Sharing what we know to help you heal & grow…
Shattered Dreams – Grieving Pregnancy & Infant Loss
The death of an infant is a profound loss, and it is important to acknowledge families’ need to grieve for their babies. The death of a baby is especially difficult to endure because parents envision an entire lifetime for their baby from the moment the pregnancy is...
Pregnancy & Infant Loss – Supporting Someone You Love
Nearly one in four pregnancies ends in a loss. So, chances are, not only do you know one person who has suffered a pregnancy loss, but you probably know multiple people. It can be difficult to know how to respond to a loved one, friend or co-worker who has lost a...
Narcissism – What You Need To Know
Narcissism has gained popularity in our culture. This can be both helpful and harmful. It is helpful to have a more thorough understanding of what it is, how it has developed and what can be done to develop more healthy ways to manage it. It can be harmful if used to...
Am I in a Narcissistic Relationship?
One question some couples in intimate relationships wonder are, “Am I in a narcissistic relationship?” You might be surprised that the answer is always “yes!” Everyone in a romantic bond is in a narcissistic relationship. In fact, every relationship you take part in...
How to Cope with Narcissistic Abuse in a Relationship
Are you experiencing narcissistic abuse in a relationship? If so, your current intimate relationship is far from what you hoped it would be. And your situation is far worse than simply unfulfilling. Instead, your relationship regularly harms you. In her “Psychology...
Gaslighting in Relationships: Warning Signs to Know
Gaslighting in relationships happens all too frequently. And it’s one of the most insidious, damaging and secretive forms of manipulation a person can experience. When it exists in your marriage or significant other relationship, it can be especially devastating. In...
How to Deal with Gaslighting in Intimate Relationships
Are you wondering how to deal with gaslighting in your significant other relationship? Our previous article talked about what this manipulation form is and specific gaslighting signs to understand. Gaslighting manipulation is very effective and can target anyone. It...
Tips for Transitioning Back to an In-Classroom Setting
Over the last year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do many things. For some, that included switching to remote work. For kids and teenagers, that meant turning to virtual learning instead of going to school in person. Now, thanks to the...
“New Normal” Anxiety: How to Cope With Fear Over Another Potential Lockdown
Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused almost everyone’s lives to change in significant ways. For a large portion of 2020, most Canadians were in some type of “lockdown”. For some, that meant not leaving home at all. For others, it meant only leaving to...
Coping with Anxiety as COVID-19 Restrictions Lift
We’re just beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to the mental health effects of COVID-19. Already, studies have shown an increase in anxiety, stress, and depression throughout the pandemic. People are struggling. Now that the world is reopening and...
5 Ways to Help Your Children Transition to Post-Pandemic Life
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives for well over a year. Now, thanks to vaccine rollouts and measures taken to reduce the spread of the illness, things are finally opening up. For some this is a welcome relief to finally get the chance to travel again, to...
Self-Care for Anxiety: Things You Can Do to Find Peace of Mind
Self-care is an important topic in our current culture. In many forms of social media, it is portrayed as lavish vacations or expensive spa days. However, it’s important to recognize what true self-care really is - especially when it comes to using self-care to help...
Why Am I Anxious At Night? Causes & Treatment of Nighttime Anxiety
Nighttime anxiety may seem like a mystery. Why does everything start to feel worse at night? And why can’t I shut my brain off? In reality, nighttime anxiety is very common and there are often concrete causes behind it. In fact, the same reasons people are anxious...
6 Emotional Challenges You May Face When Tackling Clutter
Decluttering can bring up a lot of unexpected emotions. Learn what to expect and how to get through it. Decluttering your home is a satisfying but time-consuming project. What you may not realize is that sorting through your belongings can bring up several emotions,...
10 Decluttering Projects You Can Tackle in 10 Minutes or Less
Do not stress about the mess — just take one countertop or bookcase at a time. Facing a cluttered space can feel disheartening — who has the time (or frankly, the desire) to spend all day clearing clutter? But the thing is, making progress toward a clean, clutter-free...
