The Psychology of...

Jonathan Haidt is a moral psychologist. His field is the intersection of philosophy and psychology. Freud + Aristotle. I had seen him speak in Ted Talks and so on over the past years but I just recently read his book "the Righteous Mind" which is an explanation, using his moral foundations theory, of how divided we have become over matters of religion and politics. It has helped me broaden my own perspectives while gaining respect and insight into the mind of the other. Here I do my best to summarize the book and present his ideas in an effort to bridge the ideological divide that has polarized our nations, communities, and even, or especially, our homes. The Rider and the Elephant To start off he explains the psychology of morals, or how morality comes about in our own minds. Haidt uses convincing evidence to suggest that as rational as we think we may be it is intuition that comes first. If you have read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell or Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel...

(These are my personal opinions and do not represent the official stance of the psychological profession or the College of Alberta Psychologists) I like setting goals. I like writing them down. I like reviewing them with myself and others. I'm a therapist. I do it everyday. But since the 80's goal setting has been dominated by a framework designed in the business world, for the business world, that often misses the mark when it comes to authentic human progress. For the last 30 years we have been told to set SMART goals which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (the acronym varies slightly depending on whom you're asking but this is the gist). We are encouraged not to work on an objective unless it meets these criteria. I believe that this framework often misses the mark, especially at the organizational level. Let me first explain how this has looked in the fields of education and counselling as far as I can tell. Sometimes when it ...

How do you spend your time? How do you spend your money? How do you spend your space? Judging by the stats on debt-to-service ratios, stress levels, and storage units I can safely predict that many of you reading this do not have a firm control over your expenses and perhaps more importantly you are not even sure why you spend your time, money , and space in the way that you do. Let me quickly answer the why question... To make you happy. We invest our time, our money, our effort, and our space with the hopes of gaining fulfillment, engagement, peace, and purpose. We want love and respect and rest and connection. To sum it up, for lack of a better term, we want happiness. And despite running deficits, financially and emotionally; despite having full schedules and full credit cards and even fuller houses (couldn't resist), we end up feeling less satisfied than ever. We are terrible investors when it comes to our most valuable resources. Enter the minimalist movement. Firs...

            After spending the first few months of the school year teaching elementary students positive psychology I decided to assess their learning by having them apply the theory of flourishing to the Christmas break. Here is a compilation of the tips given by kids at Nicholas Sheran and General Stewart elementaries. 1) Eat mindfully - There is very little more exciting to me around Christmas time than planning out the holiday meals. Fish and pasta on Christmas Eve, Roast dinner on Christmas day, boxing day crepes, it's like overeating is a time honoured Christmas tradition. But why would I dishonour the most delicious meals of the year by eating it so mindlessly and rushed? Eating mindfully is about truly experiencing your food with all of your senses. Letting its deliciousness spark the reward centre of your brain and give you ultimate pleasure. Eating slowly and with intention will help you to not just enjoy your meal more than ever but ...

Your superior at work tells a racially insensitive joke and you want to speak up but fear repercussions. You have a political belief that departs from your family's traditions and you sit at the table biting your tongue. You negotiate your vacation time with your new employer. You feel depressed and you wish so badly to tell someone you love but the possibility that they will not be emotionally available or supportive scares you into secrecy. As human beings we are constantly put into positions where our boundaries and values get tested. We wish so badly to have the courage and self-worth to stand up for ourselves but sadly, many of us put other's needs above our own, causing resentment and an overwhelming sense of defeat. We punish ourselves for lacking a spine and vow to be more assertive the next time. We are trapped in what sociologists call a double bind. You are damned if you do. Doomed if you don't. If you speak up you risk being rejected but if you don...

Wave of ethnic killings in South Sudan town 'could evolve into genocide,' UN warns - CBC News "Terrible..." (Waits a few seconds to show an "appropriate" level of concern) ..."OMG Kendall Jenner quit Instagram?!" We live in the age of information. We have access to most of what is going on anywhere on the globe 24/7. In our day and age with our resources we should hear stories like this on a Thursday, call  up our elected officials or non-profit organizations on Friday and organize an intervention on Monday to prevent any more unnecessary human suffering... right? Alain de Botton wrote a ground-breaking book called News: A User's Manual in which he explains what the news could be and should be. I recommend it. Here is a link to a talk he gave at google which sums up his book. One of the most poignant arguments he makes is that when it comes to world news we are parachuted in for spectacularly horrendous events for a moment and ...

It's National Addictions Awareness Week here in Canada when we get a chance to shine a light on the effects that substance and behaviour addictions have on individuals, families, societies and the nation as a whole. I started my career as a therapist working with a specific population of people who struggle with addictive behaviours. I had the privilege of being invited into the exclusive and very personal space that is the heart and mind of a person in recovery. It's challenging work that requires a specific set of skills and theoretical orientation. And now I'm an elementary school counsellor. What business do I have working with children ages 6-11 given my background in addictions counselling? (Not to mention my lack of experience in play therapy which I'm working on). I think one of the hardest parts of working with adults in recovery is that they are constantly lamenting the fact they felt neglected and overlooked as children in some significant way. Many f...