The resources are designed to provide helpful tools, articles, and information to support you in navigating challenges and fostering well-being. From self-help strategies and mindfulness techniques to mental health guides and support services, this collection offers a starting point for growth and understanding.
While these resources can be a valuable complement to your journey, every individual’s needs are unique. In a personalized counseling session, I can help identify and tailor resources to your specific circumstances, providing the tools and strategies that best suit you.
Take the next step—book a session today and let’s work together to create a personalized plan that empowers you to thrive. And remember, Mental Health is Health.
Helpful Tools
Living with ADHD can feel like an ongoing challenge when it comes to managing focus, energy, and motivation. One effective tool that has gained popularity is the "dopamine menu," a strategy designed to boost dopamine levels in the brain through intentional, enjoyable activities. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential for motivation, reward, and attention, is often less active in individuals with ADHD, contributing to symptoms like inattention and hyperactivity.
A dopamine menu offers a creative, customizable way to counteract these challenges.
Have a look at my Blog, for an in-depth look at what it is, how it works, and how it can be integrated into daily life.
An example of a Dopamine Menu for ADHD: A Practical Strategy for Managing Symptoms
dopamine menu
Breathing exercises are a simple yet powerful tool to manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. By focusing on your breath, you can create a sense of calm and control, even in the most challenging situations. Scientifically, intentional breathing techniques activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower heart rate, reduce cortisol levels, and promote a state of relaxation. These exercises also improve oxygen flow to the brain, enhancing focus and decision-making.
Breathing exercises can be discreetly used in public settings, such as before a presentation, during a stressful commute, or in a crowded environment, offering a quick way to ground yourself. Whether it's deep diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing, or 4-7-8 breathing, these techniques can help you reset and regain balance anytime, anywhere. Embrace the science of your breath—it’s a natural resource for well-being.
The Power of Breathing Exercises
breathing Exercises
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a proven, evidence-based approach to transforming unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. At its core, CBT focuses on identifying and challenging negative automatic thoughts and replacing them with healthier, more constructive ones. Scientifically, CBT leverages the brain’s neuroplasticity—its ability to rewire itself—helping clients unlearn outdated instincts and build new, adaptive habits.
This process reduces stress, improves emotional regulation, and empowers you to respond to life’s challenges with greater resilience.
Together, we’ll explore how these basics can provide a foundation for change, while also delving deeper into your core beliefs and unique experiences. By integrating these deeper insights, we’ll go beyond the fundamentals, creating meaningful, sustainable growth tailored to your goals and values.
Rewiring Your Thought Patterns
CBT Basics
Panic attacks are intense, overwhelming experiences that present differently for everyone. For some, they may involve a racing heart, shortness of breath, or chest tightness; for others, dizziness, nausea, or a sense of impending doom. These responses are your brain’s way of activating the fight-or-flight mechanism, often in the absence of real danger. Once a panic attack occurs, the brain tends to remember the pathway, making future episodes more likely.
However, this doesn’t mean panic attacks need to define your life. Together, we can learn to "sit in the discomfort" of panic, exploring the underlying influences, and working to diminish unhelpful behaviours and automatic reactions. Through grounding techniques like deep belly breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or sensory focus (e.g., the 5-4-3-2-1 method), we can create tools to calm the mind and body in the moment.
Beyond these practices, we’ll look deeper into the patterns and triggers that sustain panic attacks, empowering you to rewire your brain’s response and build resilience. This process is not about avoiding discomfort but understanding and transforming it into a pathway toward calm and control.
Understanding Panic Attacks: Reclaiming Your Calm
Panic Attacks
Big life events—whether exciting or overwhelming—can trigger anxiety as we navigate the unknown. The anticipation of change often activates our brain’s stress response, leading to overthinking, restlessness, or physical tension. While these reactions are natural, they don’t have to overshadow your experience.
Anxiety prevention starts with preparation. Together, we can identify potential stressors, explore your concerns, and develop practical strategies to ground yourself before, during, and after the event. Techniques like visualization, mindfulness, and intentional self-care can help you stay present and calm in the face of uncertainty.
