I have had opportunity this year to hear of the devastating effects of serving in the military. Loss of life is what we often hear about in the news. However, so many serve–and while their hearts remain beating, they thrum uncontrollably dealing with the traumatic effects of service. Their families then also deal with the …
There was about a year in my life when I was in very close contact with a trauma survivor. Despite the fact that I had known him a long time, it seemed he didn’t trust me. I would ask him, “How was your day?” as part of friendly conversation, he would suggest that I was …
Dear Dr. Blasey Ford, Today was a day unlike any other for you. A day you’d avoided for literally decades, and then, with the eyes of the world literally watching on live television, you re-lived the most traumatic moments of your life. I’m shaking a little, with tears in my eyes just imagining what that …
Trigger warning: This blog will attempt to explain something that sexual assault survivors will find disturbing and upsetting. The video goes into more explicit (but appropriate and incredibly helpful) detail. Those who have experienced sexual violence may find this blog is a trigger for them. Please take care of yourself and don’t read it if it will …
It has been three years since Husband and I stood before family and friends to commit our lives to each other…our third anniversary. Maybe now we are an old married couple? 😉 Pastor John was one of the officiants at our ceremony. He means a lot to both of us, as he has had significant …
Hello to the woman who is struggling with the #MeToo movement, A person pretty much has to live under a rock not to know about the #MeToo movement these days. So very many women are feeling, for the first time, they can speak out and have their sexual harassment and their sexual assault validated. It …
This week, someone tried to scam us at the office. Twice on the same day. For several weeks of someone from another country asking to set up a series of appointments with us while here on an extended leave. Melanie’s spidey sense said something wasn’t quite right, though nothing she could specifically point to. The gentleman …
This weekend is Thanksgiving. In a couple of months will be Christmas. Several months after that will be Easter, then Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and July Long Weekend…all of these occasions for times with family. The week running up to Thanksgiving can be a preoccupied one at a counselling centre. And the week after it, …
Today, September 11, is a day that I remember well in 2001. I was driving to work when I heard about the World Trade Center tower being hit as the top story of the news. By the time I got to my office, the second tower had been hit. By the time we finished our …
**Trigger warning…some graphic accident info described. Stop reading if you could be triggered, please. After 4 days of travel, we were on the Coquihalla, almost to our destination on the West Coast…and then we came upon the scene. The tour bus had done a complete roll, landing on the side of the highway…missing all the …