Individual Counselling Archives

PTSD and First Responders

May 14, 2015 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC PTSD

We often hear the phrases, “They run towards danger when everyone else is running away,” “They put their lives on the line every day,” “They saved my child’s life.” These statements are true of all first responders. They are the ones who devote their lives to saving others. They are the ones who are first to respond on scene to tragic accidents, assaults, murders, search and rescue operations, and other major crimes.

Once they have completed a call, they get another one and move on. There is no real time to process what they have seen, witnessed and heard. They take these images home with them and are left to process them on their own.

Many first responders find that over time they are not able to sleep or function normally through the day, and are haunted by nightmares and flashbacks.

Unfortunately there is still a large stigma around PTSD and first responders. Many do not feel that they have support of their colleagues or of their superiors and therefore they suffer in silence. They may feel that they are supposed to be strong and do not report the symptoms they are facing. They may feel like these symptoms will subside and they suppress their thoughts and feelings until they reach a boiling point. They may feel like if they come forward, they will be ridiculed or will lose their job.

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The “C” Word – A Personal Story of Coping With Cancer

September 17, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC child grief Parenting

Suddenly I felt like I could no longer breathe; it was as if someone had placed a heavy weight on my chest. There were no tears, and I wouldn’t describe the feeling as sadness but instead, more as an overwhelming sense of numbness. Infinite thoughts seemed to be stirring in my brain, bouncing around from side to side, but the main thought that pushed through the chaos with clarity was one question, one word…. Why?

Perhaps it is cliché to say, but my mom is my best friend, my rock, and truly my guardian angel on earth. So, logically, the day it was confirmed that my mother had breast cancer was the day I felt that my whole world became uplifted, shaken upside down, and scattered anywhere and everywhere.

I did realize that this was bigger than me; I knew I would have to step up and become her rock like she had always been mine. I knew I would have to take over responsibilities that she would no longer be able to attend to; I knew I would have to take care of her. [Read more…]

Money Stress? 5 Simple Money-Saving Tips

July 16, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC money

Do you have money stress? Charmaine Huber is a certified money coach with Money Coaches Canada. She helps individuals, families and entrepreneurs by making money management easy to understand, and most of all, simple to do. She believes it is never too late to take control of your finances. We asked Charmaine to share her best money-saving tips.

1. Switch your bank accounts to a bank that respects you. You shouldn’t be spending your hard-earned money on bank fees – why are you paying the bank to keep YOUR money? They should be paying YOU some interest on your checking and savings accounts.

2. Turn off the television. One big way to save money is to watch less television. There are a lot of financial benefits to this: less exposure to guilt-inducing ads, more time to focus on other things in life, less electrical use, and so on. It’s great to unwind in the evening, but find another way to do that.

3. Master the thirty-day rule. Whenever you’re considering making a purchase you think you just have to have, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Quite often, you’ll find that the urge to buy has passed and you’ll have saved yourself some money by simply waiting. [Read more…]

Anorexia and Our Son – A Personal Story

June 26, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC anxiety body image child depression eating disorder

This is a guest post by Wendy Hunter.

As a parent of a 15-year-old boy, I never would have believed that he would be diagnosed with anorexia. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened 10 years ago to my son Steven. Initially we thought he had mononucleosis because he was always exhausted and didn’t want to eat much. I suspected it was something else, especially when he told me he thought he was fat! At the time, he was about 115 pounds and 5’10”. I contacted the eating disorders program at Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Barrie and the journey to get him well began.

As a parent, I moved into action. We began working with the RVH eating disorders Program. My son and I both received individual counselling and both participated in group counselling with other families who were struggling like us. It was quite helpful, especially for me because I kept wondering what I did wrong as a parent. How did I fail my son? [Read more…]

Eating Disorders – A Client’s Personal Story

June 24, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC anxiety body image child depression eating disorder

The following is a personal story from someone with an eating disorder:

I can start off by saying that my story is probably not unlike many other stories of people who have suffered from an eating disorder.

I can say that I truly do not believe that anyone can understand what it’s really like to have an eating disorder unless you yourself have had one as well. Many people simply think that it is an issue with food and that the person can be cured if they would just eat.

