News

We all have emotional outbursts. Sometimes we can get control of our emotions easily and come back from the brink of the outburst and other times it feels like we’re in an emotional crisis and can’t escape. Our counsellors at Kells deal with extreme emotions on a regular basis and often recommend clients use the TIPP Skills for Managing Extreme Emotions as adapted from the DBT® Skills Training.

Today, Janet Ryan-Newell, Founder and Registered Psychologist at Kells Counselling spoke to Dallas Flexhaug from Global News Morning Calgary about the petition recently launched by the Edmonton Psychologists Interagency Committee.

There is a movement happening in Alberta right now. Kells Counselling, a founding agency behind The Edmonton Psychological Interagency Committee, is petitioning the Government of Alberta to Support Albertans to Access Funded Psychological Services.The petition is asking the Government of Alberta to redirect some mental health funding from the centralized medical system and allow Registered Psychologists to bill Alberta Health Services directly.

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a clinical intervention focused on resolving distressing or traumatic memories. At Kells Counselling, we see many clients come through our clinic suffering from trauma. With the use of EMDR therapy, clients have been able to reprocess past traumas and reach normality again.

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

If you haven’t already heard, we’ve been super busy with our new startup called the Solutions Intervention Program. Crossroads Family Services and Kells Counselling collaborated to develop a family-centered treatment intervention program. This Family Solutions program merges the strengths of Crossroads caregivers with the clinical expertise of Kells professionals, to support atypical children and their families.

In the last article, we considered the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including on the development of individual mental and physical health issues, family well being, and the broader implications for society. This week, we will turn our attention toward the evidence-based treatments that have been demonstrated to reduce post-traumatic stress and improve well being.

In the last article, we examined the etiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and several potential predisposing factors. This week, we are going to focus on the impact of PTSD from several different perspectives. PTSD can have an enormous impact on individuals, their families, and broader society. Unsurprisingly, the most apparent and debilitating effects tend to be experienced by the individual who develops PTSD.

As stated in the first post in this series, approximately 9% of individuals will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at least once in their lives (CPA, 2010). Yet, far more than ~9% of adults experience at least one traumatic event during their lifetimes.

As a psychologist, I have worked with thousands of clients across the mental health spectrum. Each client and each disorder are unique; however, some disorders are more deeply rooted and require more complex interventions than others.  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one such ailment. As a result, I have undertaken to write a multi-part series of posts to help develop a deeper understanding of what PTSD is, how it impacts a person, and what can be done to treat it.