Experiencing a traumatic event can have a lasting effect on our mental functioning. People who develop Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can suddenly experience intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic event even though the event may have happened a long time ago. Sudden flashbacks or nightmares force them to relive the event. The distress they suffer can rewire their thinking and behaviour. They may become easily irritable, behave recklessly, and indulge in self-destructive behaviour. They may also sleep poorly and have difficulty concentrating. Unceasing distre ..read more

The way you feel about yourself acts like a lens through which you see the world. If you have good self-compassion and self-confidence, you might notice more signs of others accepting you. If you think of yourself as unintelligent, you’ll likely be looking for any sign that others think the same of you. In this way, your self-confidence can affect all of your relationships - especially your romantic relationships. Some people may not even realize that this is an issue until they get into couples counselling, as our self-confidence is so seamlessly built into our psyche. Here are the signs to ..read more

From childhood, we learn to gain our self-approval from others. We learned that when we get a good grade on a test, it means we are worthy of success. Today, many of us attribute our success to how many likes our social media posts get. Feeling we need to accomplish things in order to please others can take a toll on our mental health and prevent us from moving forward in our lives. This is especially true when we also experience depression and anxiety. In order to gain self-confidence, we need to understand what it is, where it comes from, and when to get help. The difference between self-est ..read more

With many people suffering from loss because of Covid-19 and the holidays approaching, for some, “the most wonderful time of the year” is not feeling as “cheerful and bright”. Even the most loving families can experience tension when they are grieving, especially during the holidays. While it may seem tempting to pretend Christmas doesn't exist, temporarily avoiding the pain only prolongs the anguish. So how does one cope with grief during the festive season? Take the time to acknowledge the grief in your life and use these tips to support yourself and your loved ones: Keep the memory of your ..read more

As I embark on my new adventure of starting my own private practice, I am thinking of what it takes to be a great and effective therapist. Although many of us mental health professionals take specialized training and spend countless hours honing our skills, many of us still experience premature therapy drop-outs. Why is this I wonder? Premature drop-out is something that each therapist dreads and antagonizes about, especially when it occurs early in therapy before the relationship has had a chance to develop. Clients affect us more than we like to admit, and more than you know. What clients do ..read more

Burn-out is not fun. Many of use are knee deep in burn out before we even recognize whats going on, myself included. If burn-out gets out of control or goes on for too long, it can lead to serious mental health issues as well as chronic fatigue. The best we can do is prevent it by one of these strategies: Take time for you - give yourself permission to take small me-breaks throughout the day to recharge and fill your cup. Go ahead and make this a routine whether or not you are at work or home, push pause on your life and do something that makes you feel human - try taking just 10 minutes thr ..read more

As a follow-up to my Youtube Video, here are some helpful strategies to help with social anxiety: Practice deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation to help control the anxiety Engage in CBT strategies such as encountering and challenging your unhelpful beliefs (try some of these https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cognitive-restructuring-3024490) Focus on others around you. This is especially helpful at social gatherings where you can find one or two people and spark up a conversation. Keep the focus on them by inquiring about their lives. This serves two purposes, it will help you de ..read more