Check out this amazing and touching Ted Talk by neuroanatomist Joan Bolt Taylor who experienced a blood vessel explosion in her left brain. This talk is entitled "A Stroke of Insight" - it also reinforces for me why modalities such as focusing-oriented therapy propels the work for clients, as it facilitates "moving forward" through our connection [...]

Some couples come into therapy to heal from affairs/infidelity. The process of therapy can shed light into the "root" of the "problem," as affairs are often a symptom of a more deeply-rooted issue. While one party is dealing with grief and loss, as well as shame, the other party may be dealing with intense anger and [...]

I watched a thought provoking documentary "Minimalism" recently. Here's the link to the trailer. It made me reflect on what we value as our "currency" - there's a way where we can get stuck on the monetary currency only, with all its trappings. Perhaps its time to create new currencies such as "connections," "friendships," "time"? Lastly, [...]

As parents, we can get frustrated with our teenage kids during the transition phase of adolescence, and end up in a relentless power struggle, as well as place of judgment. Daniel Siegel, in this 13 minute video clip, provides the facts of what is actually happening as the teenage brain develops and how to support this [...]

Last night, I viewed a great documentary called "Hungry for Change" - I took away a lot from it, and it has helped to increase my awareness about food choices. The film talked about shifting your paradigm from, “I want that and can’t have it” to, “I can have it but I don’t want it.” This [...]

Just as we "digest" food in our bodies, for good health we also need to "digest" our emotions and feelings. Some of us may have the tendency to sweep feelings under the carpet, or to tell ourselves to "get over it." This build-up of undigested stuff could be contributors to a sense of anxiety and/or depression, [...]

This week I presented an "Adaptation to Canada" talk at the "Welcome to Canada" series organized through the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society. When we relocate to a new country or city, many stress factors come into play, i.e. navigating job search; cultural/language differences; new friendships/relationships. In addition, we are grieving the family/relationships, country or city/hometown [...]

Our modern society seems to thrive on activity, accomplishments, "being on the go." The costs include the following: running on adrenaline, running on empty, lack of rest and restoration, and being out of balance. Check out this quiz to see if you are suffering from being overscheduled? This link also includes useful information about sleep, stress, [...]

I am familiar with that tendency towards my own auto-pilot, i.e. reacting in a particular way to someone close to me (getting angry, or avoiding). Pema Chodron, in her book Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears asks us to think about which wolf we want to feed -- the wolf whose stomach [...]

Many of us, including myself, have played the role of "pleaser" in order to be loved and accepted. We may be familiar with being guilt-prone and with living with the voice of "shoulds." The following paragraph is excerpted from Wikipedia's description of Guilt (emotion): {Alice Miller claims that "many people suffer all their lives from this [...]