read and learn
Insightful & Educational Articles to Help You Grow & Cope
Why Do I Struggle to Let Go of Past Relationships?
Why do we still look up our exes on social media, even years later, curious about who they’re with and what they’re doing? Why do
The Paradox of Self-Sabotage and How it Holds us Back
Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of behaviour that seems to contradict your happiness and well-being, even when you consciously want things to
Self-Compassion vs. Overprotection: Building Mental and Emotional Resilience
There is a trend towards using our trauma and hurt feelings as an opportunity to avoid responsibility and coddle ourselves and our kids. The result is hyper sensitivity, where we (and they) have no idea how to handle even a slightly challenging experience.
Why Friendships Matter (And How to Maintain Yours)
“Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there
Have You Met Your Inner Child?
The most sophisticated people I’ve ever known had one thing in common: they were all in touch with their inner children. Jim Henson Most of
Healing Your Anxious Attachment Style: 10 Tools for Growth
Can an anxious attachment style be healed? This is the main question I hear from clients who are struggling to shift repeated patterns in their
How You View Yourself is How you View the World: The truth About Self-Esteem
Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to
Healing Trauma: Proven Strategies for Reclaiming Your Life
“Trauma is not what happens to you but what happens inside you”― Gabor Maté If you have experienced certain types of trauma in your life, you
Embracing Forgiveness: Why Holding on is Only Hurting You
Hurt People Hurt People On our journey through life none of us makes it out unscathed. At some point we will hurt others and we
How to Forgive Your Parents and Heal Your Attachment Wounds
“We need to foster emotional competence in our children, as the best preventive medicine.” Gabor Mate If you’re in therapy and starting to explore attachment
The Secret Ingredient to Effective Therapy: It’s Not What You Think
You’ve probably stumbled across articles, videos, and advertisements for countless different “types” of therapy. There’s CBT, ACT, DBT, IFS, psychodynamic… honestly, the list is pretty
Becoming Securely Attached: Navigating Attachment Styles In Love
H.E.L.P! I keep picking the wrong partner! This is the issue many folks come to me with when they are in the throes of trying
The Ultimate Guide to Midlife Dating: Do’s, Don’ts, and Everything In Between
If this article piqued your interest, it may be because life has thrown you a curveball that’s landed you back in the dating scene after
Journaling Techniques for Busy People: How to Find Clarity in Five Minutes a Day
I don’t journal to ‘be productive’. I don’t do it to find great ideas or to put down prose I can later publish. The pages
Fat Phobia:The Persistent Shadow in Our Society and Its Toll on Mental Health
“It was funny, she thought, that people treated her flesh like a public resource, a reservoir for all their insecurities and emotional dysfunction, when it
Loneliness: The Silent Epidemic Outpacing Smoking in Its Toll on Health
We live in an age where digital connections often outnumber face-to-face interactions, and it’s not about to get better. Our kids have grown up not
How’s Your Sense of Worthiness?
Have you ever paused to wonder why you don’t go after the things you want most in life? Why you hold back and accept less?
Women in Midlife: Strategies for Growth
Are you a woman in midlife? Hold on tight: there’s a wild ride ahead. It’s not good and it’s not bad. It IS whatever you
Emotional Neglect: Understanding Trauma Beyond the Visible
Trauma is a rampant topic these days. Look no further than Instagram and TikTok and you will be exposed to an abundance of posts about
Vulnerability on Valentine’s: The Key to Deeper Love
When I see people for couples therapy, the most common thing lacking in their relationship is a genuine, deep connection. There are also often issues
Tending to the Garden of Your Relationship: The Crucial Role of Early Intervention in Couples Therapy
Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful garden. Neatly manicured. Full of beautiful flowers and undergrowth. Your garden isn’t perfect, but it’s yours and you
The Challenge of Change: Understanding and Overcoming Ingrained Behaviors
Change is an intrinsic part of the human experience and one we often cannot control. But what about when we want to control it and
Mind Matters: The Truth Behind Procrastination
“Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem.” dr. timothy pychyl Procrastination, a widespread challenge, is often misunderstood as just laziness or
Surviving Trauma: The Road to Recovery
Trauma can deeply embed itself into the fabric of our being, affecting our minds, bodies, and spirits in profound ways. Trauma recovery is not simply
Ditch the New Year’s Resolutions and Embrace a Single Word
As we welcome in 2024, many of us will engage in the age-old tradition of setting New Year’s Resolutions. Yet, despite our best intentions, these
Unwrapping Body Positivity: A Christmas Survival Guide for Self-Love
Christmas is often seen as a vibrant and fun time of the year. However, for many individuals, the holiday season brings with it a number
Understanding Burnout: Recognition, Causes, and Recovery
Burnout in Western society is alarmingly prevalent. It is a consequence of a culture that often values productivity and success above health and well-being. This
Talking It Out: 7 Ways to Better Communicate with Your Partner
One of the biggest reasons people seek couples counselling is due to a breakdown in communication. They will often say that communication was good at
Regain Your Center: Effective Grounding Techniques for Anxiety
Anxiety can often feel like a separate part of us, taking over whenever it pleases to disrupt our inner harmony. It shows up with both
Vicarious Trauma & Empathic Distress: The Impact of Global Crises on Our Mental Health
In a world interconnected by technology, the distressing news of violence in the Ukraine and Gaza reaches us in real-time, often leaving us with a
Psychedelics in Therapy: A Fresh Look at an Old Idea
Psychedelics, once associated with the hippie culture of the 1960s, are making a comeback. But this time, they’re not just appearing in music festivals, retreats,
Why Some People Dread Winter: Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder
As the days get shorter and temperatures start to dip, a surprising number of people find that their mood takes a nosedive as well. If
Why Couples Therapy Might Just Be the Best Investment You Make
