read and learn
Insightful & Educational Articles to Help You Grow & Cope
Why Do I Attract Emotionally Unavailable Partners?
Tired of dating people who can’t meet your emotional needs? Explore why this happens — and how to shift the pattern.
How to Get Through the Holidays When They Feel Heavy and Hard
When personal stress and collective heaviness overlap, the season can feel harder to hold, even if nothing is obviously “wrong” in our own lives.
How to Cope with Feeling Unworthy in Relationships
Struggling to feel worthy in relationships? Learn how to shift self-perception and build healthier emotional bonds.
How to Recognize Avoidant Attachment Early in Dating: Signs to Notice Before You Get Hooked
Dating often begins with hope, excitement, and the thrill of possibility. When someone shows up attentive, emotionally open, and deeply present, it’s easy to exhale
Parentified Child: The Hidden Burden of Growing Up Too Soon
Do you find yourself taking care of everyone else’s feelings—your partner’s, your friends’, even your boss’s—while quietly pushing your own needs aside? Maybe you’ve always
Healing Anxious Attachment: Steps Toward Security
Struggling with anxious attachment? Learn how to build security within yourself and your relationships.
How to Cope When You Feel Emotionally Overwhelmed
Feeling emotionally overwhelmed? Learn grounding tools to help you stay steady and regain a sense of control.
Understanding Avoidant Attachment: Breaking Down Emotional Walls
Avoidant attachment can make closeness feel overwhelming, even when you deeply care. Learn what avoidant attachment is, where it comes from, common signs, and how to start breaking down emotional walls so you can build healthier, more fulfilling relationships.
What Do People Come to Me For — and What I Love Most About Supporting Them
Curious what actually happens in therapy? Justin shares the most common reasons people come to him for support — and what he loves most about guiding their healing.
Art Therapy: Healing Through Creativity
Art therapy uses creativity as a tool for emotional healing. Discover how drawing, painting, and music can support self-expression, reduce stress, and foster inner growth.
Why Do I Feel Numb? Understanding Emotional Disconnection
Why do I feel emotionally numb? Learn why disconnection happens — and how to gently reconnect with your emotions.
How to Heal From a Divorce Without Bashing Your Ex (Even When You’re Hurt, Angry, or Betrayed)
Wondering how to heal from a divorce? True healing isn’t about faking strength or blaming your ex — it’s about processing your emotions, rebuilding your sense of self, and creating a future filled with clarity and peace.
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. Boundaries. It’s a word that gets flung around a lot
Why Some People Dread Winter: Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder
As the days get shorter and temperatures drop, many people notice that their mood shifts with the season. If you’ve ever felt more tired, irritable,
Beyond the Gender Binary
Across the world, many cultures recognize more than two genders, honoring traditions that go beyond the Western binary. From Two-Spirit identities on Turtle Island to muxes in Mexico, this post explores global understandings of gender diversity and the resilience of these traditions despite colonial suppression.
What Is My Attachment Style? A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Yourself
Ever found yourself wondering, what is my attachment style? Learn how early experiences shape your relationships and discover steps toward secure connections.
What is Gender?
Explore what gender means beyond the binary, including identity, diversity, and cultural context, and why inclusive language matters for everyone.
How to Stop People Pleasing (Without Abandoning Yourself)
People pleasing can feel like survival — but it comes at a cost. Discover how to honour yourself without guilt.
Why Do I Feel So Anxious at Night? Understanding Night-Time Anxiety
Do you get anxious at night? Learn why your worries become louder before bed and how to calm your mind for restful sleep.
How to Stop Procrastination: 10 Proven Strategies That Work
Learn how to stop procrastination with 10 proven strategies from Breaking the Habit by Ofek Haimovich. Overcome fear, perfectionism, and overwhelm today.
The Anxiety of Not Living Fully: When Travel, Adventure, and Fun Feel Out of Reach
Understand the anxiety of not living fully, its cultural roots, and simple steps to redefine adventure, joy, and meaning on your own terms.
Status Anxiety: What If You’re Already Enough?
Feeling like you’re not enough? Explore status anxiety, self-worth, and what it really means to live a meaningful life — beyond achievement and comparison.
How to Find Hope Again After Divorce
Divorce can leave you feeling lost — but it can also be a new beginning. Learn how to reconnect with hope and rebuild your life.
