Our Psychologists
REgistered Psychologist
Dr. Lucy Gofton
Dr. Gofton completed her Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia, and is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia. She has clinical experience both in a university setting and as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing treatment for those experiencing work-related injuries, particularly adults with trauam-related disorders. Prior to her work at West Coast Resiliency Centre, she worked providing trauma focused treatment at CBI Health (formerly the Vancouver Pain Clinic).
Dr. Gofton has completed education and training in several PTSD treatment practices including Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment therapy for the treatment of trauma. She focuses on providing person-centered care, using evidence-based practice, to support individuals’ recovery, and believes in the resiliency of those she works with.
REgistered Psychologist
Deborah Kieran
Deborah (Deb) Kieran is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia. After working as an employment counsellor for over 5 years she returned to university to become a psychologist to address the intersection of mental health and employment more directly. After completing her Masters of Arts Counselling Psychology at City University in 2008 she worked as a Registered Psychologist in a large counselling center in Calgary for 13 years before becoming certified in British Columbia. With a philosophy of wanting to help ‘just one more’ client Deborah has taken training in a large variety of courses including areas such as trauma, pain, depression, anxiety, couple relationships, gender and addiction. She has studied and utilizes strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Developmental Model of Couples Therapy, Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP), Strategic Treatment of Depression, Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Advanced Strategies for Treating Anxious Families, the Brain Story, the ADHD Effect, Single Session Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, Gender Based Analysis, Addiction; a Modern Perspective, Prolonged Exposure (PE for the treatment of trauma and PTSD) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
REgistered psychologist
Dr. Monica Orendain
Dr. Monica Orendain is a Registered Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia. She has extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of workers suffering from acute and chronic posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Laval University in Quebec City. In her doctoral thesis, she studied adults’ depressive profiles and symptom configuration and their specificity and sensitivity for depression. Dr. Orendain completed her CPA accredited internship at Millard Health in Edmonton, an occupational rehabilitation centre for the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta. There, she specialized in the area of Health Psychology, providing CBT-based services for individuals with work-related injuries, trauma and chronic pain. Subsequently, she worked as a staff psychologist with the Vancouver Pain Clinic, providing treatment for individuals with work-related chronic pain. In addition, she helped launch and provided therapy for the Resilience over Psychological Trauma (RoPT) program and the Mental Health Return to Work program at the Vancouver Pain Clinic. In terms of trauma expertise, she worked in supervised practice at the psychological help service for immigrants and refugees (SAPSIR) at Laval University. At SAPSIR, she provided short-term and long-term psychological treatment for victims of war and torture coming from different cultural backgrounds. Dr. Orendain attended trauma-specific education and training for Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, Resiliency Training by Donald Meichenbaum, and treating PTSD in firefighters. She also received significant training in hypnosis and in transference-focused psychotherapy, a psychodynamic treatment for personality disorders. Since 2017, Dr. Orendain has been working as the staff psychologist in a multidisciplinary team at the solid organ transplant clinic at Vancouver General Hospital.
Clinic Director, Registered Psychologist
Dr. Iris Torchalla
Dr. Torchalla is a Clinical Psychologist registered with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia. She specializes in the treatment of individuals with trauma-related conditions, including persons with occupational stress injuries and work-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), individuals with complex PTSD resulting from accumulating trauma, and those with trauma and comorbid conditions (e.g., concurrent substance use, suicidality, dissociation, or other mental health concerns).
Originally from Germany, Dr. Torchalla completed a nursing education program and worked as a nurse for several years before studying psychology. She received her Ph.D. and clinical psychology training at the Eberhard Karls University and the University Psychiatric Hospital in Tübingen, Germany. She completed an accredited cognitive-behaviour therapy training program and attended additional professional development workshops in trauma-focused psychotherapies, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and motivational interviewing. Until 2008, she worked as a clinician and researcher at the Tübingen University Psychiatric Hospital. Over the years, she developed her interest and expertise in studying and treating trauma-related problems, and sought advanced training in various evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD involving exposure, cognitive and emotional processing, as well as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). After moving to Canada and prior to opening the West Coast Resiliency Centre, she worked at the Vancouver Pain Clinic, where she led a multidisciplinary treatment program for individuals with work-related trauma. She also held research affiliations with the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS) in Vancouver, and has been working in private practice. Dr. Torchalla has published more than four dozen articles and book chapters on trauma, mental health and addiction. She has presented her research at national and international conferences, has held seminars and lectures on trauma and substance use, and has trained clinicians in evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Dr. Torchalla believes in her clients’ resilience and ability to overcome challenging life conditions, and finds her work as a psychologist meaningful and gratifying. Outside of her work, she loves travelling, hiking, kayaking, camping, and spending time with her family and friends.
Click here to download Dr. Iris Torchalla’s CV.
REgistered Psychologist
Dr. Jaime Williams
Dr. Williams is a Registered Psychologist with the Colleges of Psychologists of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. She completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Regina in 2008. Her focus is on trauma and health psychology, working with patients who have post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, and other health challenges to achieve their best daily function, including employment. For this population, often psychological difficulties such as depressed mood, panic, anxious apprehension, and avoidance are common, and she seeks to aid her clients in managing these difficulties. She works extensively with clients who have experienced traumatic events, like an automobile accident or workplace trauma, and complex traumas from repeated events in their past. She is trained in best practices for trauma including Cognitive Processing Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Prolonged Exposure. She offers services to adults of various ages, having an interest in providing care to diverse BIPOC and LGBTQ+ populations. She practices from a goal-oriented, cognitive-behavioural orientation, with emphasis on mindfulness and acceptance and commitment approaches. She worked in academia for several years, conducting research in the areas of health and aging and has published extensively in this area. Dr. Williams also holds an advanced degree in studio art (MFA, Simon Fraser University). Her embodied art practice relies upon improvisation through movement, meditation, and different visual and auditory art mediums to express the fullness and complexity of one’s live experience.