Blog
Two strategies for overcoming social anxiety
Even though I deliver quite a few presentations each year, I still get nervous every time I'm about to speak. It's normal to feel this way before a speech. But for some people, they feel nervous over speaking with anybody (a cashier or clerk at a grocery story, a...
Alcohol and Heroin: How Cory Monteith Died
A few days ago, Cory Monteith, a rising star in television, died from the deadly combination of alcohol and heroin. Monteith is not the first person to die from an addiction to alcohol or drugs, and sadly, he won’t be the last. In this post, I’ll be talking about why...
Anger Management: Respond instead of React
Even with all the counselling and personal consulting I provide on the topic of anger, I still experience anger like everyone else. Many of the same things that trigger your anger triggers mine as well. Some clients get surprised when I tell them this. Their...
Copycat crimes: Why do they happen?
We've all copied something. We've all tried to imitate someone or something. But in some circumstances, people will copy or imitate violent acts. A couple of years ago, just after the Boston Marathon bombing, a husband and wife were arrested for attempting to bomb the...
Resilience: Overcoming the unexpected
The word ‘resilience’ has been on my mind these last few days. In science, resilience is the ability of an object to spring back to shape; elasticity. In psychology, resilience is the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, to overcome personal setbacks. I’ve...
Marital Conflict: The four behaviours of the horsemen
For the last couple of months, I’ve been working with a lot of individual clients on the issue of marital conflict. Although I don’t typically provide marital counseling, I do work with people individually on their relationships as well as with the family unit. To...
Addicted and Depressed: Which happened first?
When I was a young kid, my teachers would ask, “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” I hated that question because I never really understood what it meant. Once I started working in the field of addictions and mental health, though, the logic behind the question...
3-Steps for Preventing Relapse of Depression (and unhealthy behaviours)
When we hear the word “relapse,” most of us think of addiction. However, it can also refer to a relapse of moods, such as depression and anxiety, and problem behaviours. For example, you can be in a good mood but suddenly relapse back into a state of unexplained...
Tweeting and Psychology: 6 ways to increase credibility on Twitter (and in life)
More and more people are using Twitter as a source for news information, but how do we know which feeds are legitimate and credible? Similar issues have been studied in the field of psychology. For example, how does a person assess credibility in someone’s message?...
Why crack is so addictive
Over the past few days, the mayor of Toronto has been receiving some unwanted attention. It’s alleged that he smoked crack cocaine with known drug dealers and criminals. Since one of my specializations is in addictions counselling, I couldn't help but use this...
“How do I know when I’m cured?” 7 Signs you are improving in counselling
A client once asked me when counselling and psychotherapy would be over. It was a really good question, and there are actually a multitude of answers. Today, in honor of APA’s Mental Health Month Blog Day, I thought it would be an ideal time to share some of those...
Youth are de-stigmatizing mental health
This week is the 62nd annual Mental Health Week (May 6 - 12) organized by the Canadian Mental Health Association. This year's focus is on youth. One of the goals of mental health professionals is to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness. In my opinion, I...
