Psychology / Personal Development

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William (Bill) Tillier is a Canadian psychologist and writer based in Calgary, Alberta. He was trained at the University of Calgary (B.Sc.) and the University of Alberta (M.Sc. in psychology, with a thesis on the concept of family crisis). Meeting Kazimierz Dąbrowski at the start of his studies in Edmonton changed the course of his life, as Dąbrowski influenced him both personally and professionally. He began his career in forensic psychology with the federal government and spent most of it with the Alberta Solicitor General before retiring from formal practice after developing a neuromuscular disease. Drawing on this background, he has devoted his life to knowledge translation in two underserved areas: inclusion body myositis (IBM) and Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration. Bill is the author of Personality Development Through Positive Disintegration: The Work of Kazimierz Dąbrowski (2018). Through this book, together with positivedisintegration.com and related papers, he combines formal psychological training, close reading of the historical literature, and attention to lived experience to make complex theoretical ideas accessible to contemporary scholars and lay readers alike. Bill has organised and presented papers at many Dąbrowski conferences over the years. Now living with IBM, he draws on both professional and personal experience in his patient‑focused book Inclusion Body Myositis: A Guide for Patients (2023) and the educational website ibmmyositis.com, which synthesises current IBM research for patients, families, and clinicians. He lives in Calgary with his caregivers, Rene and Nancy, and their families.