Like all good ideas, when they reach the public and more importantly businesses, they get morphed into a money-making machine and the idea is lost in the business of it. This is the story of self-care. In our current society we can’t go online, watch TV, or be out in public without hearing talk of self-care. Self-care seems to encompass things like meditation, yoga, bubble baths, spa retreats, exercise, healthy eating, essential oils, and so much more. The list goes on and on and what started as a good idea sounds overwhelming and exhausting: the opposite of what self-care is meant to be. Self ..read more

So let’s talk about emotions this week. Emotions get a bad rap for being useless, illogical, overwhelming, unwanted, and making us feel weak or out of control. Emotions are, in fact, very misunderstood; even the word is used interchangeably with feelings or mood, but these three things are not interchangeable and are quite different. Let’s look closer at what emotions, feelings, and moods actually are. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines emotion as: n. a complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which an individual attem ..read more

Mindfulness is something that is talked about regularly and often with disdain in the public sector. This is because mindfulness has become synonymous with meditation, yoga, and many other activities. These activities are some methods by which people learn to cultivate the mental skill of mindfulness, but none of these activities are actually mindfulness. In fact, many of these activities are extremely difficult for people, and sometimes damaging. Meditation, for instance, can be quite damaging to people with trauma as this state of focused awareness can actually heighten trauma symptoms. It c ..read more

This week we want to focus on the power of “yet”. This small word has a powerful impact larger than its three letters would lead you to believe. “Yet” has become linked with instilling hope and building a growth mindset which are very popular concepts in the psychology world and many other aspects of our world, like business, education, and sports. Having hope has many positive impacts on our life. Below are 8 benefits of having hope as listed by Elaine Houston on positivepsychology.com: 8 Benefits of Having Hope Hope is significantly correlated with superior academic and athletic performance ..read more

There is an interesting trend that has been growing more and more common all around us: the phrase, “I feel like…” to describe any number of things. For instance, “I feel like a burger”, “I feel like things are going downhill”, “I feel like Jane doesn’t like me”, and “I feel like we should go with my plan for this project.” A quick scan of the internet will find a number of articles on this trend with some loose data showing it’s rise in the early years of the 2000’s among millennials, spreading to the Gen Xer’s, and now seemingly everywhere. Screen capture by author from Google Ngram Viewer ..read more

We use language every day in all aspects of our life, but rarely do we stop to think if the words we use and how we use them has any power over us. The truth is words matter. They have incredible power over how we feel and how we experience the world. For instance, have you ever said to yourself, “I should go do some exercise,” but find yourself continuing to sit on the couch watching your favourite TV show. After having this thought you are no longer enjoying your show; now you are feeling guilty for not exercising, lazy for sitting on the couch, and stupid for watching such a silly show. Tha ..read more

October is Dyslexia awareness month. This short film, titled, See Dyslexia Differently, does a wonderful job highlighting what dyslexia truly is. Like the video, our psychoeducational assessments are focused on understanding individual’s strengths to best support them in their learning. Please visit our website, or contact us to learn more about how a psychoeducational assessment might help you or your child. The post Dyslexia Awareness Month appeared first on KV Psychology & Wellness Clinic ..read more

This Wednesday we are highlighting Solution Focused Therapy (SFT). SFT is a type of therapy that is very goal oriented, short term and focused in the present. This means that if you’re participating in SFT you will not be getting into events and memories from your childhood, or even getting caught up in the details of the problem at hand. The idea of SFT is to find a solution that is workable and realistic as quickly as possible. SFT does this by working with “exceptions” to the problem. Exceptions refer to times when the problem at hand is not as intense. Once these windows are identified, th ..read more

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a growing area in psychotherapy. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) gets its name from one of its core messages: accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life (www.actmindfully.com). ACT uses a variety of skills, metaphors and exercises to aid in reframing and understanding what is important to you so you’re able to act in alignment with your values. If we know we are moving toward something that is important to us, it makes it easier to work through resistance, fear or other difficulties that ar ..read more

On this Wellness Wednesday, we are highlighting Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a trauma treatment option offered by three clinician’s in our office, Todd Cormier, Kim Medford and Lee Ann Calabrese. When speaking about trauma treatment options, it’s important to define trauma; the CAMH defines trauma as “the lasting emotional response that often results from living through a distressing event”. The video linked does an excellent job explaining EMDR. If you don’t have the time to watch it, here are some highlights:  “The whole point behind trauma treatment is ..read more