by Michael Dadson | Aug 21, 2020 | Uncategorized
[et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.9″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#3498db” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false”][/et_pb_post_title] A Perfect Storm of Economic, Social, and Cultural Pressures Faces Couples Today, According to Langley, BC Clinical Counsellor, Dr. Michael Dadson Michael Dadson is a Clinical Counsellor, practising at Gentle Currents Therapy and Neurofeedback, a clinic in Langley, British Columbia. Clientele are generally seeking help for anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but a large number of Langley area residents are coming in for couples counselling. Couples Counselling at Gentle Currents Counselling and Neurofeedback As you enter the office at Gentle Currents Therapy and Neurofeedback, the first thing you notice is the calm, earthy colours and natural materials incorporated in the décor. Says Dr. Michael Dadson: “You’ll notice that we have a loveseat and several chairs. The clients are able to sit where they like, wherever they feel comfortable, and the loveseat is great for many couples. Sometimes, though, couples who come in for counselling don’t want to sit together on the loveseat and are more comfortable sitting in separate chairs. It’s important for them to feel at ease in the office, regardless of how they are feeling about the state of their relationship.” Rising Divorce Rate and Pandemic-Related Stressors It is not surprising that the divorce rate is increasing in light of many new and developing changes in everyday life for Canadians. A piece on the cbc.ca website quotes Toronto lawyer, Ron Shulman, regarding what he calls “…huge uptick in new clients wanting to file for divorce.” Not only is there a backlog at the courts due to COVID-19 restrictions, it would appear that the pandemic is...
by Michael Dadson | Aug 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
[et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.9″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#3498db” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false”][/et_pb_post_title] Sexual Abuse Can Result in a Lifetime of Compromised Mental Health, Especially When Left Unaddressed, According to Langley, BC Clinical Counsellor, Dr. Michael Dadson Today’s cultural shifts in attitudes towards sexuality are changing the very nature of sexual relations. Social media campaigns such as such as the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have made examples of high profile abusers. The movements also seem to have had the desired effect of curtailing and raising awareness of sexual abuse throughout Western society. Wikipedia defines sexual abuse as: “Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. When force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault …. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser, or (often pejoratively) molester. The term also covers any behavior by an adult or older adolescent towards a child to stimulate any of the involved sexually.” Sexual Abuse Can Cause Depression Depression is more common in women than in men, according to statistics, as is having been the victim of sexual abuse. According to benttreecounselling.co: “Women who were emotionally, physically or sexually abused as children or adults are more likely to experience depression at some point in their lives than those who weren’t abused. Women are more likely than men to experience sexual abuse.” Dr. Dadson counsels many clients for depression, as it is one of Canada’s most common mental health challenges. Sexual Abuse Can Lead to Addiction, PTSD, Substance Abuse The Sante Center...
by Michael Dadson | Aug 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
[et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.9″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#3498db” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false”][/et_pb_post_title] New Awareness and Definitions for School and Workplace Harassment It was not so long ago, mere decades, that school bullying and workplace harassment were simply unpleasant aspects of daily which were grudgingly tolerated. In the past 20 or 30 years, however, the unfairness of this kind of behaviour has gained much notoriety, is no longer tolerated, and is the subject of publicly and privately funded awareness campaigns. Dr. Michael Dadson: “Bullying and Harassment Are Very Similar” From his comfortable and tastefully appointed counselling clinic in Langley, British Columbia, Dadson explains that both are similar in that one person harms another person through unkind, aggressive and insulting actions or words in both cases. Specializing in anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Michael Dadson, Ph.D., is a registered clinical counsellor and Senior Clinical Director of Practice at Gentle Currents Therapy and Neurofeedback, a Langley, B.C.-based counselling clinic, where he often addresses issues related to helping children deal with traumatic events such as bullying. Additionally, he sees adults who are healing from bullying incidents incurred during their childhoods. What Does the Term “Bullying” Actually Mean? In popular culture, we use the word “bully” often enough, with barely any effort to clarify the actual definition of the word – perhaps because it is a concept associated in large part with childhood, rather than with adult or legal ramifications. The definitions vary but here are a few widely accepted definitions: According to Merriam-Webster.com, to bully someone is: “to treat (someone) in a cruel, insulting, threatening, or aggressive fashion ….” Furthermore, a bully is defined...
by Michael Dadson | Aug 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
[et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.9″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#3498db” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false”][/et_pb_post_title] COVID-19 Alarmism and Politically Divisive Media Exacerbate Workplace and Family Stressors and Interpersonal Tensions, Says Mike Dadson “War”, “pandemic”, “crime”, “devastation”, “crisis” … can you feel your own anxiety mounting? In the news business there are a couple of old adages regarding this type of keyword favoured in headlines: “bad news sells,” and “If it bleeds, it leads.” Mike Dadson: Male Trauma Vs. “Boys Don’t Cry” Gender-Training Langley, British Columbia clinical counsellor, Mike Dadson, regularly sees clients who are suffering from anxiety, depression, and PTSD at his clinic, Gentle Currents Therapy and Neurofeedback. According to Mike Dadson: “Negative, distressing news and uproar in the media have the effect of ‘turning up the volume’ on mental health conditions. Negative media influences can actually exacerbate a person’s existing anxiety, depression, or PTSD.” Stress factors abound in daily life for Canadians even before taking into account the daily torrent of sometimes-terrifying news headlines all around us. Families, couples, and individuals who are already struggling with mental health issues are particularly prone to the incessant negativity from televisions, computers, newspapers, and radio. “Negativity Bias” and How Media Outlets Take Advantage According to Wikipedia.org: “The negativity bias…is the notion that, even when of equal intensity, things of a more negative nature (e.g. unpleasant thoughts, emotions, or social interactions; harmful/traumatic events) have a greater effect on one’s psychological state and processes than neutral or positive things.” Mass media outlets skilfully exploit the human tendency to respond more intensely to negative stimuli, carefully crafting headlines and news stories to cause fear and distress. Although it is easy...
by Michael Dadson | Aug 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
[et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” _builder_version=”4.0.9″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”30px” title_line_height=”1.2em” meta_text_color=”#3498db” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_post_title] Langley, British Columbia clinical counsellor, Dr. Dadson, regularly sees clients who are suffering from a wide variety of mental health challenges at his clinic, Gentle Currents Therapy and Neurofeedback. Top reasons clients seek treatment at Gentle Currents Therapy are as follow: anxiety depression post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) couple therapy first responders with trauma According to Dr. Dadson: “I specialize in gender and gender role trauma, looking at the differences between genders… how men tend to respond to traumatic responses, compared to how women respond. There are both similarities and differences; looking at the differences, knowing the differences, can be helpful and translates well to couple counselling.” Dr. Dadson: Male Trauma Vs. “Boys Don’t Cry” Gender-Training Dr. Dadson and Gentle Currents Therapy have launched a YouTube channel, showcasing the new clinic and its treatment modalities. They have featured a few videos on the clinic’s specialties. One video on their channel is entitled: “Dr. Dadson, PhD addressing male depression and trauma”. In this short and informative video, Dr. Dadson explores ways in which men and women can react to counselling differently because of the different ways the genders have traditionally been socialized. The Dadsons see a large number of men who are coping with trauma; the very nature of trauma is associated with feelings of helplessness, terror, vulnerability, powerlessness. Dr. Dadson explains: “Those kinds of emotional responses in some masculine cultures are alien; they are just ‘not masculine’. So now a man is faced with this contradiction… that what he is experiencing contradicts what he was told is what it means...
