She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Concordia University in Montreal in 1987 and pursued post-doctoral training at the Addiction Research Foundation and the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. Since 1992, Dr. Spivak has maintained a private practice, providing psychological assessments and treatment for chronic pain, depression, anxiety, stress and post-accident adjustment difficulties In addition, she is a consultant with the Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Pain Program at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and she provides counselling to pain patients as part of the interdisciplinary team at the Pain and Wellness Centre in Vaughan, Ontario.