change therapy

as you know, i am a proud member of the canadian mental health association. i am even prouder to announce that a participant advisory committee, that is, individuals who are using the services of the CMHA vancouver/burnaby branch, is hosting an event for people living with mental illness and those affected by it to talk [...]

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a while ago we talked about the lack of scripts for talking about mental illness (at least in “polite society”), and before that we had a conversation about how uncomfortable it can be to engage in peaceful communication.  and now evan took up the topic the other day and asked how can we talk about [...]

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image by bobster

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last week, the british columbia government (the one that pumps millions and millions of dollars into the 2-week olympics next year) made cuts “changes” to the budgets of about 90 (ninety!) health agencies in the vancouver coastal health region alone. the changes cuts will mean no harm to services, says minister kevin falcon. it’s hard [...]

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a little while ago, a paper was published that suggests that positive thinking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: positive self-statements are widely believed to boost mood and self-esteem, yet their effectiveness has not been demonstrated. we examined the contrary prediction that positive self-statements can be ineffective or even harmful. a survey study confirmed [...]

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grief is not something that i have a lot experience with as a counsellor, so it was interesting to read through psychologist roberta temes’ solace – finding your way through grief and learning to live again. the book’s no-nonsense, empowering tone is set right in the first paragraph of the introduction: you are experiencing this [...]

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image by jerrold

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a few weeks ago we had a conversation about acceptance. one of the things we discussed there was this: acceptance is about the past not the future … a common trap that we fall into in our thinking is when we jump without reflection between what is and what should (ought) be. in philosophy, that [...]

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in a guest post at alison’s blog writing mental illness, i discuss the idea of scriptio divina, or spiritual writing. here is a little excerpt: i don’t think it’s possible to truly connect with ourselves and with the divine (whatever you want to call it; from the traditional christian god to the new age universe [...]

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once again, blog action day and the october buddhist carnival fall on the same date. let me present to you, then, a few colourful strands from that corner of the blogosphere where buddhism and climate change intersect. icebergs are buddhist monks we always start that buddhist carnival with a poem. here is an excerpt from [...]

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i’m thankful for the smell of the blanket my daughter likes to use on the sofa the dimples in my older grandson’s cheeks the sweet little voice of my younger grandson the particular shade of purple of the asters on my front yard i like thinking about the specifics, somehow it gives my gratitude more [...]

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today marks the end of mental illness awareness week. here are some bloggers who wrote about it, and a poem a rant against mental illness awareness week and the desire to decrease stigma around mental illness about childhood schizophrenia, by a blogger who wants to set yo head straight this week appears to be supported [...]

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october 15 is blog action day. blog action day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. the aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. the goal first and last, the purpose of blog action day is to create a discussion. bloggers [...]

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image by the writing zone

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