Two years ago, I got married and then changed my name from Carolyn Bergen to Carolyn Klassen.

Big change. Beautiful life. New love with new opportunities and gifts and challenges and a whole lotta messiness.

Combining two families into also being one family has been a lot of fun. Weekly family meals are a chaotic fun that has people gathering around the kitchen island, some helping, some pre-munching on whatever is on the counter as we make the salads, and everyone visiting and catching up. Some come late, some have to leave early.

Combining two families into also one family is not without pain. For sure. We knew it would happen. I’ve worked with couples who are heading up two-families-who-are-also-one-family for years.

I knew that “hard” in working out the relationships with and between his and my Junior Tribe Members would be part of the package. It’s part of what I signed up for.

Rough spots are normal and natural. It would be weird if it wasn’t a special kind of hard. And it has been. We are working through it, and the hard it worth it. But, frankly, hard is just plain hard.

Sigh.

One year ago, we changed the name of Bergen & Associates Counselling to Conexus Counselling.

That was fun. Family and friends and therapists all weighed in on our new logo. We worked with Modern Earth for a website that was easy to use and beautiful, and would help people understand who we were, not just by the words, but by the layout, photos, and ways things were arranged. New business cards, postcards, letterhead. We had to let everybody know of the name change.

It was awesome…but hard. A boatload of work to get all the changes done. At the bank. With the lawyer. Trying to find all the places on the internet that know about us and let them know about our new name. It took hours of proofreading…and a year later, we still catch places where we need to make updates.

This last month has had yet more change–shifts in therapist staffing

We’ve said good-by to some beloved and skilled therapists. Lots of grieving around here as we say goodbye to people we love, and whom our clients loved. That’s been hard.

But we are excited to announce that two new therapists are now part of Conexus Counselling. Two more passionate and caring and effective therapists! Let me introduce Ellie and Ruth!

Ellie Jack and Ruth Shantz!

Ellie Jack is a family therapist at Conexus Counselling. Ruth Shantz is a counsellor at Conexus Counselling. They both recently began at Conexus Counselling that provides marriage counselling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are Winnipeg Counsellors.

Ellie Jack

Ellie and I spent the morning together yesterday. She’s warm and fun. She asks the best questions. I could just tell that she was listening to what I was saying, and then thinking on it carefully before she responded. She’s going to be a powerful force for Conexus, as she creates spaces for people to think and feel and connect differently with themselves and the people important to them.

She loves families. Ellie’s model in therapy is, “The more, the merrier.” She loves the possibilities of creating new ways of relating together as families. She has experience working with adolescents who are struggling. Ellie works with the teen and with the people in the family to forge new connections. New ways of relating to each other.

Nobody likes being in relationships where they watch themselves be more critical than they are, yell more than they feel is right, or pull away. Y’know that feeling of watching yourself do something, feeling helpless to stop it? And yet, these words which you would never want to say, just spew out of your mouth?

Ellie wants to help people relate to others out of who they truly are, not out of being upset, lonely, frustrated, or scared. And she does so in a way that empowers people and helps them to celebrate who they are.

I’m looking forward to her getting settled in and working with individuals, couples and families that work with her!

Ruth Shantz

Ruth has worked with us for a few weeks already. When Ruth is around, it feels peaceful.

Ruth is quiet and steady. Her voice is soft–which has me slow down and sit quietly to listen to her. She’s patient and thoughtful. After I say something, she’s thoughtful. There’s a brief silence…not uncomfortably so…just one that shows listened and now is thinking carefully about what I’ve said before she responds. It has me feeling what I’ve said is being deeply respected with pondering.

Ruth’s no pushover, though. One of my respected colleagues in Winnipeg offered that she is one of the most naturally intuitive therapists she’s met. Ruth is able to hear not only what a person is actually saying, but also what’s underneath what’s being said. She hears what is not being said…and brings that message into the conversation. Even when it is hard…and as we know, worthwhile transformation is rarely easy.

Ruth has training in EMDR, which is a helpful tool for those who are dealing with the effects of trauma. She’s so conscientious in her work that I just know clients will be carefully heard and led to new insights and growth.

Ruth’s schedule is already filling up quite quickly but she does have one or two spots open.

We would welcome you to contact us if you would like to book an appointment with Ellie or Ruth.

If you have any questions wondering if therapy is right for you, please call Melanie or Del using the phone link at the top left of this page, or email them to ask questions at our <info@conexuscounselling.ca> or through our contact page. Melanie and Del are great to help guide you in the right direction. Sometimes they set you up for an appointment with one of our therapists. Other times, they will let you know about other resources in the community that would better serve your needs. Conexus wants each person who contacts us to get the best help they need to work towards healing and wholeness. If we feel there are other options that would better work for you, we’ll let you know.