Dr. Sarah Hales is a psychiatrist and researcher in the Division of Psychosocial Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

Her research has been funded by numerous funding agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society, and Prostate Cancer Canada/Movember. Her clinical and research interests include the advanced cancer experience as it affects patients and families, and psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating their distress.

Together with Dr. Gary Rodin she developed one of the first standardized frameworks for the psychotherapeutic care of those living with advanced cancer. They are co-authors of the book Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully: An Evidence-Based Intervention for Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers which was published in 2021 by Oxford University Press. In collaboration with Drs. Emma Hapke and Dan Rosenbaum, CALM therapy principles have been combined with psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the development of Psilocybin-assisted Existential Attachment and RelationaL (PEARL) therapy. Research trials are currently underway to study the impact of this novel intervention on those experiencing mortality-related distress.