Specialization

Depression is a mood disorder that can vary from mild to severe. It is most commonly associated with feelings of sadness, but can also include many other changes in how one experiences their day-to-day life. People suffering from depression may also experience anxiety, anger, thoughts of death or suicide, decreased energy, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, and changes in eating or sleeping patterns.

The experience of negative emotions after the birth of a child is normal and common, especially for women, as the baby is no longer physically attached to the woman and hormones are in flux. When this experience of the “baby blues” becomes persistent, mothers and fathers may be experiencing postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is characterized by intense and prolonged feelings of sadness, anxiety, stress, guilt, shame, sleep issues, changes in appetite, and decreased or total lack of motivation.

Stress is a feeling of physical, mental, or emotional tension. Stress is the body’s normal reaction to difficult situations. Likewise, anxiety, worry, and fear can be normal reactions in stressful situations. Anxiety disorders (including panic disorder and phobias) on the other hand, are experiences of anxiety and fear that are more intense or more prolonged than expected.

A phobia is defined as a persistent, excessive fear of an object, animal, person, or situation. Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder. Phobias are extremely common; many people are able to name a thing or two which provoke an intense fear which they recognize doesn’t make logical sense.

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder marked by extreme swinging between feeling “up” (i.e. manic) and “down” (i.e. depressed). People in the up state feel more energized, impulsive, elated, and/or agitated, while people in the down state feel more lethargic, sad, and/or hopeless.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by frequent obsessive thoughts and behaviours that interrupt a person’s day, impeding their ability to go through their day smoothly. These intrusive obsessive thoughts lead the person to frequently and repetitively do behaviours to remove the feared stressor. There are four main categories of obsessions and compulsions: checking, removing contamination, arranging and ordering, and unwanted thoughts.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is characterized by stress reactions to a traumatic event that persist and remain intense long after the time of the traumatic event. These reactions can take the form of flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, upsetting emotions, fear and anxiety, sleep trouble, constantly being on the alert, withdrawal and avoidance, and physical problems, to name just a few. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) differs from PTSD in that PTSD can develop after a single traumatic event, while C-PTSD develops as a result of repeated traumatic experiences and/or the experience of trauma over a longer time period.

Anger is a natural emotion experienced as a reaction to stressful events. However, while anger can be a valid response to an event, the intensity of anger felt or outward expression of anger may be unhealthy. Anger management helps to properly experience anger in a way that is in line with the stressful event and is healthy and productive in its expression.

Infidelity is a state or act that betrays the promise in a couple’s relationship to be faithful to each other. Infidelity can be either emotional or physical in nature. In an affair, it is the betrayed partner and not the partner who committed the infidelity who has a greater say in whether what was done constitutes infidelity.

Disordered eating is a preoccupation with food that often takes the form of either eating insufficient or excessive amounts. Disordered eating often represents a coping mechanism for stress or negative emotions, and/or an unhealthy self-image. Disordered eating typically follows one of three behaviour patterns: eating insufficiently, eating followed by purging, or binge-eating.

Spiritual and religious trauma can often arise from church or other faith-based environments where one experiences coercion, manipulation, or indoctrination into a certain set of beliefs. Spiritual and religious trauma can affect all dimensions of a person: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. It can lead to feelings of lack of safety, an inability to trust people or God, fear, shame, guilt, and flashbacks. While spiritual and religious trauma is not a formal diagnosis, it can lead to a variety of other mental health issues and needs to be taken seriously.

Christian counselling can be varied in the degree to which Christianity is integrated in the counselling experience. It can take the form of discussing faith and Christianity in the context of daily presenting concerns or, conversely, the integration of Scripture alongside “secular” evidence-based treatment.

Returning to work can be difficult. In preparing to return to work, one might relive trauma from a previous work experience, feel low confidence, motivation, or self-esteem, or find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, among other things. A successful transition to returning to work can also be impeded by things of a practical or logistical nature.

