Health professionals share their information, wisdom, and perspectives as the people who treat, teach, and advocate for our physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Drawing from our interview with Katie Campbell-Elsdon (B.Ed., M.Ed. (School Counselling), RCC), Meg Kapil (MA, CCC-S, RCC) and Heather Vale (RCC) the co-facilitators of Creating Calm, a therapeutic group approach that helps children alongside their parents to develop the tools and skills they need to better manage anxiety, the following information covers some key signals […]
Thanks to growing mental health awareness, the use of the term “trauma” and a public appreciation of its psychological and social impact has surged in recent years. But what is trauma and what does it really mean for something to be “traumatic”? In its most basic form, trauma is a type of event (or events) […]
Judy Tobin is an amazingly strong woman who has gone through so much but has recently grown and flourished into a motivated and inspiring individual. I met Judy in January of 2019 when she came into GoodLife Fitness in St Catharines looking for a gym to join. Judy was paired with me to do a […]
What we all fear the most is the same – experiencing grief and losing a loved one. Of course, the more unexpected or sudden a death or loss is, the more fear it creates as we feel more helpless and entirely powerless because we never felt ready or prepared. But the realty is even when […]
Choosing a therapist who’s right for you can be a daunting task. It’s often a decision people make when things are at their most difficult or they are feeling desperate. How will you know who will you feel most comfortable sharing your struggles, emotions and past events with? How do you ‘shop’ for a therapist […]
Back in 2015, I launched my blog and shared, for the first time, the truth of my life. I received countless messages from people letting me know that by me sharing my story, they felt less alone, and in some cases, they were able to share their own as well. How beautiful when we can […]
Across Canada, short and long-term mental health treatments and supports have been chronically underfunded and need to become a nation-wide health system priority. Two recent articles in The Globe And Mail by Norman Doidge (April 6, 2019) and Ari Zaretsky (April 22, 2019) have addressed the issue from different perspectives. Here is my view ‘from […]
I’m a dietitian. And my favourite food is chicken wings. Yes, chicken wings. But not just any chicken wings – my Dad’s homemade, succulent, soy-sauce infused, finger-licking, roll-up-your-sleeves and get-ready-to-dig-in chicken wings. Let me explain. My Dad is a Chinese chef and thrives on cooking for others. Though a man of very few words, Dad […]
After working on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in methadone pharmacies, I noticed a common source of pain for just about every homeless individual I met receiving methadone maintenance therapy for addiction – loneliness. I found it so heartbreaking to watch that I quickly burnt out and had to take a hiatus from working in […]
There’s a framed sign in my kitchen that says, eat good food. It’s a simple concept and one I like to think sets the tone for my family and how we approach our meals. Eating well is important at all stages of life because nutrition goes beyond your physical body. It’s about nourishing your […]
When people find out I’m a personal trainer who’s done adventure races, countless half marathons, triathlons and even an Ironman, the assumption they make is that I grew up an athlete. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I spent the majority of my life hating my body and feeling uncomfortable in my skin. For […]
I was the wearer of masks, masks that defined many roles in my life: daughter, sister, aunt, wife, caregiver, career woman, but none of these masks exemplified the person I was on the inside. Sound familiar? How did you respond the last time you got asked the age-old question, “So what do you do?” Most […]