How to Cope with a New Life Post-Separation & Divorce
Separation and divorce are among the most stressful situations that anyone can experience. Whether you were married for five years or twenty-five, the process of separating your life from your partner’s is never easy. You have established your life as a couple. Your...
How to Re-enter the Dating Scene after Separation and Divorce
Have you recently been divorced and are interested in dating again? Or have you been divorced for a long time and are just now thinking about dating? No matter how long it has been since your divorce, you may have questions and concerns about dating again. That is...
Beyond the Moment: How Stress Can Have Lasting Effects
If you’re like most people living in our crazy modern world, chances are that you’re very familiar with stress. Stress comes at us from all sides. Working, looking for work, paying our bills, taking care of our home and children, and juggling the myriad other...
4 Tips to Better Manage Your Stress
Our modern lives have many advantages that previous generations did not. Advanced medical care and treatments, improved opportunities for women and minorities, greater awareness of children’s needs, to name a few. Unfortunately, the importance of good mental health is...
Signs of PTSD: How to Tell If You Have It
You have probably heard a lot about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the media. This disorder is a mix of symptoms that develop after a traumatic event. It’s commonly associated with individuals who have been in combat, survived terrible accidents, abuse, and...
4 Ways Trauma Affects Your Relationship
In many cases, you probably think of trauma as being something that you experience individually on your own. You may falsely assume that it does not affect your relationships with other people. It is normal to focus on trauma’s painful effects on yourself, of course....
4 Ways You Can Support a Loved One with Anxiety
If you’ve never experienced anxiety, you may not realize how difficult it is for your loved one to live with it. When someone you love experiences fears about things that seem normal to you, it can be hard to understand what is going on. Maybe you get frustrated...
5 Strategies for Coping with Depression during the Pandemic
Although there is hope on the horizon that the pandemic is nearing its end, you are probably still living with and dealing with the effects of the pandemic. Many people have experienced depression for the first time during the loneliness and uncertainty of the...
3 Tips for Managing Anxiety When it Creeps up on You in Public
If you struggle with anxiety, you know it can be sneaky. Whether you have a generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or specific phobias, anxiety can strike out of nowhere. You might be perusing the aisles at the grocery store, taking your kids to the playground,...
5 Effective Habits to Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety is common. And since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, more people are experiencing anxiety than ever before. Anxiety can impact every area of life, and in more moderate and severe cases, it creates significant suffering for those experiencing it. If you...
Suffering from Depression: How to Ask Friends and Family for Support
Depression’s effects are numerous. It can leave you exhausted, anxious, lonely, and stuck in a mental fog. Handling normal tasks such as housework, errands, and work can seem impossible. Many days, you struggle to get out of bed and cry at the drop of a hat. You feel...
Your Loved One has Depression – Here’s What You Can Do to Help
Living with depression is never easy — both for those with it and those who love them. Depression can affect every single facet of daily life, making even the simplest of things feel impossible. You probably watch your loved one struggling and wish you knew what you...
Overcoming the Unique Challenges of a Blended Family
When you meet and fall in love with a new partner after a divorce or breakup, blending your families may be the last thing on your mind. After all, you are enjoying the emotional high of a new romance. You are thrilled to have found someone else to love and spend your...
3 Tips to Help Co-Parent with an EX
Divorce or relationship breakups that involve children are so much more complicated and painful than those without. After all, you still must see and communicate with the person you are no longer with. No matter how painful the dissolution of your relationship was,...
4 Tips to Help Young Children Cope with Anxiety
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between what’s anxiety and what’s just normal early childhood behaviour. But if your child consistently exhibits fearful reactions and resists certain situations, there is a good chance they are struggling with anxiety. When a young...
What to Do if Your Teen is Experiencing Depression or Anxiety
Adolescence is a time of enormous growth. Not only are their bodies continuing to grow, but so are their independence, social lives, and possible career interests for the future. It is an exciting time, but it can also be a time of mood struggles, like anxiety and...
