Anchoring in Terror

She doesn’t know it, but Antoinette Tuff was my teacher today. This video is worth 16 minutes of your life.   Antoinette prevented a massive, highly dangerous man from another epic disastrously awful school shooting in Georgia yesterday. Not by pinning the man down, or calling the police, or shooting him.   She cared for …

Hump Day Nudge: Meditative Gratitude

I just got back from vacation…and the time to step away gave me fresh perspective and new energy.  The space to relax and breath.  It was good.  Getting away for days at at time generally isn’t practical…”getting away”, though, is still important.  Sometimes even 5 minutes of a “getaway” canmake a difference.   Brother David …

Domestic Violence Part 3

I blogged here and here a few weeks ago about domestic violence…looking at the roots…understanding that our culture assists in shaping men’s behaviour towards violence. Gail Shaver, the therapist that works most closely with those who engage in our Transforming Destructive into Constructive-Intimate Partner Violence program reminded me that I missed something big in the …

More Great Therapists!

Therapy isn’t easy to attend.  It is important for therapists to know how much courage it takes to attend therapy, and to honour that courage with providing the best therapy they are able to provide. At Bergen and Associates Counselling, I’m incredibly proud of our team of therapists.  They do an amazing job.  We care …

Oprah and Brené…and me!

I come from steady, stable, secure stock. My parents both worked hard within the same organization their entire careers.  We lived in only two houses when I was growing up.  They looked–twice (very carefuly)–before they leaped. I was taught to always pay one’s credit card bill at month’s end, never spend what you didn’t have, …

Hump Day Nudge: Musical Lift

There is something about tight harmonies and beautiful rhythms that does my heart good…it stirs something deep inside me to hear beautiful music. And when folks are having fun doing it…the added dimension of laughing joy…well it can change the tone of my day. The rhythm of music becomes the beat of productive work. The …

Hump Day Nudge: Enrichment through Adversity

Sigh. I soooo wish the above statement wasn’t true. I wish people didn’t have to go through difficult and challenging and painful times to grow.  I wish it could all come easy. But it doesn’t. When I think back to the moments in my life of which I feel were the richest, the experiences that …