Personal Growth

An attractive 16 year old girl was describing how hard it was for her to go to school each day. She complained that while she had two friends at school, neither was in any of her classes. I suggested that this gave her an opportunity to reach out and make some casual connections with her…

I recently checked in with a friend to inquire about her counselling experience after she sought a referral. I wanted to ensure she was receiving the support she needed. her response was along the lines of, “It’s going well…I think? This is my first experience in therapy, so I don’t have anything to compare it…

Who knew? A study done at the University of California, Los Angeles using Functional Magnetic Brain Imaging (fMRI) to research “affect labelling” (putting feelings into words) had some surprising results. It was found that the process of writing one’s feelings on paper was enough to de-escalate amygdala activity, (the brain’s ‘alarm center’), which controls the…

“Please bring him back if you can, he makes such a positive difference.” a client says to me at the end of the hour, much to my surprise, after the unexpected addition of my dog to a therapy session. This happened already ten years ago; I didn’t have time to return home after a visit…

The current teen and young adult population are Generation Z. They have grown up in the era of smart phones, social media, inclusive classrooms, and they are keenly aware of issues such as climate change and how their world is different than that of their parents. I will focus on the older teens and university…

Married for 32 years, and now empty nesters, Mike and Anna found themselves struggling to connect with each other in their marriage. Until recently, when the last of their children had left the house, Mike and Anna’s lives were filled with the typical busyness of parents having active children. Weekdays and most weekends were filled…

Most caregivers can agree that dealing with their child’s meltdowns can be exhausting, draining, and challenging. Often, these meltdowns happen when we are trying to get everyone out the door and on time for school, when we are making dinner, filling out another hot lunch form, or at bedtime. We try to listen to our…

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…

The tragic death of George Floyd is yet another example of the nastiness of discrimination and prejudice that exists in the United States and across the world, including Canada.  The sense and tone I’ve gotten from social media is one of frustration, anger, sadness and confusion.  How can this still be happening? What can be…

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…

Why are so many people struggling with anxiety? This was the question posed to me by a good friend over coffee this week, who was concerned about the levels of anxiety she was seeing in her workplace colleagues. With all that is happening in the world around us – natural disasters, immigration crises, worldwide political…