A couple of years ago we were on vacation and our flight home was cancelled. As a result, we were transported to a resort for the night, along with several hundred other passengers. The airline told us we would be taken back to the airport the next morning and given unlimited food and drink. It wasn’t convenient, but it wasn’t … Read More
10 Strategies for Dealing with Passive Aggressive People
We’ve all tried to avoid confrontation or felt we couldn’t directly express our thoughts and feelings to someone, which can sometimes cause us to act in ways that are passive aggressive. Like most personality traits, passive aggressiveness occurs along a continuum from mild to severe characteristics. While we may be passive aggressive from time to time, there are those who … Read More
The 5 Parts of a Meaningful Apology: Couple Relationships
5 Parts of a Meaningful Apology for Couples We hurt the ones we love all the time. It’s usually unintentional, or we don’t see the impact coming, but when this happens in our close relationships, the sting can be especially deep and enduring. I work with a lot of couples, and often there are metaphorical cupboards full of wounding memories … Read More
Focus on Presence, Not Presents
As each holiday season approaches, I must admit, I get a little grumpier every year – I may even be approaching “Bah Humbug!” status. Now before you label me a modern-day grinch, let me tell you, it’s not because I don’t like Christmas carols, cold weather, frosty windchills, or days that begin and end with darkness. It’s not even because … Read More
How to Make a Lasting Change
Do you have anything you would like to change? Is there something you do too much of? Or, is there something you do too little of? Would you like to change the way you interact with someone close to you, but feel like you are short on the willpower needed to take action? Maybe it feels like you’re in a … Read More
How to Spot a Bully
Bullying has become an increasingly prevalent topic in schools, homes, online, and in the workplace because this behaviour greatly affects the target. Victims of bullying behaviour feel unsafe in their workplace or school, and their mental health is impacted. A 2013 study published in the journal of Psychological Science found that “bullies, victims, and bully-victims are at risk for negative short … Read More
3 Ideas for Building Healthy Relationships
Building Healthy Relationships in Adulthood Human beings are relational. We are social creatures, and we need to be connected to others throughout our lives. This is easily understood in infancy and childhood, when we know that having reliable, safe, and emotionally nurturing adult caregivers is essential for healthy child development. However, this need for reliable relationships does not end as … Read More
4 Tips for Navigating Family Conflict
Conflict is usually seen as negative or something to be avoided. There is even a myth that there is no place for conflict in a happy or “functional” family. However, the truth is that conflict exists, and it can be a healthy part of engaging with others. While poorly handled conflict can break ties, decrease trust, and damage communication, conflict … Read More
7 Tips for Your Relationship After Children
Imagine that you are at work and your pay is cut by 50 percent, your workload doubles, your hours are extended, and you are on call throughout the night. What would the culture at your work be like? How would your most intimate relationships be affected? This is essentially what happens after birth. Household labour increases substantially, while personal resources … Read More
4 Life Lessons Learned While Struggling Uphill
Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! It’s 5:15 a.m. and we are up early in order to beat the +34°C heat of the afternoon. Howie and I (John) clip into our bikes and begin the brutal ascent up one of the many hills and mountains in Oregon. The initial incline felt like 40 kms of straight-up, vertical climbing hell. In reality, it … Read More
