Articles
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Update – 29 July 2021
Update 29 July 2021 Dear Client, IMPORTANT UPDATE Changes to Booking Appointments: On Tuesday 29 July 2021, Strategic Psychology moved to a new online booking system to address the current extended wait times for appointments. Our new booking system involves prepayment to confirm appointments which reduces the volume of pre-booked appointments and increases appointment availability.…
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How To Get Better Sleep (And Why It Is Vital To Your Mental Health)
It isn’t a health secret that sleeping is good for you, but what role does your sleep play in your mental health? Studies show that during REM (rapid eye moment) sleep, the individual gains benefits of enhanced learning, memory, and can even contribute to your emotional health. Sleep disruption, or as we may refer to…
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Is this Forever? The Permanency of Diagnoses
If you have recently received or your child has recently received a mental health diagnosis, you may be wondering if this diagnosis will last forever. The label and stigma of a mental health diagnosis can be pressure and temptation enough to want to avoid the entire process. Will this be my label for the rest…
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Divorce: How To Help Your Child Cope With Parental Separation
Experiencing divorce can be complicated for the entire family. As parents, it is uncharted territory as to how to proceed when it comes to topics like shared custody or split time between parents. It can be particularly difficult if a child will be seeing one parent significantly less due to relocation or custody issues. Separation…
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What is a Behavioural Assessment?
Is this normal? Is something wrong? Is this more than typical child- like behaviour? If you are parenting a child who may be exhibiting challenging behaviour then these questions may have crossed your mind a few times, or even a dozen times a day. Behavioural assessments are used to answer these questions, and examine whether…
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Mental Health and Childhood: Where did we go wrong?
It is no mystery that mental health issues are becoming more common in our children. There are staggering statistics that indicate children are experiencing more mental health issues and symptoms then the previous generations. The suicide rate for children 10-14 has doubled in the last decade. There has been a sharp uptick in both depression…
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What is contempt? What is the Antidote for Contempt?
Contempt is harmful to any relationship. It can surface in anything from familial relationships, professional relationships, friendships, and even in romantic relationships. What exactly is contempt and how can you prevent it from damaging your relationships and your personal wellness? Contempt is defined by Merriam Webster as “the act of despising” or the “lack of…
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What is criticism? What is the antidote within a relationship?
Did you know that criticism is one of the four defining behaviors that predict the success of a relationship? But avoiding criticism within a relationship is commonly confused with never vocalizing frustrations. There is a very distinct difference between criticism and verbalizing frustrations or complaints. Let’s look at the definition of criticism, as well as…
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Navigating Divorce
Divorce has become common in our culture, with almost half of all marriages ending with divorce. It can be a trying time for an entire family, but it can be hard to navigate divorce without some guidelines. Emotions are high, there is an increase in stress and it is the beginning of a major lifestyle…
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What Is Stonewalling? What Is The Antidote In Your Relationship?
Stonewalling is a common struggle in relationships. Some may also refer to this as receiving or giving their partner the “cold shoulder”. That moment when you or your partner shut down and walk away in the middle of a conflict. Perhaps it surfaces in your relationship as being intentionally avoidant or cold towards your partner.…
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Common Questions About a DSM Diagnosis
There can be a lot of questions about what is involved with receiving a DSM diagnosis. Let’s get rid of some of the myths, mystery and insecurity about receiving a diagnosis. Why do therapists, psychologists, and counselors even utilize diagnosis? The psychology world currently operates under a medical model of treatment. This means that mental…
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Transitioning From School to the Workforce
Congratulations! You achieved your educational goal and now are a true working professional. Getting your first job is an exciting time of your life that should be celebrated, it may finally feel like you are now in the “real world”. Like any big life transition, there can be some struggles and challenges that you may…
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Workplace Bullying
We are lucky that culturally we have begun to focus on the impacts of bullying on children. Many organizations and schools have developed anti-bullying policies or practices. The problem is that the word “bullying” for most of us leads us to think of examples amongst school aged children. What if you are being bullied as…
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The GARS-3 Explained
Another day, another psychological assessment with a complicated acronym. Today, let’s look at the GARS-3 and talk about its function, its effectiveness, and how it is administered. First and foremost, the GARS-3 is an acronym for the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale. The ‘3’ simply means it is the third edition. The psychological community is always…
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The Importance of A Comprehensive Assessment
Perhaps you are thinking about going to a psychologist or perhaps you have gone to a psychologist and are having second thoughts about whether or not you want to continue. When presented with what is involved with treatment and a comprehensive psychological assessment, it can be a little overwhelming! Sometimes so much so, that it…
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Living a Full Life with Chronic Illness
If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness, there is likely many emotions and changes taking place. It is normal to want to throw in the towel and surrender to the illness, but will some patience, love, and adjustments it is possible to living a fulfilling and happy life…
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The Challenges of Step-Parenting
Raising a blended family can be full of unexpected blessings, but it can also come with some growing pains and unexpected bumps in the road. Whether you are new to being a step parent or trying to navigate your growing blended family, these tips can help guide you as you strive to raise a happy…
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The Transition to Parenthood
Many people will cite the birth of their child (or the day they adopted their child) as the “happiest day of their life”. Parenthood is a life giving and an incredible journey, but is a huge transition. We are often lead astray by social media or advertising that parenthood is only rainbows and butterflies to…
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Dealing with Defensiveness: Why they do it and How to deal with it
Defensiveness is a complex topic and often surfaces in important relationships such as romantic relationships, friends, families, and even within a work setting. If you are struggling with a relationship where an individual is defensive, it may be helpful to understand why they are behaving that way, then work towards an anecdote to the defensiveness…
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What is the Conners 3?
If you have been doing research on getting your child evaluated for Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder you may have stumbled across the phrase “Conners 3”. It can be easy to get lost in the acronyms and fancy psychology jargon. Let’s break down what the Conners 3 assessment is and the role it may play in…
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Off to School: Transitioning into Kindergarten
The big day has finally come, it is your child’s first day of school. Whether it be dropping your child off with childcare for the first time, or their first day at kindergarten or preschool, there can be many mixed emotions! It can be surprisingly difficult as a parent to drop your child off for…