“I learned that it's important to stay connected with supportive people, especially during tough times, and to find better ways to handle difficult situations without shutting myself off from the world.”

As couples begin to navigate difficult conversations in the therapy office, they gradually realize it is much harder to do the same at home. Although clients and I have joked about this in the past… I cannot (nor do I want to) go to your home to remind you and your partner to “slow down” when trying to communicate.

In place of this obviously uncomfortable situation, I offer couples one of my favourite relationship tools: the Feelings Wheel.

Sozo? Never heard of it…

We’re often skeptical of things that seem both new and unknown—but Sozo is neither of those things. It has helped many people over many years, and we are thrilled to be able to offer it to you!

Communicating emotions in relationships requires self-awareness, empathy, vulnerability, and a continual commitment from both partners. These skills are foundational for building trust, understanding, and intimacy in your relationships. By recognizing, expressing, and empathizing with each other's emotions, couples can deepen their bond and create a foundation that sustains their relationship through the challenges of life.

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning here in the MacEwen house. I’m enjoying breakfast and coffee with my wife, laughing about the crazy dreams we had last night and talking about our wonderful dreams for the day ahead.

And then… my phone rings.

Everyday, our society is becoming more and more burnt out and evidently craving rest—yet we still struggle to embrace opportunities for rest when they are presented to us.

I know what you’re thinking. You probably haven’t even heard the word “sabbath” since your Sunday school teacher taught you about the Ten Commandments. But maybe that is exactly the problem. Many of us haven’t thought about the Sabbath (let alone kept it “holy”) since grade school. It is like we think, at some point in world history, the practice of sabbath stopped being important.

Relationships are a huge part of our daily lives. It is impossible to live in complete isolation from other people. In fact, much of the research suggests our health depends on these social connections. In this week’s blog post, I share some highlights from the research on how relationships impact all areas of our health: psychological, physical, and even spiritual health.

For the most part, I’m an open book and feel comfortable sharing my thoughts and life experiences. But when it came to writing a blog post discussing my faith and spirituality, this gave me pause—not because I’m uncertain of my convictions, but because of the legacy and reputation attached to the terms “Christian” and “Christian counselling.”

I’ll be as clear as possible about what I believe and what I mean when I use the term “Christian counsellor” …