A new Harvard Review of Psychiatry article entitled, “Messaging in Biological Psychiatry: Misrepresentations, Their Causes, and Potential Consequences”, (Vol.28, Issue 6, Nov/Dec 2020), discusses the media and policy skew to biological causes of mental …

If you have been feeling more sad, withdrawn, vulnerable, or impatient lately, you are not alone in this. These and many other types of emotions are common in the face of disasters such as pandemics, even if you are not “directly” affected, and this pr …

AFBS members (actors, actresses) can now access the services of a Registered Psychotherapist for help with mental wellness. Please contact AFBS for further details.

Hello from Alberta, land of “Fortis et liber”, and of the lodgepole pine! While I have moved here as of Summer 2020, rest assured I remain fully committed to my Ontario psychotherapy clients, and am maintaining my Ontario registration as a Registered P …

To help reduce the likelihood of mental health impact of this difficult and lonely pandemic time, Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD, well-known for his expertise in helping people who have experienced traumas, explained in a webinar I recently watched* some idea …

Many people wonder why they’re feeling so [sad, anxious, stressed, angry, etc.]. The model that primarily guides my work, “cognitive behavioural therapy” (“CBT”), explores 4 aspects of an experience like sadness—the emotion for sure, but also the relat …

Who you are, who you are not, what you believe, and what kind of people you want to spend time with, in part inform your “identity,” the formation of which was seen by developmental psychologist Erik Erikson as taking place across adolescence.1 I was r …

  In a recent Toronto Sun Article (19Apr2019) entitled “Where’s the support for male victims of domestic violence?”, Centre for Men and Families Executive Director Justin Trottier writes, “Three Canadian sociologists have released a ground-breakin …

Congratulations to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for a truly gold medal performance yesterday in Pyongyang, in Olympic Ice Dancing. Wow. I was literally brought to tears (of absolute amazement) when I watched it.  I thought of all the effort they must ha …

As explained in “What is CBT?”, the ‘C’ in CBT stands for ‘cognitive’ which refers to thoughts. Your thoughts. To help you explore your thoughts, one fairly common element of a CBT session, and a core competency of CBT psychotherapists (1), is “the Soc …

As explained in “What is CBT?”, the ‘C’ in CBT stands for ‘cognitive’ which refers to thoughts. Your thoughts. Many people come to therapy thinking, “Am I a bad person?” This reflects that they might hold some variation of the thought, “I might be a ba …

As explained in “What is CBT?”, the ‘C’ in CBT stands for ‘cognitive’ which refers to thoughts. Your thoughts. Many people come to therapy thinking that they want to be “happier.” But what do they mean? That they want to experience more moment to momen …

In addition to a light bulb predecessor, “gaslighting” can refer to a strategy some people use in order to control other people in an often undetected, covert, but insidious manner. The term comes from an old movie (spoiler alert!!) called “Gaslight” ( …

Updated 17 March 2018 “Psychotherapy is primarily a talk-based therapy intended to help individuals improve mental health and well-being. Psychotherapy occurs when the Registered Psychotherapist and client enter into a psychotherapeutic relationship wh …

The psychotherapy landscape in Ontario can be confusing for members of the public who often just want someone to talk to. There are all kinds of titles, and lots of jargon, and all this can feel like it’s getting in the way of just finding a good fit w …

With so many options out there for psychotherapists / coaches / counsellors, it can be difficult to choose one that is right for you! Some things you might want to consider in your decision are1,2: Her qualifications (including ongoing professional dev …

I spent the last 2 days at the first conference of the brand new Canadian Positive Psychology Association (www.positivepsychologycanada.com), where I had the pleasure of learning from an inspiring array of professionals working in the inspiring field o …