mental health

Parent holding school child

It’s time to focus on Child and Youth Mental Health – May 7th is their day

May 7, 2021

It is often said that children and youth are the future of our society. As a parent, but also as a specialist in child and youth mental health, it makes sense that National Child and Youth Mental Health Day holds special significance to me. I have seen the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on...
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mental health
Listening to and consoling a friend

“How are you?” Normalizing mental health today and every day

January 25, 2021

In any normal year, one in every five Canadians is affected by a mental health issue or illness. But the last 11 months have been anything but normal. The stress, anxiety, fear, and loss brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health and well-being for most...
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mental health
A mother holding her children

Finding your ‘reason for being’ during the pandemic

January 20, 2021

More than 10 months into this pandemic, each of us has felt its impact. While I am the first to acknowledge many have suffered great loss, the pandemic hasn’t left anyone untouched. In many respects this loss has been senseless – lives taken by a virus that has no feelings or ‘motivation’ except...
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mental health
Mom and daughter exercise

COVID-19: Staying connected and living with uncertainty as we move into fall

September 16, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new way of living that many of us are still becoming accustomed to. We have had to change how we work, how we shop for groceries, and how we socialize with friends.

Over the summer in BC, the warm weather allowed us to meet in safe, physically-distanced...
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Covid19, mental health, Self Care
Mom holding child with backpack

COVID 19: Going the distance for our kids’ mental health and a safe return to school

August 26, 2020

This year has been challenging for all of us, as COVID-19 has impacted our lives in ways we have never experienced before. But as Vancouver-based child psychiatrist Dr Ashley Miller reminds us, social isolation has been especially hard on some of our kids and teens. Miller cautions that social...
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mental health, anxiety, Covid19