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Are you a woman looking for a loving, committed partner? Someone who reliably shows up for you when you need them? Someone you can build a life, a family, and a future with? Are you -in reality- dating someone who cannot commit? Someone who doesn't want to be in a committed relationship with you? What has happened here? How do women who want a real relationship end up in a situationship? A couple of common ways this happens. (1) Sometimes a woman thinks she wants to casually date and tries it and then realizes after some time that she's actually a relationship person. She can't be casual with…

I get a lot of people who come into therapy and ask me this question: "Do you think I have ADHD?" It usually comes after describing months or years of feeling disorganized, distracted, overwhelmed, or burned out — but also smart, creative, driven, and exhausted by how much effort it takes to function. We’re hearing more about ADHD than ever before. It’s in our feeds, on podcasts, in conversations with friends. The language around attention, focus, and executive function is everywhere, and for some, it can feel like someone finally turned the lights on. Maybe you relate to things you never had…

You were probably praised for being “so easy to get along with.” So agreeable. So accommodating. So… nice. But somewhere along the way, that niceness started to feel like a burden. Your chest tightens before saying “no.” You apologize when it’s not your fault. You leave conversations feeling resentful, drained, or invisible. Sound familiar? Here’s the uncomfortable truth: People-pleasing isn’t kindness. It’s self-protection. It's a coping mechanism born from fear. Let’s get into it. What People-Pleasing Really Is (and What It’s Not) People-pleasing is often misunderstood as being kind…

Ever felt like your brain is running 37 tabs at once, and none of them will close? You’re trying to focus, but there’s music coming from somewhere, and you can’t find the source. Welcome to ADHD. Let’s explore this metaphor: Tab 1: The Thing You’re Supposed to Be Doing You're writing a paper. You’ve opened your laptop, your doc is up, and you’re ready. Except… Tab 2: The Thing You Just Remembered “Oh wait, I haven’t replied to that email.” You open Gmail. Then... Tab 3: You Start Researching You look up one article for the paper — and end up in a Wikipedia rabbit hole on dolphin intelligence…

I'm not so much of a "New Year Resolutions" person. I'm more of a "Create a Life you Like and Live it Everyday" kind of person. People come in to my office any time of the year, January or otherwise, to work on being happier, being more confident, being healthier, and being braver. What do you like spending your day doing? Being in nature? Being in front of a computer? Playing with your kids? And what are you actually spending your time doing? Listening to others vent? Commiserating about how hard life is? Numbing out on your phone? It's ok to do things you really want to be doing. Really. And…

So, you have traits of ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). Welcome! In recent months the number of people reporting traits of ADHD in my practice has increased considerably. While a clinical counsellor cannot diagnose ADHD (you'd want to see a GP, psychiatrist or psychologist for that) what they can do is support you in your journey and treat your symptoms (sometimes alongside another treatment provider). ADHD will affect one person very differently from another. Whether you have all of the traits of ADHD or just a few here are 3 examples of ways in which seeing a counsellor can…

Being in pain, emotionally or relationally, is what draws many people to find a therapist. Currently, therapy is enjoying a cultural moment of popularity. You may have heard a version of “everyone needs therapy” or “therapy is for you if you have experienced childhood.” While mostly light-hearted, these prompts speak to those who notice pain in themselves and those around them. The Purpose Of A Process Group A process group is an unstructured, collaborative therapy. By joining a process group, you commit to bringing up what is going on for you and being present with others who are doing the…

It might seem like a stretch to think that experiences with your caregiver that happened as early as day one...or even hour one...of life, would influence how you might experience relationships as an adult. Those non-verbal cues like eye contact, your caregiver's tone, their presence (consistent or otherwise), whether they held you, hugged you, and so many other interactions all affected future relationship. That's not intended to sound ominous but more, to help you possibly understand how some of the strengths or maybe vulnerabilities within your relationships now, might be influenced. If…

It is common and understandable to have reactions to "parts work". It is becoming a common way of working with trauma and family dysfunction that has been made popular by Internal Family Systems (IFS). I use it a lot in my work with people. Common reactions are - I don't have parts, I am just me, or that parts are not real; we imagine them. There may be other reactions. One that comes up for me (even though I work in this way) is that I don't like to go along with the latest fad and that nothing is new. So, I want to put IFS into perspective and discuss how we might see a "part."…

I am going to say something somewhat controversial. We have very few needs in our relationships. I might go as far as saying that we don’t need anything from our partner. We need air to breathe and food to eat. This is the level of need. It is associated with our survival. Language is powerful. This is why when we use the word need to express what we want in relationships it has the energy of ‘must-have urgency’ behind it. It is a demand. Let’s compare expressions for a moment. I need your attention vs I want your attention or can I have your attention? Take a moment to say each phrase out…