Insight Counselling & Consulting
Shannon M. Simms mental health and addiction counselling and resources
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a great fit for people who are interested in learning skills, it’s a therapy that is useful for all humans, in my opinion. It was originally developed to treat severe, complex and persistent mental illness, and over time it’s also been proven effective with depression, anxiety, addictions, eating disorders, any …
Feb 9, 2024: We are heading towards the biggest gambling day of the year, Superbowl. On the radio this morning was promotion of all the different types of bets one can make – outside of the big game itself – from the coin toss, to how many times Taylor Swift will be shown, to what …
When Covid-19 shutdowns began in March 2020, many people were left to their own devices, quite literally. Many began engaging with their technology in new and different ways, as well as increasing their screen time in general. When Casinos closed, I’m not sure if you noticed, but there was a change in marketing / advertising, …
In March 2020, the novel coronavirus resulted in ‘stay at home’ orders and business closures across our Country, and across the world. Many support services have migrated to and remain online only, which is still a challenge for some, as technology and its related costs are a ‘privilege’, it is not in everyone’s budget. I …
Interesting 12 minute talk with Dr. Christine Carter – Change is hard, it takes effort, it requires motivation, and it requires MORE than willpower – change depends on your willingness to be ‘bad’ at something, rather than being perfect, or excellent, right from the start. I’ve experienced this myself – minimal effort is often better …
While ‘in-person‘ sessions are the optimal counselling environment (in my opinion), we are not all cut from the same cloth, and this format does not match everyone’s preference. In the spirit of working collaboratively with clients, and being open and flexible to their preferred way of connecting, I have received training in both Telephone and …
Substance or Process/Behaviour: What makes it an ‘Addiction’: A lot of us understand how people become addicted to substances/chemicals, like nicotine, alcohol, prescription and illegal drugs. A common question I’m asked: are non-substance addictions like gambling really addictions at all? My response: behavioural addictions can be just as serious as substance addictions. Dr. Mark Griffiths …
From “Heartwounds” by Dr. Tian Dayton: how can counselling help ? “Clients who succeed in therapy exhibit or acquire certain qualities: (1) they are able to self-reflect – that is, they look at their own thinking, feeling, and behaviour and have enough emotional distance from their self-identification so that they see themselves realistically. (2) They take their own …
In my work I sometimes encounter people who have trouble identifying their emotions, have learned their emotions are bad or dangerous or signs of weakness. They may seldom have had their emotions validated or acknowledged by loved ones. Emotions are simply information from the body that “something is going on” that we should pay attention …
How do we prevent falling into the trap of letting our thoughts and feelings determine our behaviour (or lack of it)? While our emotions are designed to motivate action, unquestioning adherence to those emotions can get us into trouble. Consider depression. Depression robs people of their energy, motivation and interests in life. If you always …