“Depression” and “suburbia” are two words that you don’t usually see in the same sentence. Those who promote suburbia tend to want to portray it as a place where happiness and fulfillment abound. However, as any therapist or counsellor can tell you, depression and anxiety…
One of the most fundamental questions a person can ask is whether his or her life, taken as a whole, is meaningful to her or him. This is different from an abstract question about “The Meaning of Life”. There is no abstract universal answer to…
If you haven’t seen it, “Into the Wild” is a 2007 film written and directed by Sean Penn, and starring Emile Hirsh. It is based on the true life story of Christopher McCandless, originally recounted by John Krakauer in his 1992 book of the same…
There is no manifestation in our modern lives of what Jungians call “the shadow” that is more dramatic or potentially more deadly than road rages. In its Wednesday July 9/08 edition, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported on a particularly tragic and deadly incident which…
Ever greater numbers of people are carrying pocket-sized wireless email devices, or pocket digital assistants (PDAs) like the RIM Blackberry or the Palm Treo. As a phenomenon, it seemed to start with people in the financial sector and in IT, but it has spread rapidly…
There are parts of ourselves that we do not yet know, or that we are not yet ready to acknowledge. We have an idea of ourselves, a picture of who we are, that is mixed in with who we wish we were, and who…
Recently, I saw an excellent production of Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya, presented by Toronto’s dynamic Soulpepper Theatre, which opens up powerfully issues at midlife and in the second half of life. Soulpepper opened up this play in a particularly insightful, poignant and empathic way. Their interpretation reveals…
“Say No to Big Box Schools” is a message on signs recently posted around my neighbourhood in Oakville. The local school board has announced plans to consolidate a number of schools, in some cases closing smaller schools that have been part of communities for a…
There is a theme or motif that I see repeated with great frequency among my client group. There are always profound individual variations and unique aspects, but there are common central kinds of experience. © Hanhanpeggy | Dreamstime.com A great many of the individuals I…
I’m enjoying the process of writing this blog on a regular basis, and having the chance to communicate with all of you about different aspects of what it is to be a therapist and a Jungian in Halton and Peel Regions in this continually surprising…