Grief

Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1965) are entering into their “winter years” and in the process are facing a variety of stressors which they may not know how to manage. Mis-managed stress (distress) can contribute to a variety of mental and physical health challenges. When Boomers were children and young adults, the popular method for dealing…

After the death of a person or pet dear to your child, the holidays, especially the first ones, can become emotionally complicated. It is hard to know if you should celebrate and honour old traditions or ignore them and pretend like nothing is happening. For each family this journey will be unique and what you…

David betrayed his life partner and he was not prepared for his partner’s emotional distress. He wanted to know when it would end. He asked “Why isn’t sorry good enough”? David needed to understand that his partner’s reactions were normal. Her healing was largely dependent on his ability to be empathic, remorseful, honest, apologetic, loving,…

September 10th 2019 is a day Rick will never forget.  He was sitting at an intersection on his motorcycle when a car hit him from behind, sending him flying.  The accident left him with a range of serious injuries, in addition to what Rick refers to as ‘the three’: PTSD, anxiety and depression.  Writing poetry…

Suicide is an emotional word. Feelings of confusion, fear, anger, and even disgust are common responses when the topic comes up in conversation. As a clinical counsellor I have felt all of these emotions when discussing suicide with clients. But over years of working with people at some of the lowest points of their lives,…

About three and a half years ago I wrote the article: ‘Up In Flames’ that can be found at Psychealth.com. It was written shortly after my apartment burned down and shares my experience navigating through that challenging life event. This article is the follow-up. It took over three years to rebuild my home. I recall the first…

Welcome back! In Pop Culture Part 1, I discussed how, when connecting with children/youth, I utilize pop culture to: 1) develop and enhance rapport, and 2) gather information in regard to values, traits and indicators of resiliency. Please go to www.psychealth.com if you haven’t had a chance to read Part 1; it would be like…

Often times I hear people tell youth their teen years are going to be the ‘best years of their lives’. Every time I hear this, I shake my head. Having worked with a teenage population for a couple years has opened my eyes to all the new challenges and difficulties that are being thrown into…

On February 16th 2015, at around 4:15pm, I received a call while at work from a friend who lives in my apartment building. She said “Chris, there’s a fire in our building and we’ve been evacuated. But don’t worry; the fire is on the opposite side of the building from where we both live.” At…

“I just want to be happy.”  “The thing I wish for my kids is that they would be happy.” These are common statements that people give to explain why they decided to engage in therapy. We all love to be happy. There have been popular songs such as “Happy” by Pharell Williams. It’s a catchy…

EMDR has been used and researched for 25 years, and is considered a highly effective therapy for resolving trauma. Nevertheless, it remains somewhat mysterious and misunderstood. Written explanations can become jargon filled very quickly. Visual demonstrations of the process can raise concerns as it looks strange. In an effort to shed some light on the…

Why is it taking so long for me to feel better? You may be asking this question of yourself after only a short time following the death of a loved one. Grief feels crazy at times and you want it to be over with so that you can feel normal again. However, it can take…