Dr. Jan van der Tempel is a registered psychologist specializing in two areas of treatment and assessment. With a primary focus on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), he supports adult clients who struggle with intrusive thoughts about contamination, accidents or violence, sex, identity, religion, relationships, ‘just right’ feelings, and more, along with excessive cleaning, checking, reviewing, avoiding, reassurance-seeking, and other behaviours. He also treats related anxiety concerns, such as perfectionism, health anxiety, panic disorder, and specific phobias.
Dr. van der Tempel’s second area of expertise is psychosis, including first episode, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. He supports individuals who experience voices or visions, suspiciousness, troubling beliefs, and extreme moods, along with difficulties with stigma and self-esteem. He also enjoys helping clients work through existential issues that can arise from mania and psychosis (and from nonclinical states, such as mystical experiences and spiritual emergencies), and has researched this topic extensively.
Dr. van der Tempel’s practice is client-centered, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed. His approach is grounded in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), integrating exposure and response prevention (ERP), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and compassion-focused therapy (CFT). With an open-minded, collaborative style, he tries to help clients of all backgrounds and beliefs feel respected and empowered.
Dr. van der Tempel grew up in a bicultural family in Canada, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Chile, and the US, and worked as a musician until his own mental health experiences inspired him to pursue psychology. He completed his PhD in clinical and counselling psychology at the University of Toronto, where he trained at the OISE Psychology Clinic, Sunnybrook Hospital (Anxiety Disorders Centre), and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH Complex Care and Recovery Program), followed by his predoctoral internship at the University of British Columbia (UBC Counselling Services). In addition to the Vancouver CBT Centre, Dr. van der Tempel works in the Early Psychosis Intervention Program at Fraser Health, and previously held clinical and research positions at CAMH and Vancouver Coastal Health.