Attachment theory powerfully explains the foundation for a strong relationship and is backed by more than 50 years of research. The effects of a strong (or weak) attachment begin in childhood and can carry into adulthood. The attachment relationship between two people can undergo a felt break when one feels hurt by the other. This break necessitates an attachment repair to restore the relationship.

Career counselling involves walking with someone to help find a desired career path. Career counselling looks at personality, interests, skills, and talents to help determine what might be a good fit. Career counselling is client-centered; the therapist is there to help the client in their exploration process, not to make a decision for them.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that begins in childhood and may continue into adulthood. ADHD now includes ADD, and is usually characterized in three “subtypes” or presentations. ADHD can be “predominantly inattentive” (what used to be called ADD), “predominantly hyperactive-impulsive”, or “combined”. People with ADHD may experience issues with inattention, difficulty maintaining focus, the need to switch tasks frequently, impulsiveness, or restlessness.

Sleep concerns can take many forms, of which the most common is insomnia, which is a difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep. Other troubles related to sleep include sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy. Insufficient quality sleep can have negative effects on mental health and overall functioning.

Domestic violence is any form of behaviour used to gain and maintain power and control over one’s partner in a relationship. Domestic violence is often thought of as being physical, but can also be emotional, sexual, economic, technological, or psychological in nature.

Bullying is an experience of ongoing, persistent, repeated attempts where one intends to cause harm through physical, verbal, or social means. Bullying can be done by one person or by a group towards another person or another group. The bully intends to gain and maintain power and control over the bullied through repeated hurtful actions.

Neurodiversity refers to the idea that some people’s brains are wired differently than the “standard” (i.e. neurotypical) understanding of what constitutes “normal” thinking and behaviour. The concept of neurodiversity is often applied to people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Tourette’s syndrome (TS), dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, although there are other presentations that fall under the neurodiverse umbrella. While there may be overlap between neurodivergence and mental illness, the language of neurodiversity and neurodivergence helps to de-shame perfectly valid patterns of thinking and behaviour that happen to differ from the norm present in society.

Parenting is full of joys and challenges. One doesn’t ever graduate from being a mother or father to their children, but what the parent-child relationship looks like changes as children progress through life. Counselling is not just for parents with infants, but children of all ages.

Medical trauma refers to physical and emotional responses to pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures, and negative treatment experiences. Medical trauma can lead the brain and the body to reject important present or future physical healing as a result of past traumatic experiences. Therefore, healing from medical trauma can aid in future help-seeking behaviours.

Personality disorders are a lifelong pattern of thought and behaviour that leads the person to react in ways that hurt themselves and others. Personality disorders have been classified into three “clusters” which encompass ten personality disorders in all. Personality disorders are defined and diagnosed within a strict set of criteria, and so they differ from both someone simply being unpleasant to be around and someone who happens to be neurodivergent. While there can be overlap between personality disorders and having a different way of thinking or behaving, the concepts of personality disorders and neurodivergence should be kept separate from each other.

Couples counselling is there to help you strengthen your bond with your partner. Couples counselling is not just a last resort attempt to save the relationship before a break-up or separation. It can be helpful for any couple to explore how to grow in their relationship, to reach even greater heights in a relationship that is already satisfying. There is no shame in using couples counselling to uncover and work on areas of growth in the relationship; in fact, doing so early can help prevent more difficult issues later on.

Counselling can be very helpful for couples who are deciding to separate or divorce. Counselling can help the couple communicate issues leading to the separation or divorce, and either help both partners leave the relationship more amicably or perhaps even encourage giving the relationship another try. Counselling is also very helpful for growth, uncovering weaknesses and areas of growth in each partner, and helping each partner to improve as individuals, so as not to hurt future partners in the same way. Couples counselling can help at all stages of the relationship, and the end of the relationship is no exception.

The loss of a relationship can be one of the most painful experiences for us as human beings. As humans, we are built for connection with others, and the loss of such a connection can shake us not just emotionally, but physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Grief is the natural reaction to loss. Grief and bereavement counselling can help to process the loss, to move through it instead of simply moving on, and to return to a place of peace and stability.