Age: 38
Job Title: Registered Psychologist and Owner of Transcend Psychological Services
Tami-Lee Duncan found her calling in a pretty unconventional way.
A psychologist, sexual-health advocate and owner of Transcend Psychological Services, Duncan got the idea to specialize in treating female sexual-pain disorders while at her own gynecological appointment.
“My gynecologist introduced me to his resident as a sexual-health specialist, and they asked me if I treat women with sexual pain,” she explains. “This turned out to be the most important conversation of my career — and I was naked from the waist down.”
Since that discussion at her doctor’s office, Duncan has made it her mission to change the conversation around female sexual health, which she calls “very misguided.”
“Up to 80 per cent of women will experience pain related to sex during their lifetime and yet it’s [rarely] talked about, and if it is, it’s through a heteronormative and patriarchal lens,” she says. “It’s my privilege to help women deal with the fallout of these messages.”
Not only has Duncan built a business that is a safe space for Edmontonians to work through sexual difficulties, but she also consistently advocates for a healthier understanding of sexual health within the community. With a relaxed approach, she facilitates workshops and presentations, speaks directly to medical students in lecture halls and regularly contributes to local media.
“I bring as much of myself [to my work] as I possibly can. Unfiltered, but with professional boundaries.”
This article appears in the November 2020 issue of Edify
