If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, you’ll know there is a version of yourself that exists before it…and another version that exists after. For most of my life, I had never experienced anxiety. I was the person others leaned on. As a psychotherapist, I spent my days helping people navigate panic, trauma, grief, and overwhelm. I understood the nervous system. I knew the theory. I knew what happened in the brain and body during a panic attack. Then, one day, I became the

When we think of self-care, we often picture the relaxing things: a spa day, a walk, a yoga class. But sometimes the most meaningful act of self-care is the one we've been avoiding. The difficult conversation. The boundary we've been putting off. The decision we already know we need to make.

People often ask me what relationship skill matters most in leadership. Communication usually tops the list. And while communication is important, I don't think it's the skill that creates the biggest difference. After years of working with couples, families, and individuals, I've come to believe that the relationship skill that matters most is listening. Not hearing. But Listening. There's a difference. Most of us listen with the intention of responding. We listen while prep

On paper, they seem to have it all together. They're successful in their careers. They're driven, intelligent, capable, and reliable. They solve problems for a living. People depend on them. They know how to push through challenges and get things done. Yet in my work as a psychotherapist, I've noticed something interesting: Many high achievers struggle in their relationships. Not because they don't care. Not because they're bad partners. And certainly not because they're inca

I was thinking recently about how many leaders I’ve worked with over the years. Business owners. Executives. Managers. Team leaders. And one thing I’ve noticed is that many of them are carrying a tremendous amount of stress, pressure, and responsibility. Yet when they walk into work, they feel they need to leave their emotions at the door. As if leadership means being unaffected. For decades, many of us were taught the same lesson about leadership: Be strong. Be confident. St

June has always been a complicated month for me. On one hand, it's a month filled with celebration. The school year winds down. Summer begins to peek around the corner. Families gather. Father's Day arrives. But June is also my father's birthday month. And for the past thirteen years, it has been a reminder of someone who should still be here. As a therapist, I spend a great deal of time talking about grief. I sit with people through losses of all kinds. Yet what grief has ta

There’s a question I hear more often than almost any other:“Do you think I’m dating a narcissist?” And usually, it doesn’t come from a place of curiosity.It comes from confusion. It sounds like: “Something feels off, but I can’t explain it.” “I keep questioning myself after we argue.” “I don’t know if I’m overreacting… or if something’s actually wrong.” Before we answer that question, we need to slow it down. Because not everything that feels painful, confusing, or even unhea

As we move closer to summer, many parents start noticing shifts in their children before school has even officially ended. Some kids become more emotional. Others become more dysregulated, clingy, irritable, distracted, or exhausted. And often, as adults, we look at summer as something exciting and freeing for children. But transitions, even positive ones, can still feel overwhelming to a child’s nervous system. The structure they’ve relied on all year is about to change. The

Let’s talk about red flags. But not in the way the internet talks about them. Because if I’m honest, I don’t think most people are out here completely missing red flags. I think we’re actually really good at seeing them. We just become even better at explaining them away. And that’s a very different conversation. It usually doesn’t look like, “I didn’t notice anything.”It looks more like, “I noticed it… but it didn’t feel big enough to walk away from.” Or maybe it felt big, b

As we move through the month of May, we know that Mother’s Day can linger in different ways for many - sometimes gently, sometimes more heavily. We wanted to take a moment to honour all the versions of motherhood that exist, in all their complexity. When I sat down to write this Mother’s Day message, I paused. Because the truth is, how do you write about motherhood in a way that truly includes everyone? How do you honour the joy, without overlooking the grief? The fullness, w

Many women experience mood swings, anxiety, or depressive episodes without realizing that their hormones may be playing a significant role. The relationship between mental health and hormones is complex, but understanding how fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol affect mood can help you take control of your emotional well-being. From the menstrual cycle to perimenopause and beyond, hormonal changes can create waves of emotional instability, but the good news i

Loneliness is one of the most misunderstood emotional experiences. Most people associate it with being physically alone - an empty room, a quiet weekend, a life with too much space in it. But in my work as a relational psychotherapist, I often see a different kind of loneliness. The kind that shows up inside relationships. The kind that appears even when two people share a home, a bed, a family, a life. This form of loneliness is subtle, quiet, and deeply human. And because

On Saturday, November 22nd , SOUL FUEL Fitness + Pilates will open its doors to turn movement into money for St. Joseph’s Health Centre Toronto . Members of the Bloor West Village community and beyond are invited to come together for an afternoon to Dance Through The Ages & Save Lives of all Stages . With a fundraising goal of $25,000 , generously matched by TD Group , the event hopes to raise a total of $50,000 to support care at St. Joe’s. The team at Psychotherapy In The

(Warning: follow these instructions at your own moral risk. Or.... better - don’t. Read the “safer” alternatives instead.) If you’re into creating tiny human tyrants who think the world revolves around them, congratulations - you’re one click away from parent-of-the-year material. Follow these seven foolproof steps and you’ll be raising a little legend who always needs applause, never apologizes, and believes empathy is optional. Below each step: the real psychological idea b

Pregnancy and infant loss are deeply personal experiences - and no two stories are the same. For some, the grief is raw and consuming. For others, it’s quieter, or even hard to name. There isn’t one “right” way to feel after a loss like this. What’s often shared, though, is the silence that surrounds it. The uncertainty of what to say. The fear of saying the wrong thing. As therapists, we often hear from both sides - from those who’ve experienced loss and from friends or fami

When life hurts, we often turn inward—trying to make sense of things alone. But healing rarely happens in isolation. Connection, in its simplest form, can be the medicine that helps us breathe again, soften the edges of pain, and begin to find our footing.

For weeks, your days have been a blur of sunscreen, snack runs, and maybe a few too many mosquito bites. But now, the calendar is whispering a different story: back-to-school is almost here. And if you’re feeling a strange mix of relief, sadness, and a pinch of anxiety, you’re not alone.

It’s not because they’re not trying. It’s not because therapy has “failed.” Often, it’s because their mind and nervous system are so locked in patterns of fear, shame, or grief that it feels like they just can’t access what they need to heal. That’s one of the reasons I’ve become really hopeful about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). It’s a different way in. A shift in perspective, a loosening of the mental knots we can’t untangle by talking alone.

As a male therapist, I work with a lot of men who are accessing therapy for the first time. They like the idea of trying it out with someone they imagine will understand. I listen to their experiences and hear their longstanding beliefs about the idea of opening up to a professional, including the reasons they’ve avoided it until now. And to be honest, I get it.

We’re told that family is everything. That no matter what, we should forgive, stay close, and make it work. But what about when it’s...