Let’s face it, maintaining a long-term relationship is hard work. Just like that favourite plant in your living room that needs the right amount of
Anxiety Toolkit: 7 Practical Tools for Regulation and Relief
We have all felt the intense physical and emotional overwhelm that comes with feeling anxious. For some this may be a rare event that is
Divorce Recovery: Making it Through the First few Months
The unraveling of a long-term love relationship, be it a breakup or divorce, is often an extremely painful experience that can leave us feeling shattered,
Understand Your Attachment Style to Help Create Emotional Safety in Your Relationships
Do you know your attachment style? Knowing and understanding how you relate to others via your attachment style will help you to create an emotionally
Body Image and Mental Health: Challenging Societal Norms, Fostering Self Love
The issue of body image shows up in my counselling room daily. It’s not the pain point that usually brings clients in, but it is
Understanding Trauma Bonding: Breaking Free and Healing
“Many survivors have such profound deficiencies in self-protection that they can barely imagine themselves in a position of agency or choice.” – Judith Lewis Herman
Childhood Trauma: Why You’re Struggling to Move On
Fact: people who experience trauma in childhood are three times more likely to struggle with a mental disorder in adulthood. Also fact: it is possible
Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS): The Therapy Everyone is Talking About
Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) is a relatively new and innovative form of therapy, developed by psychotherapist Richard Schwartz, that has been gaining increasing popularity
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Living with and Understanding a Complex Mental Illness
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and often misunderstood mental health condition. It affects approximately 1-2% of the general population and is characterized by
How to Help Someone Through Depression
Discovering that a friend or family member is suffering with clinical depression can leave us feeling scared, worried and unsure of how to help. Learning
Understanding Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based approach to couples counselling which focuses on understanding and managing the emotional states of clients. In particular, EFT
Emotional Boundaries: What They are and How to Create Them
When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. Brené Brown Boundaries. It’s a word that gets flung around
Should You Seek Grief Counselling for the Death of a Loved One?
Grief is a part of the human experience none of us can escape. When it comes it can feel like the world has been pulled
Is this a Midlife Crisis or Depression?
Are you in your 40s or 50s and feeling empty and low for no apparent reason? If so, you may be in the throes of
Attachment Styles: What Everyone Needs to Know
“We do as we have been done by.”― John Bowlby Have you ever noticed yourself repeating certain patterns of behaviour in your romantic relationships? Perhaps you
When Is it Time to Seek Couples Counselling?
When Is it Time to Seek Couples Counselling? If you are part of a long-term love relationship you are likely familiar with the ups and
Stop the Social Comparison and Feel Better (Without Therapy)
Social comparison is one of the most insidious and destructive games we can play, and nearly always leads to a decrease in mood. It is
5 Ways To Feel Better Without Therapy: Part Three, Managing Emotions
Have you ever reacted to someone in the heat of the moment and afterwards looked back wishing you had responded differently? Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by emotion and notice it affects your ability to focus or be present? Most of us find ourselves in these situations some of the time, but if this happens often to you, you may be having problems regulating (calming) your emotions.
5 Ways To Feel Better Right Now Without Therapy: Part Two, Reframe Your Perspective
We don’t see the world as it is; we see it according to our own experiences and perceptions. Your reality is different from my reality, which is different from your neighbour’s reality.
5 Ways To Feel Better Right Now Without Therapy: Part One, Cultivate Awareness
I’m a therapist, so believe me when I say that therapy is good and helpful and a lifeline for many people. If I didn’t believe
What to Do When You Can’t Change the Outcome
Have you ever felt powerless? As though you are no longer in the driving seat and not really sure if you ever were? No need
Why is Self-Kindness So Challenging?
Why do we find it so hard to be kind to ourselves? What is it we’re afraid of? We deprive ourselves when we make self-kindness
Why Self-Love is a Necessary Part of Loving Others
“Your problem is you’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness.” – Ram Dass If you had asked me a decade ago whether I loved myself
How to do Busy Well
The art of busyness has become a competition and doing busy well is an art. The idea that “you can’t possibly be as busy as
The Work of Grief: Making it Through the First Few Months
“If, as a culture, we don’t bear witness to grief, the burden of loss is placed entirely upon the bereaved, while the rest of us
Managing Depression: 13 Lifestyle Changes That Heal
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also harder to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain
Why Facing Your Biggest Fear Will Be Your Greatest Breakthrough
When my ex-husband and I separated a few years ago my biggest fear was loneliness. Push me out of a plane (parachute attached of course);
How to Make Peace with your Body
**Disclaimer: this article is not intended for persons dealing with eating disorders.** I’ve struggled with my body image since the age of 10. Whether I’ve
10 Ways To Ease Depression With Only Your Pen
“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Need a New Perspective on Holiday Stress?
For decades we’ve been told this one thing: stress makes you sick. How many times, when you’ve been knee-deep in tension, anxiety and all-around exhaustion,
10 Ways To Manage Your Emotions
“Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.” – Elizabeth Gilbert Do you ever feel like your emotions
Here’s One Communication Tool That Will Transform Your Relationships
I’m pretty good at communication. In fact writing, talking, listening, empathy…that’s my thing. It’s a strength I take pride in and a gift I love
21 Simple Self-Care Strategies For Daily Living
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” – Etty Hillesum Self-care. Few people practice it, many
