Inside Info

Imagine you are getting ready to play a game of baseball. You walk up to the field with your glove, bat, and ball, ready to connect, ready to play. But the other person shows up…with a cat. Not a bat. A cat. They step onto the field like, “Okay, let’s play!” And suddenly, you are…

A recent Global News article (https://globalnews.ca/news/11179228/canadian-youth-doing-worse-struggle-with-friendship-bullying-report/) sheds light on the growing struggles faced by Canadian youth when it comes to their mental health and social lives. The findings, published in the 2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) report, highlight that teens across Canada are reporting lower levels of life satisfaction, increased feelings of loneliness,…

Feelings Are Not Facts (Even When They Feel Really Real) Have you ever felt ignored or misunderstood by someone close to you, even when they did not actually say or do anything hurtful? Suddenly, your brain shouts: Those thoughts feel real. But are they true? That’s where reality testing comes in. What Is Reality Testing?…

At some point, all of us are called to answer one of life’s most enduring questions: Who am I, apart from others? This question lives at the heart of separation-individuation, a developmental process that begins in early childhood but continues to unfold in new ways throughout our lives, especially during times of transition, loss, healing,…

Have you ever felt caught between two strong drives – one pushing you to achieve, grind, and strive, and another demanding you cut loose, let go, and have fun? If so, you are not alone. This tug-of-war is often glamorized in our culture as “work hard, play hard,” but beneath the surface, it can reveal…

One night, you are brushing your teeth and suddenly feel hollow inside. Another time, someone compliments you and instead of feeling good, you freeze or deflect. There is a quiet ache, a voice inside whispering: “They don’t really mean it.” Or maybe you are just trying to get through the day while silently believing: “I’m…

Parenting is a lot like learning to drive with a cell phone in the car. When car phones first appeared in the late 1980s, they were a marvel. By the 1990s and early 2000s, nearly everyone had a cell phone – and used them while driving. At the time, it was not against the law,…

Many people come to therapy feeling anxious, guilty, or unsure of themselves. These feelings often show up when we try to set boundaries, express our needs, or take up space. For people who are women, Two-Spirit, queer, transgender, nonbinary, Black, Indigenous, or people of colour, these feelings often have a deeper root. They may not…

In the beginning, you are excited. You plant everything you can get your hands on – sunflowers, strawberries, lavender, pumpkins. You water furiously, pull weeds, adjust the soil. You fill every inch of space because it feels like more plants = more harvest = more success. But as the seasons pass, you start to notice…

In therapy, we often begin by identifying what is not working, such as patterns of behaviour that cause stress, conflict, or disconnection, which is an important first step. However, the deeper healing work happens when we look beneath those behaviours and start to understand what is driving them – especially the emotional and relational impact…