Aspire
Counselling and Psychology

Self-care (noun): literally taking care of oneself!!! Unfortunately, self-care sometimes seems unimportant, or even selfish… I know that,...

Take it from someone who has been there, the answer is YES. It’s hard to imagine how accessing counselling can really help since we tend...

“Personal boundaries are the limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships. A person with healthy boundaries can say “no” to others when they want to, but they are also comfortable opening themselves up to intimacy and close relationships” (Therapist Aid, 2022). Limits. Rules. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Right? WRONG! One of the most difficult things to set in our relationships are boundaries. Many of us struggle to set rules, standards, and limitations in our rel

The idea of beginning an internship at a place you have never been, and with people you have never met, is terrifying! Adding the fact...

The process to become a registered psychologist is neither easy nor expeditious. One must first complete a 4-to-5-year undergraduate...

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This is a trauma treatment that has been around for a couple decades and is quite successful. The following is how I describe it to my clients: ______________________________________________________ When we go through our day, our brain puts what happens into file folders. These folders go onto our desk. For example, eye doctor folder, work folder, soccer game folder, etc. At the end of the day, we have quite a fe

In my office, there is a shelf with hundreds (okay, let’s be honest, more like a thousand) miniature items. It looks like a child’s dream shelf, filled with superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs, Minecraft pieces, fences, animals of all kinds, food items, and treasure chests. Among the items there are also handcuffs, pill bottles, jails, coffins, skeletons, poker chips, and scary figurines. It is a rather eclectic grouping of items. In front of this six-foot by four-foot shelf i

Check out our office space! We strive to make our counselling environment as welcoming as possible, and wanted to share a tour of...

I recently shared the process to becoming a psychologist (check out that blog here!). That “chapter” of my journey lasted 12 years. 12 YEARS!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Okay, reader, I’ll tell you! I did a 6-year undergrad, then 2 years of extra classes, then 4 years for a master’s degree. Math is not my strong suit, but that equals 12. I often look back and lament how long it took me to get to where I wanted to be: If I had not been so insistent on becoming a pediatric cardio

Undergrad degree? Check! Master’s degree? Check! Licensed practitioner? Kind of? Maybe? No. I am a Registered Provisional Psychologist. When I try to explain my job title to people, there is always a moment of confusion. It is like having “training wheels” – I have the skills, but I cannot yet ride by myself. But what does is mean to be a Provisional Psychologist? A Provisional Psychologist is a professional who provides therapy “under the supervision of psychologists, an

This has been a wonderfully enlightening journey throughout my time at Aspire. I have had an opportunity to learn so much about myself on...

When I first started my internship at Aspire Psychological Services, I did not know what to expect. While my past work experience has...