Dr. Peter Prior, Registered Psychologist

Hello, and Welcome.

As a clinical psychologist I offer assessment, psychotherapy and counselling for adults and seniors, in two main areas.

First, I provide general psychological services, including assessment and treatment for a wide range of problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, chronic pain, addiction or interpersonal issues.

Second, I have extensive knowledge and experience in cardiovascular health and psychology. I have helped people after heart attacks, angioplasty, or heart surgery; with cardiac arrhythmias; congenital heart problems; cardiomyopathy; or heart failure.

The purpose of this website is to inform you about my expertise and the psychological services I offer, to assist you to decide whether these might be helpful to you. To ensure your privacy, I recommend that you contact me by phone directly. Please do not include personal details in email, since it is not secure.

My Approach

In meeting you, I would first need to learn about your main concerns and reasons for seeking an appointment. I would also want to learn something about your life, background and personality, so that together we could develop a larger picture in which to view your concerns. We would typically start with psychological assessment in the first session or two, usually involving interviewing, history-taking, and one or more standardized psychometric questionnaires.

From assessment we would move on to psychological treatment. I draw from two general approaches: psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Both of these address current personal issues, and have been supported in scientific research.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy emphasizes personal meaning, insight, and the importance of the therapeutic relationship. Personal history, including childhood experiences and relationships, and unconscious psychological processes, make important contributions to current patterns of perception, thought, emotion, behaviour and relationships in adulthood.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy, or CBT, also emphasizes personal meaning. CBT focuses on the importance of thoughts and beliefs which affect patterns of emotion, behaviour and relationships.

Psychological Services for

Stress

Low self-esteem or self-confidence

Anxiety and panic

Depression

Relationship and interpersonal challenges

Psychological trauma (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD) or reactions to traumatic situations such as injuries or accidents

Reactions or adjustment to health conditions e.g. heart disease, diabetes, COPD

Promoting healthy behaviour and habit change in chronic illness conditions

Education and Training

I have a BSc degree from the University of Toronto, and an MA from the University of Western Ontario. After earning a PhD in Psychology (Clinical Area) from the University of Western Ontario in 1991, I was registered as a psychologist in Ontario in 1992. During my doctoral studies, I completed a full-time year-long internship at University Hospital in London, Ontario. The doctoral program met standards of the American Psychological Association. After the PhD I completed a year of supervised clinical practice, as required for psychologists in Ontario.

Clinical Experience

I have practiced for over 30 years as a clinical psychologist, maintaining a private practice and working with a wide range of patients and psychological issues. Since 1993 I have worked in cardiac rehabilitation, on staff or consulting at five hospitals over that time.

Program Evaluation

My consulting activities have included evaluation of programs designed to manage hypertension (high blood pressure); and to reduce cardiovascular risk after mild stroke or transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke or TIA). I have also conducted program evaluation of cardiac rehabilitation.

Teaching

As an adjunct clinical faculty member and supervising psychologist, I have provided training in clinical care and research to graduate students and residents in Psychology. I have taught Health Psychology at the undergraduate university level.

Research

As an associate scientist, I pursue funded research in cardiac rehabilitation and chronic vascular disease management. My interests include psychological and neurocognitive factors in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease; developing approaches for accurate measurement of individual patients’ change and clinical outcomes in cardiac rehabilitation; and psychological factors in atrial fibrillation.

Organizations

I have served on the boards of directors of provincial and national cardiac rehabilitation organizations, and am registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. I am a member of the Ontario Psychological Association, and the Canadian Association of Cardiopulmonary Prevention & Rehabilitation. In 2013 I received the award of Psychological Service Provider of the Year from the London Regional Psychological Association.

Dr. Peter Prior