That is so far from the truth and probably the smallest component of an eating disorder and is the easiest part to treat. Most treatment programs do focus on eating and food consumption because this is obviously important as the body needs food in order to sustain itself.

However, any good eating disorder treatment will need to focus on the inside, the psychological aspect of the disease in order to fully treat it and be successful. [Read more…]

Eating Disorders – Guidelines for Therapists

June 23, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC anxiety body image CBT eating disorder

Current family-based therapies recognize that although we do not necessarily know what causes eating disorders, there are many factors that contribute to their development.

The three main types of eating disorders

Anorexia nervosa: People with anorexia tend to have a distorted image of their bodies, believing that they are overweight even if they are dangerously thin. They refuse to eat, often count calories obsessively, and exercise excessively. Generally speaking, those with anorexia tend to be perfectionistic and often come from families where there are high expectations.

Bulimia nervosa: People with bulimia tend to eat excessive amounts of food and then purge the food from their bodies through the use of diuretics, laxatives, vomiting and exercise. There tends to be a great deal of guilt and shame attached to this disorder, therefore their activities are done secretively. People with bulimia often tend to be impulsive in nature.

Binge eating disorder: This is the same as bulimia to the extent that people tend to eat excessive amounts of food and often experience episodes of “ out of control” eating. However, they do not purge their bodies of food. Again, as there tends to be a great deal of guilt and shame, and their activities are often done in a secretive fashion. [Read more…]

Dialectic Behavioural Therapy

January 29, 2014 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC addiction coping

The goal of any treatment is to help the patient in their effort to build a life that they feel is worth living and encourage their feeling of self-worth. The idea behind dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is to create a dynamic that promotes the two opposing goals of change and acceptance.

By helping the patient change and accept what has happened in their past, they can move forward with greater ease and accept their new “normal.” This also balances the patient’s desire to eliminate all painful experiences and accept life’s inevitable pain.

How DBT is used in addiction counselling

DBT has typically been used to treat patients who suffer from multiple severe psychosocial disorders and those who are chronically suicidal. DBT has been also designed to promote abstinence from drug and alcohol use and to reduce the length and impact of possible relapses. In addiction counselling, DBT teaches patients to envision, articulate, pursue and sustain the goals they have set in treatment. [Read more…]

Grief and the Ghosts of Christmas Past

December 19, 2013 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC grief

Coping with feelings of grief is difficult and complicated at any time, but during the Christmas season it is even harder. We think about those who have died, memories of previous celebrations surface, and our hearts ache. Our ghosts walk with us and make our steps heavy.

Over the years, Family TLC has helped many people turn their sorrow into a celebration and even into laughter. I invite you to read on and share in the stories of some of our ghosts of Christmas past. You may be surprised to find that they may help you celebrate with your own ghosts. The names of our clients have been changed to protect their privacy. [Read more…]

Painkiller Addiction

October 17, 2013 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC addiction coping

People often assume that if a doctor prescribed a drug, it can’t possibly be harmful, yet many painkillers such as opiates are highly addictive. Without careful, extensive monitoring by a doctor, a user can easily get into trouble.

Most people who must take pain medication do not intend to become dependent. They do not use the drug to get high, but after a period of prolonged use they can become consumed by the drug until they cannot function without it.

Many of these issues arise when the user misinterprets or simply ignores the doctor’s instructions. A person may take more than the prescribed dosage and may also continue to take the painkiller for many months beyond what the doctor advised.
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Youth and Addictions

October 10, 2013 By Sue Cook, RSW, CCC, MEd Counselling, BAFN, CYC addiction anxiety child teenager

Teen addiction is becoming more and more prevalent in our society today. Young people face pressures in all areas of their lives. Their parents pressure them to get good grades. They pressure themselves to do well enough to get into their college or university of choice. Friends pressure them to do things they might not have done otherwise.

They feel all of this pressure while balancing school and work, along with extra-curricular activities like basketball, competitive dance, music, skating, swimming or other thing they enjoy.

Escaping the pressure

Sometimes all of this pressure breaks a young person down and they turn to drugs, alcohol, or video games – anything that can help them escape the turmoil. Teens are often unsure who can they can talk to about these feelings so they try to ignore or suppress the feelings in hopes they will go away on their own.
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