Soon, the winter mindful compassion group therapy program I offered will be coming to an end. It will have ran for 12 mostly weekly sessions, was a lot of work, and it was a special time. I feel deeply touched by the efforts each participant made—by their earnest participation and perseverance—by the things they shared, the expressive arts pieces they created, and by the beauty of their compassionate selves Read more ›
Recently, inspired by a blog post of Modern Parents Messy Kids, I enjoyed creating many egg-shapes out of paper. While tracing and cutting and stringing and gluing, a word that came to my mind often was the word, potential.Read more ›
From time to time, I invite clients in both individual therapy and group therapy to write a letter of understanding and encouragement to themselves. This letter can be long or it can be short. Read more ›
Compassion is the courage to descend into the reality of human experience. —Paul Gilbert, founder of Compassion Focused Therapy
This quote appears toward the end of a fantastic, very moving animated short-film that psychologist, Dr. Charlie Heriot-Maitland, worked on with animator Kate Anderson. It is the story of Stuart who experiences internal voices that criticize him, frighten, and overwhelm him, and of his journey of gaining confidence Read more ›
It is common that people describe the experience of what I will call, The Snowball Effect. One thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another with the result being an exponential enlarging of a phenomenon, sometimes undesired, such as an enlarged state of anxiety or exhaustion, an ever enlarging array of mess and clutter, or a growing backlog of work/schoolwork. Read more ›
The dates for this 10-week group are Saturdays, January 24th, 2015 to March 28th, 2015 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.. We may end up rescheduling one (or more) of the weeks that fall during March Break depending on the needs of the participants. Click here for more information.
Registration is open for an expressive arts and meditation mini-retreat I am offering late December 2014 and/or early January 2015. Please see flyer for more information. If you are interested in participating, please contact me. I am surveying interested participants to determine which time(s) will work best.
The next mindful compassion group therapy program is set to begin in January, 2015. This program includes training in mindfulness meditation and practices, compassionate mind skills, as well as other creative elements (one of which I decided on recently and am quite excited to share with the group!). Please contact me for more information.
Recently, someone said to me an approximation of, “I have breathed in the kindness you have offered me.” In response, I thought, “Wow, what a beautiful, honouring, and powerful thing to do Read more ›
Compassion can be understood as having two components: (1) a sensitivity to suffering in yourself and others, and (2) a commitment to try to alleviate and prevent this suffering. This means that compassion also involves two different sets of skills, processes, and orientations. Read more ›
