Dr. Jim Roche, JD PhD CAGS
REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGIST 01610
Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
Advanced Certificate in Cognitive Therapy, Albert Ellis Institute
Offices located in Burnaby, Coquitlam
and downtown Vancouver
(click for a map to our office locations)
Phone: 778.998-7975
             778.330-4659
email: jimroche@gmail.com

ABOUT DR. ROCHE

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

ADOLESCENT/CHILD THERAPY

COUPLE, FAMILY AND
MARRIAGE THERAPY

MINDFULNESS BASED
COGNITIVE THERAPY

ADHD CLINIC

AUTISM and ASPERGERS'S DISORDER

ASSESSMENT/TESTING

FORENSIC / COURT
EVALUATIONS

FAMILY/COMMUNITY MEDIATION

TBI/REHAB/PAIN

BEHAVIOUR IN BRIEF

ASSOCIATES

OFFICE LOCATIONS

EMAIL

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Dr. Jim Roche, JD PhD CAGS
Registered Psychologist  01610
Registered Marriage and Family Therapist 26863
Clinical Member AAMFT
Register of Canadian Health
Service Providers in Psychology
B.C. Roster of Mediators (civil)
Advanced Certificate in Cgnitive Therapy
Albert Ellis Institute
Offices located in Burnaby, Coquitlam
and downtown Vancouver
(click for a map to our office locations)
Phone: 778.998-7975
             778.330-4659
email: jimroche@gmail.com

About my practice:

I am a registered psychologist working with a cohort of mental health and education professionals to find solutions leading to academic, workplace and family success for children, young adults and their families dealing with a variety of problems including high functioning autism, Asperger's Syndrome, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nonverbal learning disorders (NLD), learning disorders and related disorders of social cognition. This includes counselling services for individuals, couples and families as well as staff development and training programs in cognitive behaviour therapy and classroom management.

My training and experience includes a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy, a doctoral degree in clinical psychology specializing in rational-emotive/behavioral therapy, a post-graduate degree in educational psychology, a doctorate in law with a specialization in education law and mediation, an Advanced Certificate in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from the Albert Ellis Institute in New York, as well as post graduate work in neuropsychology at The Fielding Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara.

My primary therapy training is in Rational-Emotive Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.and Applied Behaviour Therapy. Later, as part of my training before become a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy I studied Systemic Therapy, Bowen Family Systems theory and other forms of couple intervention. Currently, in the area of interpersonal and couples therapy my focus is guided by the work of Dr. John Gottman, and during therapy we often follow a fairly defined short term intervention model based upon his research. I suggest obtaining a copy of his book The Seven Principals for Making Marriages Work. I often suggest couples read this during therapy and follow the exercises in the workbook I provide.

Q: What degrees and licenses do you hold?

A:  As I mentioned above I hold a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, a masters degree in marriage and family therapy, have completed post doctoral work in both neuro and educational psychology (CAGS) and hold a doctoral degree in law (JD) with a focus in educational law and alternative dispute resolution/mediation from The School of Law of the City University of New York. I am registered in British Columbia as a Psychologist, and licensed in several states as a psychologist, family therapist and clinical social worker. As a registered psychologist I was required to complete a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and two years of clinical internship (Middletown Psychiatric Center in New York and Kibry Forensic/Bellevue Hospital in New York). (For more about the credentials and licenses you might run across in BC click here)

Q: Can you tell me something about how experienced you are?

A: Over the years I have held numerous clinical and academic positions including serving as the clinical director of the forensic psychology internship at Bellevue/Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in NYC, clinical lead of New York State's adolescent assessment unit for youth entering the detention system, held a position as clinical instructor in psychiatry at New York University Medical Center, served as an instructor of psychology at New York University, SUNY New Paltz, CIIS in San Francisco and Norwich University.

Additionally I have served as an instructor at the Osler Institute, in their psychiatry board training program in child and family psychiatry. I have also acted as New York State's expert witness in numerous criminal and civil cases focused primarily on issues of fitness for trial and dangerousness assessments. Previously I have served as the trainer of trainers in behaviour management for a local SELPA (a local public education collective of school districts) in Northern California, and have served as a behaviour specialist for a lower mainland school district. I currently have a private practice in Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam focusing on neuropsychology, developmental psychology and basic family practice.

My most recent training has been in the School's Attuned methods of educational assessment and teacher training through the Minds of All Kinds program developed by Dr. Mel Levine at the University of North Carolina.

Q: Do you only do therapy?

A: No, I see a variety of clients, including clients who come to me for psychological and neuropsychological assessment, patients who have deficits after traumatic brain injury or strokes, and a number of children, adolescents and adults for interventions relating to ADHD. Finally, along with staff associates I complete assessments and develop intervention  plans for individuals with deficits of social cognition such as Asperger's Disorder, autism or NVLD.

Q: Do you only use Cognitive Therapy?

A: For the most part, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is the focus of our time together. However, as you can see, often I work with patients with various disabilities including stroke patients and patients with head injuries. More recently I have begun a program designed after the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I also work with patients with more focused issues such as ADHD and specific learning disabilities. In these cases we use techniques that are specifically designed to address those problems. Occasionally patients see me for other issues, including couples and families with relational issues. With these cases I often rely on my background in systemic and couples therapy, including the work of John Gottman.

Q: What is Cognitive Therapy?

