One of the things i love about being at Bergen and Associates is that it isn’t just a place where I show up to do therapy with the fabulous people who are clients that I get to work with. It is more. So. Much. More. (and that already is a ton) It is also a …
FAQ’s about forgiveness
Seriously, you’re gonna write about forgiveness? You’re gonna make me feel bad for how I angry and upset I am. I already feel bad enough! How dare you! Yeah, I get that. Living in a state of enormous hurt and pain after someone has hurt you, often with anger and resentment, that’s bad enough. But …
Slow deeply
I love Christmas Day. One of my favourite things of the whole year is to be outside in the quiet on Christmas Day. In the middle of a large city like Winnipeg, on Christmas Day there is a quiet hush. The stores are closed. No one is bustling to get anywhere…there may be some cars …
Prioritizing the Important over the Urgent
Boiling water for tea is a good thing, except when it’s too much. And when it’s too much, it’s not a good thing, because it’s too much. Let me explain. At our office, we don’t use the harsh overhead flourescent lights in the counselling rooms. My thinking is that uncovering and exposing parts of oneself …
Benefits of being meaningfully loved
“We all long for loving connections. A hand to hold that changes our world.” Dr. Susan Johnson EFT guru I’m a science geek…I love to learn things. To know what works, and how it works, and what we can learn from understanding our world better using scientific research. We were created for relationships…we need relationships …
The Power of Emotional Intelligence
For many years, I taught students at the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Manitoba. I loved the teaching and discussions…the marking and administration–not so much! 🙂 One of my favourite courses to teach was “Advanced Communication Skills”…given the finite amount of hours I had to teach content, we decided I would focus …
Proximity
I am grateful. I have colleagues that I work with daily in our offices that I respect and admire. They wow me with their insights and wisdom. If you could hear our walls talk, you would hear stories of wonder–the work with the therapists do with our clients is incredible. Sabrina Friesen is one of …
Nudging and being nudged
One of my favourite things that happens in therapy is this: A couple comes in for an initial session. There is tension between them. They are fighting. They have forgotten how to be friends…they have forgotten they are friends. They begin with the complaints…He works too hard. She complains too much. yada yada As the …
The Ups and Downs of Family Gatherings
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, …
What’s your Partner’s Love Language?
How can you best love your partner? What turns his crank? What makes her feel special and cared for? Funny that we often assume we know how to love another…it’s easy. We love others in ways we know it is meaningful to be loved. Heh heh…if a wife likes gifts, she assumes her husband must …