Amy Sedgwick, Occupational Therapist

09/04/2025

An interesting theory about HSPs:

"One possible reason HSPs are so attentive to their surroundings is that “it’s how they create safety for themselves,” Dr. Fedrick says. They may be trying to control their environment to make it less stimulating and overwhelming, she explains. And according to a 2018 research review, this desire for harmony can manifest in HSPs’ tendency to try to make the people around them feel more comfortable. (In other words, they’re trying to keep the peace to protect their own.)"

Thoughts?

There’s more to it than just feeling deeply—new research shows it can affect your mental health too.

08/20/2025

One of the joys of seeing clients at FireLoch is the opportunity to weave some eco-therapy into my mental health work with clients. Earlier this month I took a vacation to Gros Morne National Park and focused on using nature to replenish and rejuvenate my own body, soul and spirit. 💚

07/31/2025

"In an age of ecological disaster, social collapse, and digital overload, it might be a sign of sanity to feel overwhelmed". So true. I am concerned about the increasing medicalization and pathologizing of reasonable emotional responses to unreasonable conditions.

In an age of ecological disaster, social collapse, and digital overload, it might be a sign of sanity to feel overwhelmed

07/24/2025

I was honoured to be invited into helping create and facilitate the Care for Caretakers Fellowship last year at FireLoch. Next Wednesday we are hosting a community conversation over a shared delicious meal to discuss the results of our pilot project. Please join us!

In 2024 Antigonish was host to a powerful wellbeing project called “Care for Caretakers”. The first of it’s kind, this program was fully funded by the Mental Health Foundation of NS and by local philanthropic contributions, with support from the County of Antigonish, Community Foundations of Nova Scotia and CLARI.

We warmly invite you to a special community event on July 30th from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM at the Antigonish Farmers Market where, over a delicious shared lunch, we will present the findings from the 2024 Care for Caretakers Fellowship—a groundbreaking, community-rooted initiative designed to restore, recognize, and reimagine support for the people who hold our communities together.

Please RSVP to jennifer@fireloch.com by July 23rd to reserve your spot and to confirm any dietary restrictions.

We also encourage you to share this invitation with other local organizations, colleagues, or collaborators who care about community well-being, nonprofit sustainability, and frontline caretaker resilience.

Let’s come together to build a culture of care—one that sustains those who sustain us.

07/23/2025

"We blame emotions for causing problems when, in fact, emotions arise to help us deal with problems."

This is such an important article by my mentor and colleague Karla McLaren, M.Ed.. She is the author of The Language of Emotions, and her work is at the heart of my approach to working with clients. I work with so many people who are told they have an anxiety disorder, or an anger management issue, or an untreatable depression, when in fact it is their life circumstances that are the problem, not their emotions. Once we can learn to name our emotions and identify what they are wanting to help us with, and alert us to, we can choose thoughtful ways to respond to life's challenges. Let's stop shaming our emotions, and learn to work with them skillfully as an essential part of our intelligence.

Many people have learned two serious errors about emotions, but luckily, both of them can be corrected.

12/11/2023

Some of you know I have been studying psychedelic-assisted therapy this past year at VIU. If you are curious as to what inspired me to choose this path, this article says it all.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy can offer hope to veterans suffering from PTSD and serious mental health disorders, write senators David Richards and Pierre-H

07/14/2023

I’ve spent over four decades learning to live with my emotional and sensory sensitivities. They have sometimes felt like a curse and sometimes like a profound gift.

For me, being highly sensitive shows up as an intense ability to feel what others are feeling — often without them even saying anything. I also have intensely felt emotions, particularly during change or loss. I am extremely sensitive to loud noises. I am also scent-sensitive. Disarray in my environment leads to feelings of distress and being overwhelmed. I have a low tolerance for caffeine, alcohol and other substances. It is not uncommon for me to be moved to tears by a song, a television show (even a comedy), or a newspaper article.

In the past few weeks, I have realized that the clients I work best with are also HSPs. Sharing the tools and strategies I use to help me manage the challenges and elevate the gifts of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is my heart's work. It brings meaning and joy to my life, and I have witnessed how it has transformed the lives of my clients.

