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This week is National Pain Awareness Week in Canada. This subject is close to my heart personally and professionally. While I am now in remission from a chronic illness, I lived with debilitating pain for about 15 years, and there is a special place in my heart for clients that carry the weight of chronic pian. Living with chronic pain can feel like carrying a heavy backpack that no one else can see. From the outside, you might look perfectly fine. You might smile, go to work

Imagine standing at the edge of a meadow. Your friends are walking easily through the grass, waving for you to join them. But you see the meadow differently. Hidden beneath the grass are invisible landmines with triggers unique to you. There’s no map to guide you to safety, and the paths that are perfectly safe for your friends could trigger a life threatening situation for you. One wrong step could put your life at risk. For people living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (

Living with an autoimmune disorder can feel like having a part-time job you never applied for. There are symptoms to manage, appointments to attend, energy levels to monitor, and the occasional need to cancel plans because your body has other ideas. And that’s just the physical side of things. One of the hardest parts of chronic illness is that many of its biggest challenges are invisible. You might look perfectly fine on the outside while feeling completely exhausted on the

Sometimes anger is the emotion we notice first. It's the initial sign that something feels off in our relationships with others, or our nervous system feels imbalanced. Anger arrives loudly. It tells us something is wrong. It demands attention. It can feel easier to understand than sadness because anger gives us energy, direction, and a sense of protection. Grief, on the other hand, asks us to slow down and feel what hurts. For many therapy clients, anger can be the emotion s

One of the biggest misconceptions about therapy is that you have to be falling apart before you seek support. In reality, therapy is often about increasing your capacity. Think of your emotional well-being like a cup. Every difficult client interaction, workplace expectation, emotional conversation, sleepless night, family responsibility, and endless to-do list adds another drop. Eventually, your cup becomes so full that even a minor inconvenience—a last-minute schedule chang

Sometimes the best therapy tool isn't a comfy couch - it's a good pair of walking shoes. When most people picture counselling, they imagine sitting across from a therapist in a cozy office, clutching a cup of tea and talking through life's challenges. That's still a wonderful way to do therapy... but it's not the only way. Walk and talk therapy takes the conversation outside, where healing happens one step at a time. There's something about moving your body while sorting thro

Imagine your best friend called you after a rough day. They forgot an important meeting, snapped at someone they love, and were convinced they had everything all wrong. Would you respond with: "Wow... you really messed that up. You should have known better." Probably not. You'd likely remind them th at everyone has bad days, that they're doing the best they can, and that one mistake doesn't define who they are. So here's the real question… Why is it so much easier to be kind

"I just want to be happy." It's one of the most common things people say when they start therapy. And honestly, who wouldn't want that? We're surrounded by messages telling us that happiness should be the end goal. Social media is full of smiling faces, self-help books promise the secret to happiness, and it's easy to feel like everyone else has somehow figured it out. The problem? Happiness isn't meant to be a permanent emotional state. No matter how well life is going, ther

One-at-a-Time Therapy vs. Long-Term Therapy: Which Approach Is Right for You? When people think about counselling, they often imagine a person attending weekly sessions with the same therapist for months or even years. While long-term counselling can be deeply transformative, it is not the only way to benefit from therapy. For many individuals, one-at-a-time therapy (OAATT) provides meaningful support for a specific challenge without requiring an ongoing commitment. The truth

Rachel Clare, MSW, RSW (2026) We have all experienced it. You arrive home after work, school, or an exhausting day of errands and social interactions. You collapse onto the couch and open your phone to catch up on Instagram or TikTok. At first, it feels comforting. Relaxing. “Just a few more minutes,” you tell yourself. Then suddenly, an hour—or two—has disappeared. Instead of feeling restored, you feel drained. Maybe there is a low hum of anxiety in your chest, or you find y