4 Types of Unexpected Grief
Grief is most often associated with death. As a culture, we struggle with grief. So, it is not surprising given our difficulty with grief, and the narrow definition associated with death, that we fail to recognize the range of human experiences that can trigger a...
Ambiguous Grief – What Is It?
Grief is hard under any circumstance. But some circumstances add extra layers of challenge, as in the case of ambiguous grief. Ambiguous grief involves the grieving of someone who is still alive. They are here in body but psychologically they are no longer present. In...
4 Tips to Enhance Intimacy in Your Relationship
A deep relationship with an intimate partner is one of the greatest gifts that life offers. We are made to belong and to connect; romantic relationships offer fulfillment of these needs. In the best of times, a partner offers us a place of emotional safety, nurture...
12 Secrets of the Happiest Relationships
Is your relationship happy and healthy? If not, the impact on how you feel emotionally, and the overall wellbeing of your family is impacted. Investing in this relationship pays big dividends emotionally and physically. Research shows that adults in healthy...
Pandemic Parenting Tips – 5 Strategies to Balance the Chaos
Families are having a hard time. As we approach the one year mark of navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising that families are struggling in multiple ways. Even in ordinary times, many parents struggle to balance work and family...
Raising Kids & Keeping the Romance
How do you make time for your relationship while you're also busy parents? Depending upon how long you’ve been a parent, you may hardly remember the carefree days before children arrived. You had responsibilities, but chances are that you and your partner had a great...
10 Easy Ways to Connect with Your Partner
Life is busy. The demands of home, family and work can rob you of the energy to invest in your intimate relationship. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming your partner knows how important and special they are to you. Be intentional about demonstrating your love. If...
5 Myths about Happy Couples that May Surprise You
Every couple has issues – even if their life looks perfect from the outside. Of course, the honeymoon phase of most relationships can leave us feeling excited and enchanted with each other. However, the honeymoon shine will fade over time and that is perfectly normal....
COVID Fatigue
Covid fatigue is real and it can look like depression. As a second State of Emergency was recently declared in Ontario, many of us are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, sad and angry. One client described having “decision fatigue” as she faced decisions about how to...
5 Steps to Relieve COVID Fatigue
It is even possible to find relief from COVID-19 Fatigue? The answer is YES. And here is a simple guide for you to follow.The 3 Key Approaches for Relief Think: Train your mind and manage what you are thinking (cognitive therapy) Act: Do life-giving activities...
The Word of the Year for 2020 is…..?
Traditionally each year one word is chosen to sum up the shared experiences of the year. Collins Dictionary chose lockdown – defined as the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interactions and access to public spaces. Merriam-Webster Dictionary...
A New Approach to a New Year
2020 was a hard year. Many people are relieved to see it come to an end. As we begin a new year, we want to hold the hope for better days ahead. Instead of the typical New Year’s resolutions that are typical for the kick-off of a new year, I encourage you to instead...
Ditch the New Year’s Resolution – Do this instead
New Year’s resolutions are tricky business. They are obligations we put on ourselves to behave. And research shows they are not effective. By February more than 80% of people have abandoned their resolutions. And subsequently, they feel a sense of failure. What Is a...
HOME for the Holidays – Amidst a PANDEMIC
This will be a unique holiday season. Navigating the holidays during a pandemic creates a challenge we have never faced. You may feel a heaviness in your heart as you consider time honoured traditions that will need to be adapted or perhaps even cancelled. Feeling...
Cultivating Hope in Difficult Times
Hope is an emotional state that promotes the belief in a positive outcome. Clearly, we need hope, especially in our current world. Can hope really make a difference? The answer is YES. There is increasing evidence that hope changes us psychologically and...
