Dr. Peter W. Joy

Dr. Peter Joy has worked as a psychologist in British Columbia for over 30 years. He has been interested in and passionate about the treatment and assessment of individuals with acute and chronic pain since working at the Thorson Pain Rehabilitation Clinic in 1991-1992. His interest and passion are unabated.

He worked for seven years as a psychologist at WorkSafeBC, conducting psychological-legal assessments of injured workers for medical, claims, rehabilitation, pension, and Board of Review purposes. He conducted research, and he worked within in the PACE Program, a then WorkSafeBC Interdisciplinary Pain Program. He has always enjoyed working in an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary setting.

He has had a full-time private practice since 1999, specializing in the assessment and treatment of individuals with acute and chronic pain and related disability plus co-existing (or unrelated) anxiety, depressive, sleep, neurocognitive, substance, and trauma-and stressor-related disorders. More commonly, the reference would be to anxiety, depression, problems with sleep, fears, phobias, PTSD, and so on.

He is informed by a bio-psycho-social understanding of physical and psychological health. His approach to treatment is collaborative, and evidence-based. Primary treatment modalities include CBT (Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction). In-session treatment is supplemented by links to multiple self-help and educational online resources. Different client strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and preferences are recognized: treatment is individualized. Individual, couple, family, and group approaches are accommodated.

He has been a long-standing member of the British Columbia Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, the Canadian Pain Society, the American Pain Society, and the International Association for the Study of Pain.

He has acted as the psychological representative on the PainBC Project ECHO for Chronic Pain.

He has presented and published widely in his area of interest. He has been qualified on numerous occasions over the course of 30 years as an expert in psychology in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.