Caitlin Buchel’s areas of practice include stroke and acquired brain injury rehabilitation, the management of communication difficulties related to neurodegenerative disease, as well as the treatment of voice and fluency disorders. She brings a depth of knowledge in these areas that is critical to effective treatment and management. Her approach to providing services focuses on quality, transparency, high ethical standards, and professionalism. At the same time, her caring and compassion is obvious from the moment you meet her.

Caitlin acquired her earlier professional experience in the public health setting. Prior to starting her practice, she worked at Riverview Health Centre with clients who had acquired brain injuries and strokes, those with dementia at Riverview’s personal care home, and those on the centre’s palliative care unit. Before this, she worked at Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg at the facility’s outpatient voice clinic. She also spent time on the stroke and acquired brain injury units at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, and Parkwood Hospital in London, Ontario. These experiences provided her with the skills needed to offer excellent treatment, but have also helped her understand emotional and physical challenges of recovery.

Caitlin has additionally undertaken training in the area of fluency. She completed a clinical placement at the Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research (ISTAR) in Edmonton, Alberta. There she studied the fluency shaping and cognitive-emotional self-talk components of ISTAR’s Comprehensive Stuttering Program (CSP).

Caitlin regularly takes opportunities to discuss both her work and speech-language pathology practice generally. She created a video lecture series discussing the effects of stroke and brain injury on communication for Red River College. She is also delivers regular workshops for the Manitoba teachers Society on vocal hygiene and dealing with voice disorders. Among these was a recent presentation at the Brandon Teachers’ Association LIFT conference. She has presented at both the Manitoba Brain Injury Association’s (MBIA’s) annual conference and at the Manitoba Palliative Care Conference. She has delivered sessions on communication, aging, and dementia.

Caitlin is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario. While completing her Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences degree, she was the recipient of a Millennium Foundation National Scholar Award, the President’s Scholarship from the University of Western Ontario, and the Margaret MacKinnon Scholarship. She later graduated with her Master of Clinical Science, Speech-Language Pathology. While a graduate student, she was twice awarded the Ontario Graduate Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

Caitlin is a registered with, and board member of, the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Manitoba (CASLPM). In both 2016 and 2017 she held the office of Vice President for the College. She is a member of, and has a clinical certification through, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC). Caitlin is a member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM).

Caitlin is committed to professional development, since she believes that treatment should reflect best practices and current knowledge – not just in Manitoba, but also across Canada. She has completed Sheila MacDonald’s Cognitive Communication Disorders: Level 1 and Level 2 post-graduate courses. Caitlin has attended the Ontario Brain Injury Association’s course Neurorehabilitation: Assisting Recovery and Function in Everyday Life Following Brain Injury Level 1. She has also attended the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Cognitive Rehabilitative Manual training in Baltimore, Maryland, and participated in a series of webinars offered by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on memory and executive function. She has recently attended Dr. Linda Rammage’s presentation on a Client-Centered Approach to the Management of Voice Disorders, World Voice Day, Dr. Roberta DePompei’s session on Advanced Perspectives on Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, and the HSC sponsored event Medical SLP in the 21st Century with Dr. Joseph Murray and Dr. James Coyle.