Mental wellbeing includes our outlook, the quality of our relationships, how we feel and our ability to manage our feelings as well as how well we are coping with the challenges of our life. Being mentally healthy does not mean that you’re always happy or that challenges don’t affect you. However sound mental health does increase one’s capacity to deal with challenges and bounce back from them. Your mental health is not something to only pay attention to when you are struggling but in fact should be a regular investment.  Here are some simple yet effective everyday activities that contribu ..read more

I didn’t seek out yoga; I was lucky in that it fell right in front of me at the most perfect time of my life. I could never have believed the positive change the practice of yoga would have on me, and never would I have dared to believe it could teach me the most important lesson I have learned: how to love myself. My first experience of yoga was while I was working at Cambridge University and I was assigned to a research project looking at the benefits of yoga. I had always been interested in yoga after hearing stories of life-changing, earth-shattering spiritual journeys other yogis had b ..read more

There is no shortage of statistics showing how important the role of father's is when it comes to raising happy and healthy children. But it seems that often, only mothers and their grown up kids are reading these articles. Dads! Wake Up! Read the good news about you. In my counselling practice , I have been working with adults for years and with the passing years and my constant exploration with these adults, we invariably find ourselves sitting and talking to a child; their inner child, or we are revisiting the childhood in some way or another. It’s uncanny how many adults are stuck in s ..read more

The highlight of my day in my counseling work when clients leave my office with new impression and feel "free" from a previous mental block. I get requests from executives who have been preforming at high levels for years but have been doing it with great anxiety , or I get children who live with constant fear of the dog next door, or young professionals who believe they "have to be perfect". But one anxiety that comes up often this time of year is the dreadful fear of flying. There are many reasons someone might be afraid to fly but most often it is due to a previous incident or traumati ..read more

It’s a universally known adage that relationships are hard work, conflicts are normal and rough patches are par for the course. While it is true every relationship goes through highs and lows, these platitudes can cause one to turn a blind eye to red flags in their love life, particularly those indicative of a toxic relationship.   In recent years, I often encounter clients who, despite feeling anguished, lonely, undervalued in their relationships, choose to stay with their abusive or neglectful partner. Many have also turned away from unwavering support and well-intended advice from ca ..read more

Valentine’s Day can be a great moment to celebrate romantic love, but it can also bring up feelings of loneliness for those of us who do not have a partner to spend this holiday with. It is completely understandable that we might feel this way, but it does not mean that there is nothing we can do to feel better. Here are some tips on how to cope with these feelings of loneliness: 1.  Shift your focus Yes Valentine’s Day is centered around romantic partners, but this does not dictate who we focus our attention on. Allowing ourselves to remember that we have people in our lives who love ..read more

While Christmas is often termed “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, it can be a season of distress for many. Navigating less than ideal relationships with immediate, extended or in-law family often comes up in therapy sessions around this time of the year as the prospect of having to spend protracted periods of time with challenging people in your world can bring up old wounds. Most of my clients find themselves in a tension between feeling a desire to have family time together on the one hand, and a sense of heightened anxiety at the thought of the potential negative outcomes on the othe ..read more

With a good chunk of last year on circuit breaker and with the sense of possible lockdown on the horizon, we wanted to offer some glimmer of hope for those who are traditionally dealing with the anxiety provoking times like now by turning to alcohol as a form of escape. Covid and the new norm of working from home, without travel, has brought more tension and uncertainty for many households. Alcohol consumption significantly increased and existing domestic issues were compounded. Of course alcohol abuse takes a toll on the entire family, not to mention serves the role of demonstrating an un ..read more

The youth of today can be an enigma, especially to the parents who feel they should understand them the most. In my years of experience working with students, the very first thing I observe, is how responsive they are when they sense someone is listening to them with their fullest attention, being present with them without any feeling of being judged. Allowing young people to express their emotions, feelings, and giving them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, instead of being instructed what to do, can really empower them towards thinking more positively. This is the case becaus ..read more

Depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents (World Health Organization). It is more than just a phase children and young adults go through. Untreated depression at an early age often has serious consequences, leading to suicidal ideation and unhelpful thinking patterns which may persist into adulthood.   There are multiple reasons why a teenager might become depressed. School performance, peer pressure, or rapid physical changes can significantly affect how a teen feels. For example, the rapid physical growth teens go through may make them very se ..read more