Why am I so Tired? Understanding the Need for Sleep
We are a nation of tired people. Many adults suffer from some type of sleep problem - too little sleep, broken sleep or poor quality sleep - leaving us exhausted. The impacts of poor sleep are significant: Increased irritability Reduced pain threshold Poor memory and...
Top Ten Tips to Get the Sleep You Need
Sleep is important to mental and physical wellbeing. And when we do not get enough good quality sleep, we suffer the consequences. Sadly, many people do not notice the negative effects of poor sleep because they rarely get enough quality sleep and they simply get used...
The #1 Survival Strategy Every New Mom Needs to Know
Start using this strategy now! Having a baby is hard work. If you have recently given birth, you know this to be true. You are likely exhausted in a way you could have never imagined. We are not talking about being tired – we are talking about a level of exhaustion...
5 Relationship Tips for New Parents
Becoming parents is often an exciting time for a couple. It is a life-changing experience for each parent individually but also for their relationship together. Before baby, it is easy to have time and energy to invest in your relationship. However, your relationship...
Boost Your Mental Health for the Coming COVID Winter
Preparing for winter can be challenging under the best of circumstances for many of us. However, this year, as we face the ongoing realities of COVID-19 we may be anticipating the coming months with heavy hearts. And maybe even a sense of dread. Christmas celebrations...
The Top Ten Foods for Better Mental Health
Did you know there are “brain-healthy” foods to promote a healthy mind and a positive mood? Food is important, not just for our physical health but also for your mind. Growing research supports the theory that what we eat every day can improve our mood and help with...
7 Types Of Betrayal That Are As Hurtful As Affairs
Affairs are damaging. They rock the foundation of a relationship creating a spiral of destruction and despair. However, there are other forms of betrayal that can be equally damaging to intimate relationships.Betrayal of trust can appear in many forms. While some are...
Betrayal – 8 Steps To Healing Broken Trust
Have you been betrayed by your partner? Have you hurt your partner by behaving in ways that violated their trust within your relationship? If so, you are not alone. Studies report that just over half of relationships have been damaged by some form of betrayal and one...
The Power of Gratitude
Gratitude starts with noticing the goodness in life. And researchers have found there are some surprising benefits in practicing gratitude. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this is a natural time of year to give thanks. The cynics among us may find it difficult...
How to Cultivate More Gratitude
Giving thanks can make you happier. But like any other healthy habits, even though it is good for us, it can be hard to practice consistently. Why is gratitude so hard to practice? If we are being honest, it is easy to focus on what we don’t have, our problems and the...
Cultivating A Healthy Mind – Even When The World Feels So Uncertain
As many staff and students have returned to school – a roller coaster of emotions may be experienced. Excitement, anxiety, anticipation, or perhaps even fear. For some, the decision to return was a choice made freely, while for others it was borne out of necessity. If...
Back To School – Helping Kids With Their New Normal
All children feel anxious at one time or another. But when anxiety gets in the way every day, children get irritable or even angry. They are more prone to meltdowns or tantrums. Returning to school when everything looks so different presents a “perfect storm” for many...
What Postpartum Depression Sounds Like
We expect new parents to be happy - tired maybe, but happy with their new little bundle of joy. And some are just that. However, 1 in 7 moms and 1 in 10 dads experience postpartum depression. They do not feel happiness or joy. They feel anxious, overwhelmed,...
8 Postpartum Depression Symptoms You Need To Know
Recognizing postpartum depression might not be as easy as you think. There are two reasons for this: It doesn’t always look like typical depression Many women will hide their symptoms and suffering for fear of being judged Some mothers will experience more classic...
The Lingering Effects of Childhood Emotional Neglect
Emotional neglect is hard to identify. It is created by what did not happen and it does not leave physical injuries or scars. And it is confusing to those who experience it. Emotional neglect is not the same as child abuse as it is often unintentional. It occurs when...
Adult Relationships After Childhood Emotional Neglect
Creating good strong relationships can be hard work – even under the best of circumstances. But when you factor in an experience of childhood emotional neglect – it can feel impossible. Sadly, adults who experienced childhood emotional neglect did not get what they...