We’ll also work to uncover underlying beliefs and patterns that might amplify your anxiety, giving you the tools to approach big events with confidence and clarity. By planning ahead and building a toolkit of coping strategies, you can move through life’s transitions with greater ease and self-assurance.
Anxiety Prevention for Big Life Events
anxiety prevention
For many individuals with autism, a strong sense of justice is a defining strength. This deep commitment to fairness and integrity often drives their passion for advocating for what’s right and challenging perceived injustices. However, when faced with a world that doesn’t always prioritize equity, this sense of justice can lead to frustration, emotional overwhelm, or burnout.
Together, we can explore how this value shapes your experiences and find ways to channel it constructively. For example, if advocating for a cause feels overwhelming, we can create a structured plan—such as identifying small, actionable steps like writing letters, joining supportive groups, or participating in manageable advocacy efforts.
We’ll also work on strategies to manage emotional intensity, such as mindfulness practices or reframing situations to regain balance. By celebrating this powerful aspect of who you are while setting boundaries and finding outlets for self-care, we can ensure your sense of justice fuels empowerment rather than exhaustion.
AND A SENSE OF JUSTICE
Autism
Purpose: Free, confidential 24/7 phone and text support for kids and teens, including connections to counselors and online resources.
Contact:
Phone: 1-800-668-6868
Text: CONNECT to 686868
Kids Help Phone
Purpose: 24-hour support for children feeling unsafe or scared, answered by child protection social workers. Also accepts reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.
Contact: 310-1234 (toll-free, no area code)
TTY: 1-866-660-0505
Website: www2.gov.bc.ca
Helpline for Children
Purpose: Free counseling for Vancouver residents aged 19+ experiencing suicidal ideation or following a suicide attempt. Offers psychoeducational support for those concerned about others.
Contact: 604-675-3985 (8:30 am–4:30 pm, Mon–Fri)
S.A.F.E.R. (Suicide Attempt Follow-up, Education & Research)
Purpose: 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services, including a youth live chat website and community education workshops on suicide prevention and stress management.
Contact:
Business Phone: 604-872-1811
Crisis Line: 604-872-3311 | Toll-Free: 1-866-661-3311
Suicide Crisis Line: 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
Website: www.crisiscentre.bc.ca
Vancouver Crisis Centre
Purpose: Crisis support, resources, and referrals for women, Two-Spirit, gender-diverse, non-binary individuals, and their children. Services include safe housing, multicultural outreach, sexual assault response, and family programs.
Contact:
Squamish: 604-892-5748 (38021 Third Ave)
Whistler: 604-962-8711 (1519 Spring Creek Dr)
Website: www.pearlspace.ca
Pearl Space Drop-In Centres (Squamish & Whistler)
Purpose: A safe, judgment-free environment offering integrated health and social services for youth aged 12–24. Services include mental health support, substance use counseling, peer programs, and workshops.
Contact:
Phone: 604-567-9347
Address: 38646 Buckley Ave, Squamish, BC
Email: foundry@sscs.ca
Website: www.foundryseatosky.com
Foundry Sea to Sky
Purpose: Free support for debt management, budgeting, and financial planning.
Contact:
Phone: 1-888-527-8999
Website: www.nomoredebts.org
Credit Counselling Society
Purpose: Sexual health clinics, education, advocacy, and a referral helpline.
Contact:
Phone: 604-731-4252
Website: www.optionsforsexualhealth.org
Contact: 310-1234 (toll-free, no area code)
TTY: 1-866-660-0505
Website: www2.gov.bc.ca
Options for Sexual Health
Purpose: Peer support, information, and referrals for LGBTQ2S+ individuals.
Contact:
Vancouver/Lower Mainland: 604-684-6869
Toll-Free (BC): 1-800-566-1170
Hours: Mon–Fri, 7 p.m.–10 p.m.
Contact: 604-675-3985 (8:30 am–4:30 pm, Mon–Fri)
PRIDELINE BC (QMUNITY)