It’s widely understood that raising and nurturing any kind of domesticated animal, from a dog to a cat, bird, or small rodent, can be beneficial. Many families and individuals appear to understand the enrichment pet ownership can bring to the household, and will attest to the positive impact the...
Everyone faces adversity on occasion in their lives. Encountering psychological or physical stress is a shared human experience. However, how people react to stress and adversity is what differentiates us. All humans have varied levels of resilience, defined as the level of mental health problems...
The long-term mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to be discussed in earnest. Counselling therapists should remain attentive to how the stress and trauma of the pandemic may exacerbate existing mental health problems or create new ones. Epidemic studies research shows...
Counselling therapists use a wide range of techniques to engage with their clients, depending on their unique situations. Expressive therapies are one group of techniques that may be effective for certain clients. These types of therapies include activities such as drawing, drumming, creative...
For some people, current events have led to the exacerbation of a condition known as “headline stress disorder”. Because of how quickly news gets disseminated and spread thanks to cellphones and social media, it’s easy for anyone to feel overwhelmed by news coverage (Dong & Zheng, 2020)....
Narrative therapy is a technique that helps an individual separate themselves from a problem that may be present in their lives (“Narrative Therapy”, 2018). This in turn leads them toward playing the role of “narrator” in their own lives and using skills they’ve acquired through life to...
Postpartum Depression (PPD) occurs after childbirth, usually within the first 1-3 weeks (“Postpartum Depression”, 2013). However, it is not limited to the first few weeks, and can occur any time in the first year after giving birth (“Postpartum Depression”, 2013). It lasts for extended...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the character of Hester Prynne is publicly shamed for having a child out of wedlock (Clausen, 2018). Made to stand in the town square and then wear a red letter “A” on her clothes, she was forever shamed by those around her, living in isolation for...
Adolescence has always been a challenging time. As teenagers make the rocky transition from childhood into adulthood, they face a range of physical, cognitive, and social changes, while seeking autonomy and struggling to establish their own identity (Villanueva, 2015). In addition to these timeless...
It is untrue that half of all marriages end in divorce—in fact, the divorce rate is often closer to 35 or 40% overall (Heller, K., 2016). Despite this misconception, is it true that in order to avoid relationship complications, couples should apply healthy communication techniques and other...