Are You Numbing Your Pain
Do you ever fantasize about finding an escape? Some beautifully blissful way to escape the misery and challenge of the current moment. Continuing to live through the social isolation related to COVID-19 and ongoing uncertainty is hard. And when life gets really hard,...
Eating Disorder Recovery
Disordered Eating or Eating Disorder - What is the Difference? Many people have a messed-up relationship with food. And whether it is a full-blown eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, or disordered eating - they all cause physical and psychological...
Disordered Eating Recovery – A Young Woman’s Journey
I was a girl who looked perfectly happy and healthy but internally I was broken, torn apart, and completely consumed by disordered eating and exercising obsessively. Not everyone who struggles with an eating disorder has the stereotypical anorexic body type. It may...
Overcoming Hopelessness
Life has beaten you down. You are tired. You feel lost and hopeless. The motivation and desires that once characterized who you are, are gone. And this feels bad. It feels really bad. We all experience occasional ups and downs but when we get hit with one big...
You Can Be More Empowered
Do you struggle with feeling hopeless or helpless? It is impossible to have a positive sense of wellbeing if you are plagued with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. It is important to recognize that there are steps you can take to improve how you feel creating...
Parents are being asked to do the Impossible
Parents are struggling. They have been struggling since mid-March when a two-week extension to March break became a six-month hiatus from school as we knew it. Many have become reluctant home-schoolers. Many have had to balance the anxiety associated with being an...
Parenting – The Power of Showing Up
Parenting is a tough gig. We all want to do it so well – but I believe it is the hardest job in the world. It has certainly been the hardest job I have ever done. I thought I would be a natural parent – I had always loved kids and knew I wanted to be a mother - but it...
Postpartum Depression
What does it feel like to have postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety? What are the signs or symptoms? How do you know when you have it? And if you do have it, what should you do? I want to explain it in the words I hear women use to describe their experience so...
Big Life Change – We Can Help You Find Your Way
Change is a part of life. Some times change can bring a sense of relief and calm, while at other times it can leave us overwhelmed, confused and emotionally off-balance. And it doesn’t seem to matter if the change is expected or unexpected – life transitions can be...
How Do You Really Feel About Yourself?
When it comes to self-esteem, only one opinion matters – your own. And even that one should be carefully evaluated as we tend to be our own harshest critic. There are three simple questions every person should ask themselves when evaluating how they feel about their...
Healing After Separation or Divorce
The end of a relationship is difficult. Some relationships end suddenly while others grow apart over the years. Some endings are mutual, while others are unexpected and unwanted. Regardless of the reason for the ending or the manner in which it takes place, you are...
Empty Arms – The Pain of Pregnancy & Infant Loss
There is no more profound loss that the loss of a baby. It is a unique and agonizing pain that can leave families adrift in a sea of questions that often can never be answered; a sea of pain that can be all-consuming; a sea of doubt regarding the meaning of life; and...
Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Pandemics, like Covid-19, challenge the way that people cope. Our brains are designed to react to novel and unfamiliar things as threats. Fear of infection, a lack of understanding and a lack of control impact us on deep levels. For some people this can be considered...
PTSD Treatment
Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is possible. In my previous article, Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the symptoms of PTSD were reviewed. If you have been experiencing these symptoms for more than a month, there is a very good chance that your...
Trauma Recovery – It Is Possible
Trauma is the experience of severe psychological distress following a traumatic or life-threatening event. It may be a one-time powerful incident such as an accident, an illness, an assault or rape, or exposure to a catastrophic event. Or it could be repeated exposure...
Recovery After Grief & Loss – It Is Possible
I have been through grief. There was a time when I felt that I would never see the world in full colour again. Everything felt dulled by the grief that took up so much space in my life. Over time, with support and help, the world brightened again. I felt changed by...
Are You Living in the Darkness of Depression?
