Most people who come into therapy don’t walk in saying, “I have negative thoughts and I’d like to work on them.” What they usually say instead sounds much more familiar and much more human. They say things like, “I overthink everything,” or “My mind just doesn’t stop,” or “I know I’m probably being irrational, but...

Insecurity can show up in different ways, second-guessing yourself at work, worrying about what others think, or constantly comparing your life to everyone else’s. For some, it’s that familiar anxiety that appears before speaking up in a meeting or asking for what you need in a relationship. As an integrative psychotherapist, I see how deeply...

Let’s talk about compassion. It’s one of those words that sounds simple until you actually try to live it. People often confuse compassion with kindness, but they’re not the same. Kindness is part of it, sure, but compassion also includes courage. The kind of courage it takes to face suffering, whether it’s your own or...

How you allow people to treat you often sets the tone for every relationship you have. And it starts with boundaries. Not walls or ultimatums, just lines that show what you’re willing to accept and what you’re not. Boundaries are how you protect your energy, your time, and your emotional wellbeing. But if they’re so...

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we, as therapists, choose to show in the room and what we’ve been trained to hide. The neutrality. The nodding and listening. The holding back. We reflect, we ask the right questions, we stay steady. And we’re taught, often with the best of intentions, that therapy isn’t...

Sometimes, I lose count of how many times I hear the word “sorry” in a session. “Sorry for crying.” “Sorry, I’m rambling.” “Sorry, this probably doesn’t make sense.” “Sorry, I cursed.” “Sorry I’m a mess today.” “Sorry, I know we’ve spoken about this before a million times.” Recently, a client told me they’d recommended Kare...

A client recently looked at me mid-session and asked, almost jokingly, “You’re not one of those therapists who just keeps asking how I feel, are you?” We both laughed, but something in the question stuck with me. It felt familiar. Almost cliche. And yet, underneath the humour, I sensed something else. Maybe discomfort. Maybe frustration....

You tell yourself to play it cool. It’s just a text. But three hours go by, and the silence starts to feel loud. The longer it stretches, the more something inside you tightens. You’re checking your phone without even realizing it. The message was “seen.” They’ve been active. Your stomach drops. And now you’re wondering…...

“I just didn’t want to disappoint them.” “I said yes, even though I was already overwhelmed.” “I know I should have set a boundary, but I felt awful about it.” These phrases are common in therapy rooms. The inability to say no especially without guilt is not simply a matter of poor communication skills or...