Dr. Emily Piper

Registered Psychologist #01408

Clinical Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

Director of Training
Department of Psychology, Children's and Women's Health Centre

Dr. Piper is currently a psychologist at the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia (Vancouver). She conducts assessments for children and adolescents in the hospital’s “Teaching and Consultation Clinic” (Department of Psychiatry). She has worked within a variety of hospital clinics over the last 20 years (neurology, cardiology, inpatient/outpatient psychiatry). She also works in her private practice, where she conducts psychotherapy, play therapy, and assessment. In her practice, she works with children, adolescents and adults. She specializes in play therapy, for a wide range of symptoms, such as childhood depression, anxiety, trauma, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Dr. Piper also conducts psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic assessments in her practice. These assessments are specific to academic, social and behavioural difficulties.

While Dr. Piper’s theoretical orientation is psychodynamic, children often respond very well to behaviourally based treatments. Thus, a combined approach including both psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural theories is often very effective; with regard to conceptualization and application.

Dr. Piper provides supervision to both professionals and students. She teaches both psychology and psychiatry students/residents within the hospital setting.

Dr. Piper received her doctoral degree in Psychology, from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1998. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in paediatric neurology in 1999 and has been an active member of the BC Children's Hospital Community/UBC Department of Psychiatry since then.

Dr. Sarah Schmidt

Registered Psychologist #02131

Department of Psychology, Children's and Women's Health Centre

Dr Schmidt received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology: Applied Developmental Emphasis from the University of Guelph in 2013. She completed her predoctoral residency at the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia in 2013 and currently works in the Centre for Healthy Weights: Shapedown BC program. In this program, she conducts assessments and provides individual and group therapy for children, adolescents, and families. She also provides a consultation role as part of the provincial lead team for Shapedown BC and is actively involved in research and presentations in the area of childhood obesity.

In her private practice, Dr. Schmidt provides psychotherapy, assessment, and consultation for children, adolescents, parents, and adults.  Dr. Schmidt’s primary theoretical orientation is cognitive-behavioural, and she specializes in treatment for anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder. She also incorporates interpersonal psychotherapy and motivational interviewing into her practice, in addition to play therapy for a wide range of presenting concerns. Dr. Schmidt also provides psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic assessments for children and adolescents, specific to academic, psychosocial and behavioural difficulties.