She developed an innovative, evidence-based supportive-expressive group therapy program specifically for men with GI cancers, which is the only known, men only, professionally led, supportive/expressive group therapy of its kind. Since 2021, Celestina sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) and is the chair of the CAPO Clinical Advisory Committee.