The benefits of floatation therapy are numerous and far-reaching. Perhaps the most universally appealing is floating’s tendency to enhance creativity, learning, and memory. From students to artists to working professionals, most of us would love to experience a boost in our ability to think, learn, and solve problems. Floating can do just that. Study after study has shown that time spent in a float cabin enhances our cognitive powers. Since all external sources of distraction are removed, floating provides an extreme form of rest, and this appears to amplify the positive effects of letting our mind take over. Erik Zaremba, Float House Victoria, FloatHouseVictoria.com

It’s really difficult for most of us to get through the grey, dark winter days in November to March. Feeling changes such as a loss in energy, focus, concentration, passions, and hope; and increases in feelings of stress, worry, and guilt are typical symptoms of depression. If this is your experience, you have to live through a lot of invisible pain that many people cannot understand. Knowing about Seasonal Affective (or Adjustment) Disorder (SAD) may be a key to happier days. Contact a counsellor, your GP, or the Canadian Mental Health Association (www.cmha.bc.ca) to learn about SAD treatment. Barbara Gilmore, Registered Counsellor, www.bgilmorecounselling.com

Digestion, blood pumping through our veins, and breathing are just a few of the functional rhythms inside us that we rely upon to live. When we are unwell, we sometimes say that we are feeling ‘out of sorts’ or ‘out of sync’; it is a bit like losing one’s rhythm. We know when we have found it again because we feel more ‘in the groove’. Music therapy can be helpful in re-discovering that intrinsic rhythm when retrieving it ourselves is a struggle (as with mood and social cognitive disorders; rehabilitation from brain injury, stroke, or heart attack; cerebral palsy; Huntington’s disease; etc.).
Nejama Ferstman, MTA Certified Music Therapist, ShiriMusicTherapy.ca

Is your child feeling overwhelmed or frustrated about keeping up at school? Is he or she struggling with lack of focus or motivation? What if learning can be fun? Imagine your child learning multiplication tables while doing physical exercises. Boredom and fatigue slip away. It’s not long before your child lights up and realizes he is finally grasping and recalling math or new concepts in science. Confidence begins to grow. Movements that cross the midline of the body fire up the brain. Brain gym exercises release stress and flood the body with endorphins, which also help with depression or anxiety. Simply put, when the body moves, the mind moves.
Sophie von Herrmann, Expressive Arts Therapist B.Ed. M.A. VictoriaExpressiveTherapies.ca

Brene Brown talks about the courage within vulnerability. But vulnerability can be scary and sometimes painful – you’re opening yourself up, and you don’t know what will happen! Will you get judged or knocked down? Will you fail? What if your worst critics were right? Luckily, it is possible to work through whatever feelings are in your way, whether it’s shame, self-criticism, or just a feeling of emptiness. You can start finding ways to support yourself in your quest! Counselling is a great place to be heard and supported, to find a path forward. MaryMunro.ca