We are a team of passionate individuals, based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our team brings expertise in business, psychology and technology, and together we're bringing the gold-standard approach to helping those with anxiety to the masses.
Co-Founders
JOEL MUISE
CO-FOUNDER
Joel is trained as a chartered financial analyst and after graduating with a degree in finance from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, N.S., worked for 6 years as a stock analyst for a local investment company, but after suffering from burnout, realized that a career in finance was not fulfilling for him.
Joel's first diagnosis with Generalized Anxiety & Depression happened in his last year of high school and he has been a mental health advocate ever since. In 2016 he posted a blog post on Facebook about his struggle with mental illness. It was the outpouring of support that he received that inspired him to build Tranquility.
It’s Joel's personal suffering that fuels his passion for making evidence-based treatment accessible for anyone who’s currently in need.
DR. ALISSA PENCER
CO-FOUNDER
Dr. Pencer is a Senior Instructor within the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and a Registered Psychologist in the province of Nova Scotia. Dr. Pencer is also an Affiliated Scientist with the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA).
Dr. Alissa Pencer did her B.Sc. Honours in Psychology at St. Francis Xavier University and went on to do her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary.
She previously worked within outpatient mental health services at the IWK Health Centre for over 10 years providing CBT for anxiety and mood disorders and served as the Team Leader for the anxiety clinic for several years. Dr. Pencer has been involved in several program development and evaluation initiatives including helping start-up and demonstrate the effectiveness of CBT for anxiety groups with children and adolescents and university students. She continues to provide clinical supervision to Ph.D. clinical psychology students and psychiatry residents for assessment and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression. Her clinical and research interests are in the areas of prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, severe mental illness, and substance use in youth and young adults.