Finding the right therapist can be a tricky business. It’s hard to know where to start. If you have never been to counselling, there may be a plethora of questions about the format, the length of treatment, cost, and insurance coverage. Therapeutic modalities can be baffling. More importantly, you will be sharing the most vulnerable […]
How to Find The Right Therapist Read More »
Thomas Merton once wrote: “I love beer, and, by that very fact, the world.” This statement is at once whimsical and puzzling. How does a fondness for pale ale stray into a confession of love for the world? Perhaps Merton suggests a fundamental relationship between the mundane and the sublime, the miniscule and the cosmical. Ask a brewer
I Love Coffee, and By That Very Fact, The World Read More »
In my clinical practice, I often meet clients who are at odds with themselves, caught between one commitment and another. They wrestle between aspiration and duty, self-care and care for others. There are teenagers who struggle to assert independence against the authority of their parents, lovers who cleave to each other despite the call of
“I know. . . but. . .”: Notes for Those Who Wrestle with Themselves. Read More »
Festive lights during the holiday season brighten up the long cold nights, but the shorter days can dampen our moods and spoil our outlook. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is the common name for a subtype of depressive disorder. The northern hemisphere sees fewer hours of daylight during the autumn and winter. We are less exposed to
Mental Health in the Dark: How to Cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder Read More »
Every meditator experiences ebbs and flows in practice. There are times when awareness arrests us, engulfing us in crystalline stillness. Other times we brace against squalls of the anxiety. Sometimes our discipline is sharp and square; we practice without waver. Other times we are reluctant to drag ourselves to the sitting cushion, depleted by the
Can’t Sit Still? What To Do With Restlessness in Meditation Read More »
Imagine the following: A mother laments her relationship with her adult son. “I am constantly thinking of my son. I cook and bring over food. I gave him the down payment for his first mortgage. I babysit my grand daughter. But my son speaks to me with disdain. He doesn’t call.” Her voice quivers and
Stuck in the Right: The Curse of Being Correct Read More »
Through his analysis of personality and psychic development, honed over many years of practice, Alfred Adler proposed the notion of the fictive final goal as the organizing principle at the core of personhood. The fictive final goal is a vision of completion, the ultimate end that holds the aim of all striving; it is the
Meditation and the Fictive Final Goal Read More »
On my way to work one morning in late April, I noticed that my surroundings were tinged in amber. The sky was a chalky gray and the sunlight was diffuse and faint, a hue that reminded me of previous summers when smoke blotted out the sun and shrouded Vancouver, where I have lived for over
The End of Summer: How the Climate Crisis Upends the Cheery Season Read More »
“I am human, and therefore nothing human can be foreign to me.” This quote from Terence, ancient Roman poet and playwright, crystalizes the unity of human experience. In a world of diversity and intersectionality, to ponder universality is to tread on dangerous ground. One cannot easily generalize personal experience, and there are many lived
When I Practice, I Practice for All Read More »
The mindfulness movement has gained significant momentum in recent decades. There is now widespread interest in mindfulness techniques and practices in the promotion of mental health. Many educators and health-care professionals see mindfulness—a suite of techniques that harness attention and awareness—as a way to manage stress and anxiety. The utilization of this technique as a
Three Analogies for Mindfulness Read More »
David Chang Counselling is gratefully located on the territories of the the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. David supports and celebrates diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, and neurological composition.
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