This is definitely a commonly asked question! And although I practice both talk and art therapy, I am more leaning towards the benefits of art therapy in this article as there is less information about this topic compared to the various forms of talk therapy, if you are looking for some more information about talk therapy please check out this link. To start art therapy does not rely solely on the verbal as a means of self-awareness, exploration of experiences, and understanding of feelings. The art acts as a gateway to explore things in ways that can allow clients to self-regulate through the art. Verbal therapy approaches can also offer ways to self-regulate with teaching relaxation tools and utilizing meditation. As I have the experience of providing both talk therapy and art therapy, I find the art intrinsically taps into this ability to open up more avenues of reflection and self-understanding. Talk therapy also has its numerous benefits, and can be a great option for many.

With summer upon us, kids out of school, and trying to manage the demands of home life and work life, “mom guilt” can start to amplify. Most of us feel the weight of mom guilt throughout the entire year, particularly at the times for many moms when our children highlight the ways we are not fully present, their upset about us missing an important event, or telling us they want to spend more time together, or in those moments when we finally have a break for ourselves and we feel the weight that we must be doing something productive. Mom guilt in the summer can be even louder than other times in the year as there is the usual pressures of the juggling act between work and home life, along with coordinating camps and/or care, and the weight many moms feel to create lasting childhood summer memories. With these added responsibilities we feel, it can lead to increase in anxiety, and feeling burnout. I have had those summers in the past particularly during the summers of covid, when I felt completely run down by August, thinking to myself I thought summer was supposed to be the time to recharge, not burnout. With these moments in time, I tap into what I know and what I have learned along the journey thus far, and pivot to see how I can support myself differently. Please find below 4 possible ways you can cope with summer mom guilt and support yourself to have a more fulfilling summer:

With summer in full swing, and many wanting to soak up the summer moments. I thought I would write a special edition blog with some of my favourite spots in the Ajax and surrounding area for summer and all year round. As I feel getting outside in the summer is so important as well as all year round! Also, I would recommend checking out my blog article “Making the Most of Summertime” while finding the right balance for your family. Below are 4 of my favourite spots to take the kids and family:

​​​With summer around the corner, how will you be navigating screens? This topic is a sign of the times, and speaks to the how much screens have become a part of many children’s everyday life especially over the course of covid. With screens not going away anytime soon, and yet also knowing the negative impacts of screen time, for many parents it can be hard to strike the right balance for your family and child(ren). An article from the Canadian Pediatric Society shares that passive screen time use and even background tv has negative effects on a child’s development including lower cognitive abilities, diminishing child-parent interactions, negative impact on executive functioning, and decreasing focused attention. In addition, in my experience, if your child has challenging behaviours, reducing screen time tends to have a positive impact. And most of us post-pandemic has heard the correlation between higher screen use and increased risk of mental health concerns including anxiety in depression, this includes for children, youth and adults. Lastly, if your child is going to use screentime the research supports reducing passive watching, and encouragement of educational and interactive screen engagement. Please find below 5 strategies to consider in navigating the terrains of screen time with your child(ren):

​Building off the posts in May about Art Therapy, each month I aim to write one post about some commonly asked questions of clients and professionals about Art Therapy. In this post we will look at what an Art Therapy session may look like. 

What is mother rage? What is the difference between anger and rage? And how can I cope? These are common questions circulating among mothers in various platforms, groups and other areas. The National Library of Medicine describes “mother rage” as a term growing in popularity referring to a mother’s experience of anger or rage during motherhood. Anger is a normal emotion that we all experience, it shows up when our boundaries are being pushed or our needs are not being met, and it is healthy to express this in safe ways so anger does not build up and accumulate in our body. Rage is a more intense form of anger that can feel uncontrollable and all consuming, this experience can be a result of “stuffing emotions”, unprocessed anger, and/or an intense warning sign that something is out of balance. When we have an experience of intense emotion it is important for us to seek the supports and resources we need, please find below a few suggestions to consider as well as additional information:

​The mind-body balance is a key part of recovery and healing. Dr. Bhakti Murkey Sisodia shares the mind and body acting in sync with one another, with the mind interacting with the body through the Pineal gland and our body interacting with the mind through various neuro-chemicals (tiny molecules acting as messengers between neurons). The Neurology Centre of Toronto explains the connection as the interconnectedness of our minds and bodies through various communication networks of our brain and the neurological, endocrine, and immune systems of our body. A beautifully written article from Positive Psychology about the mind-body connection shares a quote from Selhub (2007) stating “In mind-body medicine, the mind and body are not seen as separately functioning entities, but as one functioning unit. The mind and emotions are viewed as influencing the body, as the body, in turn, influences the mind and emotions”. There are ways through therapy and various holistic modalities that someone can support mind-body balance. Please find below four considerations:

As we approach the end of Mental Health Month, I wanted to integrate in the benefits of gardening with the gardening season in full swing. There are benefits to doing gardening solo, with a partner, or if you are a parent/caregiver with your child(ren). Please find below 4 potential benefits:

Building off of last week’s post of “What is Art Therapy?”, this part 2 of 2 series will look at some of the potential benefits of art therapy. In my experience as an Art Therapist, I have seen time and time again the power of art to help people heal, and to gain deeper understanding of their feelings both physical and emotional. Please find below some of the benefits I wish to highlight in this article:

​I have heard this question many a times over, and people are curious to hear more. So let’s get started with what is art therapy, it is the use of art materials for a client to express and explore their internal world of emotions and experiences with the guidance of a trained Art Therapist. Art therapy can be helpful for all ages and different presenting concerns. For example, it can be helpful for trauma as flashbacks and visual imagery is stored in the visual part of the brain, which art therapy is able to access through its visual nature. In addition, when working with trauma it is important for the client to feel the processing of their experiences feel contained and not overwhelming for them, and to also be able to self-regulate during the process; art offers both an important container for the emotions and experiences of trauma, and has the ability to help the client self-regulate in the process as engaging the senses of sight and touch (potentially smell and hearing) supports being more grounded and in the present moment. It is also widely used with children and youth, as the art helps them share their experiences of trauma, stresses, and/or emotions that can be difficult to express in words but can be captured through the art process.