A: Cognitive therapy is one of the few forms of psychotherapy that has been scientifically tested and found to be effective in over three hundred clinical trials for many different disorders. In contrast to other forms of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy is usually more focused on the present, more time-limited, and more problem-solving oriented. Indeed, much of what the patient does is solve current problems. In addition, patients learn specific skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. These skills involve identifying distorted thinking, modifying beliefs, relating to others in different ways, and changing behaviors.

Q: What is the theory behind Cognitive Behaviour Therapy?

A: Cognitive therapy (CBT or RET) is based on the cognitive model, which says the way we perceive situations influences how we feel emotionally. For example, one person reading this page might think, "Wow! This sounds good, it's just what I've always been looking for!" and feels happy. Another person reading this information might think, "Well, this sounds good, but I don't think I can do it. It's too hard" This person feels sad and discouraged. So it is not a situation which directly affects how a person feels emotionally, but rather, his or her thoughts about that situation determines how he or she feels. Our belief system has a significant impact on how we react to stressors and adversities. When people are in distress they often do not think clearly and their thoughts are distorted in some way. Cognitive therapy helps people to identify their distressing thoughts and to evaluate how realistic these thoughts are. Then they learn to change their distorted thinking. When people think more realistically, they feel better. The emphasis is also consistently on solving problems and initiating behavioral change. This applies for adults, adolescents and children as well.

Q: What can I do to get ready for therapy?

A: An important first step is to set goals. Ask yourself, "How would I like to be different by the end of therapy?" Think specifically about changes you'd like to make at work, at home, in your relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and others. Think about what symptoms have been bothering you and which you'd like to decrease or eliminate. Think about other areas that would improve your life: pursuing spiritual/intellectual/cultural interests, increasing exercise, decreasing bad habits, learning new interpersonal skills, improving management skills at work or at home. The therapist will help you evaluate and refine these goals and help you determine which goals you might be able to work at on your own and which ones you might want to work on in therapy.

Q: What happens during a typical therapy session?

A: Even before your therapy session begins, your CBT therapist may have you fill out certain forms to assess your mood. Depression, Anxiety and Hopelessness Inventories help give you and the therapist an objective way of assessing your progress. One of the first things your therapist will do in the therapy session is to determine how you've been feeling this week, compared to other weeks. This is what we call a mood check. The therapist will ask you what problem you'd like to put on the agenda for that session and what happened during the previous week that was important. Then the therapist will make a bridge between the previous therapy session and this week's therapy session by asking you what seemed important that you discussed during the past session, what self-help assignments you were able to do during the week, and whether there is anything about the therapy that you would like to see changed.

Next, you and the therapist will discuss the problem or problems you put on the agenda and do a combination of problem-solving and assessing the accuracy of your thoughts and beliefs in that problematic situation. You will also learn new skills. You and the therapist will discuss how you can make best use of what you've learned during the session in the coming week and the therapist will summarize the important points of the session and ask you for feedback: what was helpful about the session, what was not, anything that bothered you, anything the therapist didn't get right, anything you'd like to see changed. As you will see, both therapist and patient are quite active in this form of treatment.

Q: How long does therapy last?

A: Unless there are practical constraints, the decision about length of treatment is made cooperatively between therapist and patient. Often the therapist will have a rough idea after a session or two of how long it might take for you to reach the goals that you set at the first session. Some patients remain in therapy for just a brief time, six to eight sessions. Other patients who have had long-standing problems may choose to stay in therapy for many months. Initially, patients are seen once a week, unless they are in crisis. As soon as they are feeling better and seem ready to start tapering therapy, patient and therapist might agree to try therapy once every two weeks, then once every three weeks. This more gradual tapering of sessions allows you to practice the skills you've learned while still in therapy. Booster sessions are recommended three, six and twelve months after therapy has ended.

Q: What about medication?

A: Cognitive therapists, being both practical and collaborative, can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of medication with you and your medical doctor. Many patients are treated without medication at all. Some disorders, however, respond better to a combination of medication and cognitive therapy. If you are on medication, or would like to be on medication, you might want to discuss with your therapist whether you should have a psychiatric consultation with a specialist (a psychopharmacologist) to ensure that you are on the right kind and dosage of medication. If you are not on medication and do not want to be on medication, you and your therapist might assess, after four to six weeks, how much you've progressed and determine whether you might want a psychiatric consultation at that time to obtain more information about medication.

Q: How can I make the best use of therapy?

A: One way is to ask your therapist how you might be able to supplement your psychotherapy with cognitive therapy readings, workbooks, client pamphlets, etc. A second way is to prepare carefully for each session, thinking about what you learned in the previous session and jotting down what you want to discuss in the next session.

A third way to maximize therapy is to make sure that you try to bring the therapy session into your everyday life. A good way of doing this is by taking notes at the end of each session or recording the session or a summary of the session on audiotape. Make sure that you and the therapist leave enough time in the therapy session to discuss what would be helpful for you to do during the coming week and try to predict what difficulties you might have in doing these assignments so your therapist can help you before you leave the session.

Q: How will I know if therapy is working?

A: Most patients notice a decrease in their symptoms within three to four weeks of therapy if they have been faithfully attending sessions and doing the suggested assignments between sessions on a daily basis. They also see the scores on their objective tests begin to drop within several weeks.

Q: What are your fees?

A: I use the fee scale suggested by the British Columbia Psychological Association. Sessions are $150.00. Testing and assessment are sometimes charged by the hour and sometimes there is a flat fee for a specific type of evaluation. Finally, if you are involved in long term therapy (more than 10 sessions) there is a significantly reduced fee. Those with financial difficulties can be seen on a sliding scale.

Please feel free to look over my site to learn more about me, and to contact me directly either by phone or email