Dr. Roger D. Shick
Psychiatry

Roger D. Shick, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C) is the Physician Operations Leader of the St. Paul's Hospital Pain Centre and has been practising psychiatry for over thirty years. Dr. Shick earned his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, during which time he also held a fellowship at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Shick became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in 1973.

Reflecting his interests in clinical education and supervision, Dr. Shick has held a variety of directorships and clinical educator appointments. He has given numerous invited lectures, and currently holds an Associate Clinical Professorship in Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. With a strong interest in treating chronic pain, Dr. Shick continues to be involved in providing professional stewardship and holds memberships in a range of professional bodies and institutional committees.

Starting many years ago, Dr. Shick developed another interest in optimum performance. As a Manitoba track athlete, he was awarded an athletic track scholarship to the University of Wisconsin and there he competed in the Big 10 Conference. In Wisconsin, he experienced the amazing transformation of his own University track team. They had placed 9th out of 10, and then the following year succeeded in winning the Big 10 Conference. The team's victory all came down to a coach who really understood optimum performance. Since that time, Dr. Shick has had a growing interest in optimum performance. He realized that he was using the same technique himself while coaching, which later evolved into an interest in the use of self-hypnosis to obtain optimum performance in other areas of endeavour. Dr. Shick makes use of approaches utilizing the power of the unconscious to help his patients deal with chronic pain as well as with other issues. He also employs similar techniques to help psychiatric residents cope with exam anxiety. In the past, Dr. Shick has conducted many workshops for healthcare-givers at St. Paul's Hospital as well as for corporations such as BC Hydro and the Vancouver Stock Exchange. He now enjoys using his cumulative experience to help outpatients and other individuals achieve their optimal performance levels.