therapy – Haikutherapy

suicide

have you ever thought about killing yourself? i have. for many, many years i thought that was totally normal. it wasn’t until my life got much better that i noticed the absence of this soothing thought: to just disappear myself … now, when that kneejerk image arises occasionally, i know it’s a warning sign: something’s… Continue reading suicide

validation therapy

many years ago, i learned a little about validation therapy but i keep forgetting about it. it is a form of therapy that works with very old people, especially people with severe alzheimer’s. of course, the types of therapy that work in these situations always have something in it that can be very powerful in… Continue reading validation therapy

addictions counselling and employment counselling

i am currently taking a course on “core addictions practice”, a soon-to-be required course for people wanting to practice in the addictions field in our health authority. since i also work in the field of employment counselling, i thought it would be interesting to think about how ideas from addictions counselling can be applied to… Continue reading addictions counselling and employment counselling

am i my body? my feelings? musings on identity and focusing

lately, my three-year-old grandson is quite interested in the whole concept of identity and relationships. “what’s your mom’s name?” “mommy!” “who’s that?” “that’s callan. he’s my sister. jaden is my friend.” “grandma, who’s that in the picture?” “the father.” “what’s his name?” “i don’t know. jack, maybe?” “no, that’s not jack.” “michael?” “no, not michael.”… Continue reading am i my body? my feelings? musings on identity and focusing

questions, koans

sometimes asking the right questions is what turns a problem around. and often making the questions as precise as possible is a good thing. i’m going to take the liberty of using one of raul’s posts. he asked, “why can’t i sometimes help the people i love the most?” (by the way – read it.… Continue reading questions, koans

schizophrenia, involuntary admission and family members

the following is a press release from vancouver’s north shore schizophrenia society. since no-one seems to have picked it up yet, i’m publishing it here. it addresses the important question of when involuntary admission for serious mental illness is applicable, and the involvement of family members. vancouver coastal, in a review of the death by… Continue reading schizophrenia, involuntary admission and family members

links: psychology, morality, social media and dogs

in my long-suffering attempts to organize my internet life better, i’m going to see what it’s like if i post the occasional link article. so here’s a stroll through the links open on august 1, with the first paragraph of each post so that you can get an idea what it’s all about. you may… Continue reading links: psychology, morality, social media and dogs

goals, learning and contracts

after my post about small and SMART goals on garfield’s blog, i got inspired to write another one at brainblogger about the pitfalls and benefits of goal setting, this time taking a bit more of an academic slant. larry ferlazzo took up that post and talked about goal setting in the classroom. it made me… Continue reading goals, learning and contracts

depression and exercise

exercise – it works for depression is the title of a post i wrote for brainblogger the other day. it is about a large-scale study, the SMILE study (standard medical intervention and long-term exercise, conducted at duke university), which found that vigorous exercise three times a week for half an hour or forty-five minutes reduced… Continue reading depression and exercise