People come to counselling because they are hurting. Something has gone awry. A relationship ends, a career stalls, health declines. Clients come in search of healing and repair in the throes of adversity. Counselling therapy can be helpful as we navigate the difficult passages of life. However, if therapy is only for times when things […]
Living a Beautiful Life: Habits for Mental Health Read More »
There was a time when birthdays were about cakes, balloons, grainy photographs of toothless children. A while later, birthdays were about friends, campfires, beer-soaked nights at bars. With the passing years, birthdays become more subdued, more in keeping with the mundane circuit of life. Youthful celebration gives way to pensive reflection. Birthdays are signposts on
Each Day I Begin Again Read More »
Hirayama is not a hero. He is not an allegorical figure who represents the plight of everyman. He is a plain individual, singular in his simplicity, ordinary by all measures. Yet in living his mundane life, we see the quiet dignity of someone who marvels at the splendour of each day. Wim Wenders, (Paris, Texas
Living Our Perfect Days Read More »
I heard someone complain once: “I want my friends to listen and my therapist to give my advice. But it turns out, my therapist listens and my friends give me advice.” This observation raises questions about the role of therapists in relation to friendship. What we seek in friendships – understanding, sympathy, solidarity – is
Is Counselling Therapy a Form of Paid Friendship? Read More »
I notice a pattern among clients who suffer from burn-out. In the clutch of demanding responsibilities, people fear that everything will collapse without their involvement. Duties wither their spirits, but they cannot shirk their tasks. “My children need me,” they might say. “The team will cease to function without me.” Thus, they are caught in
The Logic of Burn-Out: Why We Tolerate the Intolerable 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 »
Disclaimer: This entry contains graphic descriptions of a physical Injury. Reader discretion is advised On 27 April, 2021, I lost part of my right index finger inside my dog’s clenching jaws. It was a tempest and a comedy of errors both. Like all accidents, the mishap unfolded under circumstances most ordinary. Miles, an eight-year old
An Injury and a Trip to the Hospital 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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