Kathleen Francis Counselling Services

04/12/2026

I am so proud to be a Canadian right now. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen showed the epitome of grace, kindness, humility, teamwork, humour, and wisdom in his speech today. The entire crew was so incredible. Their messages were of hope, teamwork, humanity, love, and the need to seriously care for this vulnerable planet which is the source of life almost the vast darkness of space.

Hansen said that the joy and love we witness in the crew is simply a mirror to what is within each one of us. And if we do see it in ourselves or our experiences, we have simply to look deeper.

The connection between the crew was evident. It was beautiful to witness 4 highly intelligent and capable humans be vulnerable with one another and have no qualms about showing that emotional vulnerability to the entire planet. That is leadership. That is what will change the world. What a beautiful reprieve to witness amidst the chaos of world events this past year.

03/24/2026

I was a flight attendant with Air Canada for 20 years. What started as a summer temp job morphed into a career that allowed me to stay home raising my young daughters while flying on weekends, and then to build my psychotherapy private practice when my girls got older.

My airline colleagues truly are the best of the best safety professionals. These frontline workers risk their lives every take off and landing, and it is moments like these where this reality, sadly, becomes palpable.

Air Canada pilots and crew members are experts at what they do. I am proud to have been a part of this incredible group of highly skilled individuals.

Sending respect to all airline workers and condolences to the families impacted by these tragic and unfortunate losses.

03/15/2026

03/15/2026

03/13/2026

I express my feelings authentically on this platform for the purpose of normalizing emotions, and demonstrating to people that it is possible to well up with an emotion and ride that wave, and come to regulation on the other side of intensity.

This is the work of therapy. This is the work of being human. I am open with my emotions because I believe the biggest gift I ever received was learning the skill of feeling a feeling fully and having the experience of completion. The emotion and the somatic sensations of it in the body eventually end, if we allow it to be and move through our nervous systems. I used to be so scared of feeling the full range of my emotions because I was so scared I would get stuck there. It truly felt like if I allowed myself to feel it, that I might die. At one point in my life, emotions were that intense and scary for me.

I learned that if I stop suppressing and avoiding, if I open to the emotion, it does not kill me. It is the bracing against and the resisting that causes stress, pain, tension, fear, anxiety.

This page is about modelling to others that the way is through. With support you can learn this skill. And it is scary, and you will be ok, and if you get stuck, you can turn to safe people to help you.

Our emotions are what make us uniquely human. We are living systems with an inherent intelligence within us. Our emotions are a part of the information that nourishes and supports us, if we allow them to.

03/12/2026

The world is on fire. I just needed to acknowledge it. What are we doing? What are ‘they’ doing? How do we cope? It doesn’t even feel real.
What are they doing to our one and only Earth, our home? What are we doing to one another? None of this war and power-over is good for anyone on this globe. Only a few prosper, and yet, does it even bring them what they truly want? Peace? Joy? Love? Connection?
Impossible.
Nature in her wisdom holds a delicate balance and humans are screwing it all up.
I am grieving. I am angry. I am rage filled. I am confused. I am protective. I am saddened and devastated by the destruction happening across the globe. We need more regulated people. We need more self-aware people. We need brave people to stand up and speak up for the vulnerable and the powerless. We need to protect the children.

03/12/2026

Sharing examples of the types of body sensations and mood changes I noticed after a 5 minute Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) listening session. Every person responds differently to these auditory music therapies that act on the autonomic nervous system. However, after having done it on myself many times since 2019, and on over 100 clients, I have seen a pattern of the types of responses people have.

The SSP is unique, powerful, and subtle at the same time and it is important to work closely with an experienced practitioner to ensure a smooth and positive delivery. It has been life changing for me and many others. When we are more regulated, we have more options for how we want to create change in our lives.

03/10/2026

We have a gravity water filtration unit, and I seem to be the only one in the home that realizes it needs to be refilled regularly, even though the whole family drinks lots of water! I love our unit with fluoride filtration and added mineral stones for better hydration and absorption.

Now that I no longer beat myself up for these complete lapses in awareness, it is like my day is full of surprises! Like when I walk back into a room and think ‘oh, wow, I was doing that!’ I am amazed at how I completely forget sometimes until I see the half-done task or chore as proof in front of me.

03/10/2026

Feeling compassion for my inner little girl part. Girlhood friendships were hard and complicated, and my feelings were big and large and intense…. and I learned they were often ‘too much’ for the people around me. I often sought solace climbing the large Maple tree in our backyard. I would climb as high as I could, even to the point where I knew it was risky, and that if my parents knew they might be concerned or chastise me for not being careful. Well, I never fell out of the tree! That tree was my escape from difficult interactions and feelings. It was my time to myself. I loved finding spots to climb in the branches, finding places to squeeze into to rest, and feeling the higher branches blowing in the breeze.

I had not realized until making this video that I often doubt this still today, especially when I let out my fun-loving, humorous and silly side. Even though generally the feedback I receive from others is positive, and I hear their laughter at my little jokes and they seem to appreciate what I share…. but I still have moments where the little girl part of me is worried we went too far, perhaps joked too much…. Sometimes it is just one person in a group that doesn’t respond in as positive a way, that leads to RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) rearing its powerful head.
That Maple tree was my solace, as nature often is.

03/08/2026

Happy International Women’s Day!
Let us all remember our worth.
Let us have the courage to use our voices, even when our voice shakes.
Let us stand up for what is right, even when our knees tremble.
Let us remember who we are, and in doing so, remind others of the truth of who they are.

❤️

03/03/2026

Sharing something cute just because the internet needs more cuteness these days!

I never knew I would come to love sweet little guinea pigs. What started as a slideshow by my daughter during the pandemic, turned into 3 piggy friends
being a part of our lives over the years. They are really social little things, but being prey animals, their instinct is to run and hide. If I breathe or blink too hard, they dart for cover. They feel safest hiding under something, as when they are covered they feel safe that a predator above them cannot see them. It has been so interesting for the Polyvagal Nerd in me to reflect on the nervous system survival instincts of fight/flight/freeze while learning from our guinea pigs. Our family favourite was what we called the ‘wax statue’, where our piggies would freeze mid-run if they hear a noise or if we made a sudden movement!

Pets are so precious and can be important parts of our lives. Simply caring for a small creature that needs us releases oxytocin, the feel-good bonding hormone that helps us feel calm and connected to others.