
Survivor's Guilt during COVID19?
Are clients experiencing something that feels like "survivors' guilt" during COVID19? I am repeatedly hearing clients disentitle themselves to experience their own pain if it is not COVID19-related, or if it is not as severe as some of the worst outcomes. Of course, it is always healthy and important to acknowledge our own privilege and what is going well for us. But when people come to therapy to get support with the challenges to their mental health, they are welcomed to acknowledge and get support for their own struggles. People are coping with loss of employment, major upheaval to school plans, strained relationships, coupled with total uncertainty about the future. These issues are real, and they are hard! Survivors' guilt can be crippling. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201801/what-everybody-should-know-about-survivors-guilt https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/how-be-yourself/201711/six-tips-handling-survivor-guilt
Communicating during the Coronavirus
Most of us have lost most of our person-to-person communication during COVID19. Instead, we have Zoom! (or Webex or MS Teams, etc...) Why do we sometimes feel that our videocalls are unsatisfying? Why do we feel misunderstood, or that maybe our message wasn't heard?
When we communicate in person, we use all of our senses of perception to understand what the other person is saying, and what the other person is feeling. And we do all of this perceiving most without being aware that we're doing it! But when we lose our sensory experience of the other person, we lose some of the ability to empathize. And empathy is critical to communicating effectively. https://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2018/12/five_problems_with_virtual_com.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/sunday-review/zoom-video-conference.html
Procrastination
"I just need to find a way to overcome my laziness". We hear this when people describe procrastination. But recent research on procrastination suggests that it is not about "being lazy", and why the strategies to beat the laziness don't help.... and strategies that WORK. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html
Motivation and your inner voice
Many clients go through most days listening to a harsh inner critic's voice. They credit this critical self-talk as responsible for their achievements. But research shows otherwise... https://self-compassion.org/the-motivational-power-of-self-compassion/
We have training and experience in cross-cultural approaches to conflict resolution. We welcome the opportunity to work with families and individuals of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, and of all genders and sexual orientations.