Working with Emotion

I wrote a poem this week after a monthly meeting with a group a cherished colleagues. I described the poem as a kind of collage of things. Later today (with the help of some feedback), I thought that perhaps it could be a nice poem for this longest night—this year’s winter solstice—as well as being a fine poem for any other moment. I’m sharing it here in two photographs.  Read more ›

BounceBack is a free guided self-help program grounded in cognitive-behavioural therapy that is currently available for individuals living in Ontario who are ages 15 and older, have a valid health card number, and who are experiencing mild to moderate levels of depression, with or without anxiety. The program offers two forms of help: (1) online videos a participant can watch at any time, (2) telephone coaching and workbooks. Clients can self-refer or be referred by their primary care provider.

To learn more about the program, please visit the BounceBack website at bouncebackontario.ca.  Read more ›

In any given moment, we can ask ourselves questions about our attention: “What is my attention focused on right now? Where is my attention going? Is my attention focused broadly or narrowly? Is it moving around or is it stuck on one thing?” In any given moment, we can also bring curiosity to what emotional tone is going with our attention. Read more ›

In the sweet little book written by Thich Nhat Hanh, A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles (2012), Thich teaches a meditation in which we imagine ourselves being something such as a flower, and we imagine feeling a quality of that that thing within ourselves. (For example, in the case of the flower, he invites us to image feeling freshness.) Read more ›

For today, first, a quote: “Healing is an on-going, organic process, not a single ‘big bang’ moment“ (Pat Ogden & Janina Fisher, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Treatment, 2015, p. 73).

Aware that sometimes there can be overt, covert, external, internal, intentional, and/or completely unintentional and inadvertent messages that may lead one to wonder if there is something wrong with them Read more ›

“Sleep is not an optional, lifestyle luxury. Sleep is a non-negotiable biological necessity. It’s a life support system….And the decimation of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a catastrophic impact on our health, our wellness, and the safety and the education of our children.” —Matthew Walker, Talk at Google Read more ›

(As do I, as do we.)

Here is a pivotal question: how do you respond to the multitudes within you?

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The upcoming open group sessions I am offering provide clients with the opportunity to regularly nourish the seeds of mindfulness and self-compassion they are growing via guided, structured practice in a safe, group therapy environment, as well as providing the opportunity to have some time for connection with others and for self-reflection. Read more ›

The book, The Heart and the Bottle, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (2010), wisely begins, “Once there was a girl much like any other…”. The story is about someone and something common—someone and something understandable, relatable. Read more ›

Think of a being you deeply cherish, maybe it is a person, maybe it is a cherished pet. Take a moment to feel the presence of this being, to feel the warmth you feel toward this being, the joy, the delight. What do you wish for this being? What does your heart wish for this being? Connect to the feelings imbued in this wish. Read more ›