Depression hurts. Depression is a dark journey that leaves you exhausted and depleted. Many will have an experience of depression at some time in their lives. It may be a brief episode related to a specific event, for others it may be a chronic low mood, while others...
Is Anxiety Holding You Back?
Is anxiety robbing you of the ability to enjoy your life? Do your thoughts race? Do you often feel overwhelmed and unable to cope? You are not alone. Anxiety is a normal feeling that we all experience from time to time. It can often help alert us to a potential danger...
Is An Addiction Hurting You or Someone You Love?
Addictions hurt. They hurt the individual who struggles with them. They hurt the people who love them. Sometimes addiction is easy to spot, while other times it is more easily disguised. But the harsh reality is that addiction interferes with how we see ourselves, how...
Mother Guilt – Can You Relate?
Mothers are so hard on themselves. I often joke with clients that when women give birth someone secretly implants a guilt chip in their brain making them feel guilty about everything. Although the brain chip is not real, the issue of mother guilt is very real and it...
Why Secrets can Ruin Relationships
Trust is vital in a relationship. Many people would agree with this statement. However many couples struggle and lack of trust is often cited as a problem. It is impossible to feel emotionally safe in a relationship when there is a lack of openness and transparency....
This Isn’t What I Expected – Pregnancy & Postpartum Depression
I thought this would be the happiest time of my life. I have been waiting for this. I have been planning for this. But why do I feel so bad? Maybe I am not meant to be a mom. Maybe this was a mistake. No one expects to become pregnant or have a new baby and experience...
Parenting during the Pandemic
Now that we are over a month into the pandemic, the experience of being quarantined with our children has become real. Juggling the responsibilities of taking care of the home, keeping our children fed, active, educated, and entertained while possibly working from...
Overcoming Childhood Trauma
Have you gone through something as a child that was really challenging for you emotionally? Many of the clients we work with have. And these experiences can have long lasting impacts. When children experience such emotional challenges, they will find a way to cope...
Start to Feel Better Today
We understand this is such a hard time. We are feeling it too. We miss our old routine. We miss our freedom to move about our community. We miss the ability to visit and enjoy our family and friends. We miss life as we knew it before the pandemic. We are collectively...
Grief in a Changing World
Currently, we are a world that is sharing a collective emotional experience. We feel a profound sense of loss of our way of life and our roles and routines that created a sense of normalcy as we have come face to face with a pandemic. We are afraid for our health, our...
Attachment Focused Parenting
Let's face it, the current situation we are living in is proving to be challenging for ANY parent right now. Whether it is motivating them to do schoolwork or understanding what 'social/physical distancing' means is difficult for anyone. I thought I would share some...
Grief after Infant Loss
When a couple loses a baby, it is a profound loss with a pain that is unimaginable. The world no longer makes sense; the world no longer seems fair or just. You lose an entire lifetime that you began to envision from the moment your pregnancy was confirmed – all of...
Radical Acceptance
Sometimes problems can’t be solved. And when you are confronted with a problem, you only have four options: solve the problem, change your perception to the problem, radically accept the situation or stay miserable. As we are faced with the new reality resulting from...
Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is having the same compassion towards yourself that you have towards others. I often ask my clients to talk to themselves the same way they would talk to their best friend. And I will light-heartedly say,” if you talked to your friends the way you...
Harmful Effects of Stress
Research confirms the effects of stress affect your health. The impact it has on your health, both physical and mental, can be very harmful. In the world we live in today, everything appears to be so fast paced that we can hardly keep up. Stress can be good in small...
The Road to Resilience
How do people deal with difficult events that change their lives? The death of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness or other traumatic events; these are all examples of very challenging life experiences. Many people react with a flood of emotion and a sense of...
Journey to Fatherhood
Being a parent is hard, and being the parent of an infant is especially hard. The challenges experienced in the first weeks and months after bringing home a new baby are experienced by both mothers and fathers. Women have been experiencing postpartum depression for...