If you or someone you know is a Highly Sensitive Person, I would be grateful if you would check out my newly launched website, or share it with someone who may benefit. Thank you! 🙏🏻 💗

Therapy as sensitive as you are. Holistic therapy for highly-sensitive people, with Amy Sedgwick. The world is not designed for highly sensitive people. Do you spend much or all of the time feeling overwhelmed and over-stimulated? If so, you are not alone. Research suggests that roughly 15-20% of th...

06/27/2023

These past few months have been a time of deep transition for me. I can feel myself incubating, shedding, composting, germinating. As I enter the final weeks of my post-graduate certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy at Vancouver Island University, I am getting closer to articulating the new direction of my work in the world. Over the coming weeks I will be revamping my website and offerings to reflect my commitment to a radically different approach to mental health care - one that holds as much reverence for the heart and spirit as the mind. One that embraces the fissures and cracks in the structures of society as an opportunity for us to birth a new way of being in the world. One that sees this crumbling not as a reason to be fearful, but as a reason to be hopeful. 💕

06/15/2023

Psychedelics are getting a lot of buzz in the media, with many reporting that we have entered a “psychedelic renaissance.” Whether it is people seeking treatment for PTSD, depression and addictions, or people micro-dosing for creativity and productivity, psychedelics are making a comeback in the mainstream. In this no-cost, hour-and-a-half info session, join me and Shelley Long at to answer your questions about psychedelics, such as:

*What is the legal status of psychedelic medicine in Canada?
*How can I access psychedelics safely and legally?
*What are the mental health benefits of psychedelic use?
*How do I know which psychedelic medicine is best for me?
*What is the difference between therapeutic use and recreational use?
*What are some alternative ways of accessing the wisdom of non-ordinary states of consciousness?

Join us for this informal presentation, followed by plenty of time for Q & A. Pre-registration is required.
DM or email me at amysedgwickot@gmail.com.

07/14/2022

I’m headed to Ontario for a family vacation and birthday celebration. I am so grateful to be able to work a little from the road (this shot is taken in the lovely little remote stone Québécois I am staying in tonight). I will miss all my clients next week but look forward to returning refreshed and rejuvenated. ☀️

06/27/2022

This gorgeous floral arrangement by just arrived. It is a gift from my father to congratulate me on being accepted to a postgraduate certification program in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy at Vancouver Island University. In working with folks with mental health issues over the past few years, I have been disheartened by the lack of effective treatment options for depression, anxiety and PTSD. With emerging research to support the possible efficacy of psychedelics in the treatment of these conditions, especially in combination with empathic counselling and psychotherapy, I am hopeful that plant medicine, mystical experiences, and age-old rituals of healing will provide one key to our personal and collective healing. ❤️‍🩹Thank you to my clients for continually inspiring me to learn and grow. Thank you for your courage, and your trust. 🙏🏻💗

10/13/2021

This past week I was gifted with this “Baby Brownie” camera which was found in a storage locker and belonged to my maternal grandfather. It has quickly become one of my most prized possessions. It was purchased second-hand in Victoria, British Columbia for $1 in 1945 and my grandfather used it to take photographs throughout his remaining travels in the British Navy.

I have been obsessed with taking photographs since I was a child. As a teenager and into my twenties I studied various styles of photography and took courses at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Ryerson University. I even did a documentary assignment on the unsheltered community at Tent City in Toronto as one of my final assignments during my O.T. degree. But it wasn’t until I discovered and the work of Michael Wood and Julie Dubose that I felt like I understood photography’s true role in my life.

Miksang is a form of contemplative photography. It brings together our awareness with our sense of sight, facilitating a deep and intimate connection with the world around us. For a decade and a half it has been one of my most consistent and treasured personal practices.

As an Occupational Therapist I am fascinated by the many ways in which photography can facilitate healing on both a personal and community level. I am heartened by the work of organizations like that are supporting the therapeutic role of photography in mental health. And I have been a long-time supporter of which uses participatory photography for social change. For clients who are open to it, I enjoy sharing how photography can be a tool for grounding, self-care and creative expression.

To view the photographs taken during my daily Miksang practice, please check out my IG Miksang story. To learn more about how photography can support your mental health, please DM or email me.