It Happened Again! How to Deal with Staff Turnover
It happened again, didn't it? One of your counsellors left for another job, maternity leave, or to return to school, leaving a giant HOLE in your agency!| I FEEL YOU! You invested in their training and development and you relied on them to provide their unique brand...
It’s Not True! Myths About Anger – a thread
Tradition says that anger is what we see, and it is a mask for more “primary” emotions that lie beneath the surface. This is not true! Anger is, in fact, a basic emotion that emerges as early as the first year of life.
The Slap Heard Around the World
So, about the SLAP. I did not watch the Oscars that fateful night, but I did hear about the slap the next morning. Lots of people have an opinion on his motives and the rightness or wrongness of his actions. I'll just say this: in this case a little Anger Solutions...
How To Support People with Mental Illness in the Church
by Julie Christiansen, MA Registered Psychotherapist One in five Canadians will have a mental illness or addiction in their lifetime. This means that one in five persons in your church are likely to be affected by a mental illness. Why is mental health so feared and...
When Stress and Anger Affect Your Business
At 59 Bob* was a successful businessman. He had built his business from the ground up over 30 years and was well respected in his community. On the surface, it looked like Bob had everything going for him – health, wealth, a lovely family and a beautiful wife; but...
Face Your Fears
Fear and anxiety can be overwhelming but there is power in facing your fears!
Be a Bridge
Over the past 30 some years but more so over the last several weeks I have wondered what is my purpose in the midst of all this racial tension? Do I have a role in the race war that seems to be heating up all around us? What I've realized when I've tossed all the...
The Times… They are Changing
We may all be in this together, but we’re not going through it the same way.
How to Discipline an “Angry” Child
I was asked just recently what to do about a child who has begun to act out aggressively when he experiences frustration. Here are my thoughts: First - a child needs to be taught, and reminded, that feeling angry is OK. Anger is an emotion and should not be judged as...
Prosperity, Planning & Purpose
When Anxiety Feels Like It’s Winning
Recently, a client mentioned, "I often find myself fidgeting and engaging in compulsive behaviours like nail-biting when I feel anxious. I'd like to be able to calm myself and keep myself from getting caught up in these habits. What should I do?" After some discussion...
Radical, positive, lasting change in ACTION
Is radical, positive, lasting change even possible? When you think about the fact that the typical time for a youth at risk between the ages of 16 and 24 to remain in a job is less than 90 days, 2 years is a long time. When you consider that young offenders have a...
Introducing It is Well – A Study of Motherhood in Times of Crisis
As mothers, it is our destiny to face tragedy or crisis of some kind. There is no rule book that says mothers must outlive their children, or that a young mother will not lose a spouse in the early years of a marriage. There is no law that declares that...
Nobody’s Guru
I've been in this business a long time. It was in 1997 that I started BODA reLEAF consulting and later rebranded to Leverage U more than 10 years later. In the early days, being received as a motivational speaker and expert on anger and stress was heady stuff. It was...
Goodbye Fear: The Breakup Song
I cannot get enough of Francesca Battistelli's new song, "The Breakup Song". I love that part of the chorus that says, "I ain't got time for you telling me what I'm not, like you know me... well guess what? I know who I am. I know I'm strong, and I am free - got my...
Step Four: Develop Your Assertiveness Skills
As we have learned in the previous chapters, we all express our anger in some way, either inwardly or outwardly. The most common types of behavioural and verbal expression fall into three categories: aggressive, passive or assertive. Of course, there are those we...
Stress Management: Attitude is Where It Begins
Attitude is Where It All BeginsWhen you think about stress management, what do you think of? Do you picture hammocks, white sandy beaches, and azure blue oceans? Do you think of soothing music, candles, and a hot bath in a claw-foot tub overflowing with bubbles? Or...
Tis the Season for Giving – Helping the Homeless
I had an interesting experience last week that really affected me - so much so that I had to wait almost a week to write about it. Every Tuesday, I commute to Toronto to my teaching job at George Brown College. On my first day using public transit, I counted four...
Anger Solutions for Kids: FLUSH IT!!!
In honour of our first Anger Solutions for Kids group starting this April at my counselling office in Thorold, I thought it might be fun to share one of the exercises we have a blast with in our group. This exercise is part of the process of RELEASING RESIDUAL ANGER,...
Anger Solutions: Belief is the Basis of Action
Some years ago, I was talking with a client about his particular limiting beliefs. I remember sharing with him the notion that belief is the basis of action, and watching as revelation dawned in his facial expression. He wrote it down in his notebook in large, bold...