• Mental health,  Therapy

    If you’re from Winnipeg you probably shouldn’t read this.

    One of my recent clients recently described a sense of overwhelming pessimism which they were experiencing. They were from Winnipeg, which some people might consider reason enough to feel that way, though that’s not a view to which I subscribe. Many years ago I had a very sweet client come to see me to quit smoking. It was in the early days of the practice. She was a very kind lady, name Carla. I believe she was the manager at Joe Fortes, a restaurant in Vancouver. I helped her quit smoking successfully. However, in subsequent years she sent so many of her staff to see me that I will always…

  • Mental health,  Therapy

    Twitter and Alternative Realities.

    Hi,Opening my Twitter the other day I was greeted by a message from sex abuse denier Jim Jordan, a distasteful individual who is campaigning for re-election in Ohio. This isn’t something calculated to put me in a good mood for the day. I see this, apparently, because other people I follow have clicked the ‘like’ button in Twitter, and so an algorithm cleverly written by someone who doesn’t know me, or apparently many other people and doesn’t get out very often thinks this is what I’d like to be exposed to first thing in the morning. Elon Musk’s recent takeover of the platform is the latest in a series of episodes…

  • Therapy

    The perils of morning exercise.

    Planting her feet firmly in a solid stance Mrs. Willoughby took the golf club in her hand, weighed it for heft and balance and took a practice swing. She found the flex and path of her drive to her satisfaction and then placed a ball on the tee she’d pressed into the sandy soil. She stretched her arms wide and twisted first to the left, and then the right to loosen her muscles, tight from the sleep she’d so recently risen from. The early morning light glinted from the surface of English bay, and the sound of wind moving through the trees helped her relax in preparation for her morning exercise.…