Counselling

Mental Health in Rural Communities – How Counsellor Training Can Help

Individuals and families living in rural Canada face a set of challenges that are often different from those encountered by their urban and suburban counterparts. The volatility of commodity prices, unpredictable weather, and mine or mill closures can all have drastic effects on rural economies and...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Helpful tips from Professional Counsellors

Everyone experiences occasional worries and concerns, but for some individuals, these feelings can become overwhelming, trapping them in a cycle of obsession and compulsion that can significantly impact their ability to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),...

Career Satisfaction in Canada: An Overview for Aspiring Life Coaches

How would you report your career satisfaction? Career satisfaction is an important component to an individual’s overall sense of wellbeing, and professional performance is a key aspect of how someone feels about themselves and how they respond to the world around them. As professionals with life...

Autism: Helpful tips from Professional Counsellors

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 66 children and youth between the ages of 5 and 17 in Canada (“Infographic: Autism Spectrum Disorder,” 2018). While ASD includes a range of conditions which can vary in the specific...

The Experience of “Awe” and how it Increases Wellness

Awe is an emotion that can at times be hard to define. It’s a sensation that mixes together both positive and negative emotions, eliciting wonder, fear, and the indescribable sensation of witnessing something beyond our understanding. Whether seeing an act of incredible kindness, taking in the...

Why Professionals with Wellness Counselling Training Might Want to Encourage Laughter

In many ways, laughter is a phenomenon that we still know very little about. The question of why we laugh, for example, is still generally considered unsettled. There is no clear consensus, and researchers have yet to definitively answer the question of why we laugh (Louie, Brook, & Frates,...

Bipolar Disorder: Helpful tips from Professional Counsellors

Affecting approximately 1% of the general population, bipolar disorder is a mental illness that is still in need of greater understanding and awareness (HealthLinkBC, n.d.). For example, many people may know that manic episodes are often characterized by an elevated mood and sense of self-esteem...

Using Your Addictions Counsellor Training to Reduce Stigma

Research has suggested that members of the public hold significantly more negative views towards those dealing with addiction issues compared to other forms of mental illness (Barry, McGinty, Pescosolido, & Goldman, 2014). People are less willing to have a person with a substance use disorder...