How to Stop Feeling “Too Much” for Other People
Feel like you’re ‘too much’ for others? Discover why this fear shows up — and how you can reclaim your belonging and worthiness.
Fear of Abandonment: How to Stop the Anxiety Before It Spirals
Fear of abandonment can feel overwhelming. Learn how to calm the anxiety and feel more secure in yourself and your relationships.
What Is Emotional Burnout? Are You More Than Just “Tired”
Feeling more than just tired? Learn the signs of emotional burnout — and how to begin restoring your energy and joy.
How to Build Real Self-Esteem
Building self-esteem isn’t about faking confidence. Discover how real self-worth grows from within — one small shift at a time.
Why Do I Always Think the Worst? How to Calm Catastrophic Thoughts
Always expecting the worst? Learn why your brain jumps to fear — and how you can retrain your mind toward calmer outcomes.
How to Deal With Grief When It Feels Like It Will Never End
Grief can feel endless. Find out how to move through deep sorrow with compassion and small steps toward healing.
How to Heal After Betrayal (Even When Trust Feels Impossible)
Healing after betrayal can feel impossible. Learn how trust can be rebuilt — beginning with yourself.
Setting Boundaries Without Feeling Guilty: A Step-by-Step Guide
Setting boundaries shouldn’t make you feel guilty. Learn a step-by-step process to protect your peace while staying connected to others.
How to Stop Overthinking When You Feel Trapped in Your Own Mind
Caught in a loop of overthinking? Discover why it happens — and one simple strategy to break free, find mental peace, and how to stop overthinking.
Why Do I Cry So Easily? A Guide to Emotional Sensitivity
Have you ever found yourself tearing up at a commercial, feeling overwhelmed during a conversation, or crying at the smallest sign of stress — even when you can’t quite explain why?
Is Menopause Hurting Your Relationship? 5 Ways to Rebuild Intimacy
You love your partner, but lately the relationship doesn’t feel the same.The closeness that once felt natural now feels harder to reach. You may notice
“Why Won’t My Teen Talk to Me?”How to Support Your Child When They’re Pulling Away
Lately, your teen has been spending more time in their room, barely saying a word at dinner. They’ve become snappy, withdrawn, or just plain distant.
How Trauma Affects the Body: Signs Your Past Is Affecting Your Health
The body and mind are deeply connected, and trauma—whether from childhood experiences, loss, or overwhelming stress—doesn’t just live in the past.
Why Can’t I Relax? The Hidden Link Between TMJ, Jaw Pain, and Anxiety
Ever catch yourself clenching your jaw without realizing it? Or wake up with an aching face, wondering what happened overnight? You’re not alone. For many
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 twenty years ago what self-love meant the
Are You Stuck with Your Attachment Style? Here’s What You Need to Know…
There’s a ton of information out there about attachment styles, all claiming to reveal exactly how you show up in relationships. But how important are
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
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
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
Your Attachment Style and How It Shows Up in 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
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
There’s a kind of exhaustion that comes from carrying old hurt for too long. Not the loud kind — but the quiet, persistent weight that
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 clients come to me with when they are on the journey of trying
When Is it Time to Seek Couples Counselling?
If you are in a long-term love relationship – be it through marriage or common law partnership – you are likely familiar with the ups
The Ultimate Guide to Midlife Dating: Do’s, Don’ts, and Everything In Between
If you’re thinking about dating again in midlife, there’s a good chance part of you feels excited — and another part of you feels quietly
Journaling Techniques for Busy People: How to Let Go 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 We Rarely Talk About
We are more connected than ever, and yet many people feel profoundly alone. Not because they don’t have people in their lives, but because so
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
Don’t Wait Until It’s Broken: Why Early Couples Counselling Matters
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
Attachment in Relationships: How EFT Helps Couples Reconnect and Heal
When couples seek counselling, it’s rarely just about the arguments. It’s about the longing underneath — to feel seen, understood, respected, or close again. Emotionally
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
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
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,
Body Image: Trying to Love Yourself in a World That Profits From Your Doubt
Address body image concerns in therapy. Gain insights into how it influences self-esteem, dieting, and emotional well-being.
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
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
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
Have you ever found yourself thinking: Part of me really wants to change… but another part keeps getting in the way. I know better, but
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
Grief Counselling: When it Helps
Grief is one of the few experiences that touches every human life, yet when it arrives, it can feel profoundly isolating. The world you knew
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
Social Comparison: Why it Harms Mental Health
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
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
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