Sometimes having a healthy boundary means that it is alright to move forward in your life, even though someone you care about is not yet living a healthy life. You may feel guilty about leaving someone behind, and yet there is an important gift that you are giving the other person.

What is one thing that long lasting healthy relationships have in common? They make the time to build rituals of emotional connection within their relationship.  A ritual is a regular behaviour that preserves and honours things that are important to people.  What can be more important than hounouring yourself and the relationship that you have with another person?  Building rituals of emotional connection help couples turn towards one another, builds trust, increases closeness and intimacy, and improves friendships. Rituals of emotional connection can come in many forms from daily rituals to traditions, etc.

There are many ways to create rituals for emotional connection within your relationship:

There are a number of different modalities or types of couples and family therapy. Here is a quick look at some common types.

There are a lot of ideas about what makes a good friend…a friend should be there for you no matter what, doesn’t judge you, is kind and respectful. While this idea is nice, I question whether this is realistic, does this idea perpetuate perfectionism in friendships, and what happens when a friend does not live up to these expectations?  

​Do you ever feel like you and are partner are repeating the same pattern over and over again? You or your partner says something that pushes buttons, one or both of you lose it, and then down the rabbit hole you go! The flooding of emotions during conflicts with a partner can be overwhelming and can lead to hurt feelings, regret, fear, and can even result in relationships ending. 

By: Cassandra Nordal, PR & Marketing Coordinator

Heating pads, chronic pain, uncontrollable bleeding, cramps, pain medication, depression, invasive procedures, tears, embarrassment, hormone therapy, infertility, bloating, debilitation, thrush, anemia, hormone imbalances, never being able to sleep and always wanting to sleep, extreme swelling and bloating, constant weight fluctuations, extreme dietary changes, painful scar tissue, late night/early morning ER visits, body aches, migraines, tension headaches, vomiting and IBS, and loss of function with certain organs - This is Endometriosis.

By: Kelly Halonen, RSW, MSW

Dreams can have a variety of different meanings. From helping you process your day or past, exploring your deepest fears and desires, or seeming to make no sense at all. While dream analysis isn’t an exact science, there have been common themes or ideas that seem to pop up in dreams. And like many of the experiences we go through, our interpretations help us to create meaning.

​Here are some common elements that may appear in your dreams, and what they could mea

​Marijuana has had its controversy over the years. With it now being legal in Canada, more people are exploring its effecton their mental health. While not for everyone, some people find that marijuana can help their anxiety; and though I don’t believe that it should be used as a main coping skill, it has its benefits. Here’s some basic information about marijuana and what we know about its effects. Please note that this article may be a triggering for some and we recommend always discussing (prior to use) with your family physician and your mental health provider. 

​Whether you’ve made a New Year’s Resolution to focus on your wellbeing, or simply feel like now is the right time, you may be contemplating speaking with a therapist. You might have come to this decision easily, or maybe it’s something you have contemplated for a long time. Whatever the reason, sometimes the jump from deciding to speak to someone to scheduling your first appointment can be daunting. You may ask yourself: what is the therapist going to ask me to do? How much should I share about myself? How can I trust a total stranger? What if they judge me? 

Holidays are tough. A lot of us struggle with the financial aspect of whether we can provide the gifts we want to our loved ones or host a dinner or get-together. A lot of us struggle with animosity within our family or friend groups and how that’s going to impact get-togethers and dinners – and a lot of us this year, are worried about holiday happenings during a global pandemic.

Everyone has different things they love about the holidays. This could be the decorations, spending time with loved ones, the snow, the food, getting gifts, or giving gifts. Have you ever noticed how some people just love gift giving? They want to find the perfect present and get joy just from you receiving this gift. But why? Isn’t this just buying into the materialistic culture of the holidays? Not always. A lot of the time it isn’t about what the gift is, but how happy it makes the person getting the gift. Let’s explore some reasons some people love gift giving. ​

​Cheating, whether in a monogamous or polyamorous relationship, is sometimes so difficult that relationships have difficulty withstanding the hurt and pain of cheating, and sometimes the relationship will end.  For some, cheating is a limit or boundary that cannot be accepted because of one’s values and beliefs, and as such, the relationship cannot be recovered.

​With the spooky season upon us, you may be wondering why a mental health article is talking about witchcraft, more specifically, the kind of modern-day witchcraft that I have personally seen and learned about.

​Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that is related to changes in seasons. SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year and, if you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

​It is never too late to start over and build the life that you want!

​At first, it was the crying. The hyperventilating and crying. Crying so hard that you can’t breathe. Crying so much that you wonder when you’re going to run out of tears. You can’t stop it. You just have to let it out. People try to comfort you, but them being close makes it harder to breathe. Makes you cry harder.

​Why is vulnerability important?  Vulnerability allows us to share our feelings and emotions, our experiences, as well as our mistakes, to improve self-awareness and to practice accountability.

Here are some helpful tips and tricks to journaling. 

​When I used to hear “emotional manipulation,” I’d usually think of a five-letter word that I despise - abuse. Four years later – I now think of myself.

​Sisu is a term that I have heard used many times in my life and that I have even seen commonly tattooed on many bodies in the Thunder Bay area.  Just what does Sisu mean? And what can it tell us about resiliency and happiness?

​Often couples evaluate their relationship based upon how much they fight.  When they are not fighting, things must be going well and when they are fighting, things must NOT be going well within their relationship. It is a myth that healthy couples do not fight or do not fight often.