When people think about counselling, what often comes to mind is Freud. Usually, when people think about Freud, they think about his crazy ideas of sex. Surprisingly, Freud has a lot to teach us.
One of Freud’s most important contributions to...
Many times when we are suffering from anxiety or depression we feel these distressing difficulties have control over us and we are powerless to fight against them. We often feel weighed down by these struggles which makes it that much...
In my last blog post, I discussed self-compassion. Self-compassion is exactly what it sounds like – being compassionate to yourself. Just like riding a bike, it is a skill and takes practice and time to get good at it. However...
Sex vs. Gender Identity. Before delving into a discussion about what it means to be transgender, its important to clarify some terms. The term “sex”refers to our biological characteristics as either male or female (i.e. either having an XX or...
The term “addiction” is used frequently in reference to many behaviours from substance abuse to food, to sex, or chocolate. It is often referred to in jest, and yet it is a very serious topic for those caught in the...
Being assertive is hard for a lot of people. We worry about conflict, about being viewed as aggressive, or we just don’t want to put in the effort. But regardless of how we feel, learning to assert yourself is important...
Throughout our life and interactions with others we have difficult emotions that arise. One of these most difficult emotions is guilt. At times, we use guilt to motivate us. We use statements such as ‘I should do better”, “I should...
In my experience as a counsellor, I have seen many things change in the way we practice over the years. Moving from costly long-term approaches, we now incorporate brief solution-focused therapies and strength-based models. Instead of the role of “expert”...
When struggling with addictions, it may seem impossible to imagine a life without substance use. You know the cycle:
…do well for a time,
…start feeling better,
…think you can do just a little,
…perhaps, be in control for a while,
…full blown relapse,
…ending at...
Being unable to sleep can be extremely frustrating. You turn the light out, ready for a nice long sleep. Instead, you find yourself tossing and turning, reliving events from the day over in your mind and worrying about what’s coming...