KCM Counselling

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Kingston, ON
KCM Counselling

Kelly Chen-McDonagh || Registered Psychotherapist || MA, BScH || She/Her/Hers

12/04/2023

I'm very happy as a member of the Armchair Collective to be partnering with the Partners In Mission Foodbank to collect food items for those in need. ⁠
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Food insecurity (obviously) negatively impacts health; both physical and mental. In about 1 in 9 households live with food insecurity - and this statistic is old (2022). ⁠
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While we continue to work to dismantle the oppressive systems that contribute to food insecurity, this is the least we can do in an attempt to offer support and band-aid the situation. ⁠
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We have a box at the office for anyone who would like to stop by and drop off items. We also will have the QR code displayed for those who are able to make a monetary donation. ⁠
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The most needed items for donation are; ⁠
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⭐️ Money (your dollars contribute to higher purchasing power)⁠
⭐️ Canned meat & fish⁠
⭐️ Peanut butter⁠
⭐️ Stews or chunky soups⁠
⭐️ Baby food, formula, diapers⁠
⭐️ Pasta sauce⁠
⭐️ Cereal⁠
⭐️ 100% Fruit Juice⁠

Please support where and when you can ❤️

Also note that while these donation opportunities are available to you, there is zero expectation or requirement for you to do so as a client of mine/of the Collective's!

04/19/2023

🎂 🎈KCM Counselling is turning 1 year old today! 🎈🎂

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this last year! I feel super lucky to get to work in a field I'm passionate about, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings! 🥳

🚨 Reminder! 🚨 Starting on May 1 2023, you can find me working from The Armchair Collective ()! I'm so excited to get to join such a beautiful space and continue working alongside wonderful practitioners.

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02/08/2023

📚 February Reads 📚

Reading has been pretty high on my self-care activities over the past few months. I love that it provides me with time to decompress and immerse myself in another person's story.

Books (fiction and non-fiction) can be a great way to help us better understand the diversity of human experience and are one of my favourite ways to continue to learn about our world and the experiences of the people in it. I've picked reads that center on Black experiences as a part of the way that I'm recognizing and engaging with Black History Month.

You can usually find me with a thriller or a romance book, and this month, I'm pulling these two books from my bookcase.

📕 Highly Suspicious and Fairly Cute by Talia Hibbert. - A contemporary romance about two rival teens joining together in the midst of a survival course in the woods to win a grand prize... Also while trying to get through their complicated past together. Some themes listed in the book are parental abandonment, friendship, mental health and living with OCD.

📒 Maame by Jessica George. (the cover is stunning!) - A contemporary coming-of-age fiction about a woman who is the primary caretaker for her father with Parkinson's disease while her mother spends time in Ghana. When her mother returns, she is excited to leave the family home and start living on her own. Some of the themes listed in the book are familial duty, racism, love, and friendship.

✨ What are you reading this month? ✨

ps. can you spot my dog's special appearance(s)?

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02/06/2023

🧰 Interested in building a toolbox of strategies that can help ground you during tough moments? 🧰

Often, some of the goals we set in therapy together involve coming away with tools that you can pull out in times of distress. One of my favourite grounding tools to start with is "54321" because it can be performed privately and in a lot of different environments (e.g. on a walk, sitting in the library, on the bus, in the middle of an exam, etc.).

Step 1: Look around and spot 5️⃣ things in your environment. Can you find a detail on that item that maybe you wouldn't have noticed in passing? (e.g. Notice that your water bottle has a few scratches in the paint).

Step 2: Find 4️⃣ things in your environment that you can safely touch and notice how it feels. Is it cool to the touch? What's the texture? (e.g. Notice that one part of the fabric of your shirt feels more worn than another part).

Step 3: Listen to your environment and see if you can separate out 3️⃣ different elements. (e.g. Notice that you can hear your dog breathing and a car passing on the street outside).

Step 4: Find 2️⃣ distinct things you can smell. You can even use the clothing that you're wearing! (e.g. Notice that your ponytail still smells like your shampoo from this morning and that your sweater sleeve still smells like your laundry detergent.)

Step 5: Take a moment and find 1️⃣ thing you can safely taste, like a sip of your beverage or a snack. It can also be as simple as noticing what your mouth currently tastes like. (e.g. Notice that your mouth tastes like stale coffee or the gum you were chewing earlier).

✅ Done!

✨ Practicing 54321 in times of low stress may also help you feel more comfortable using this tool when you are feeling upset. ✨

Have you ever tried this tool? Did you feel grounded afterwards?

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02/04/2023

💻 Are you considering starting virtual psychotherapy? 💻

Studies show that virtual (aka telehealth) therapy sessions may be as effective as in-person therapy for a variety of mental health concerns.

☀️ BENEFITS ☀️
- Seeing a therapist online opens up a ton of possibilities! This means you could see a therapist located hours away from you without needing to make that commute each week (and save on gas!). My office is in Kingston, but I virtually meet with clients located all around Ontario.
- Fitting a session in your lunch break may be easier than finding enough time to commute to and from my office.
- You may feel comfier completing your session in familiar surroundings.
- It may be easier to share the important elements of your daily life. (I love getting to virtually meet your furry friends or seeing what you've been knitting!)
- Circumstances depending, you may not require additional childcare to attend sessions.

🤔 CONSIDERATIONS 🤔
- Do you want to wear headphones during your session to increase privacy?
- Is your space private with minimal distractions?
- Do you have a reliable internet connection and a working device to join your session?
- Virtual therapy may not be an appropriate format if you are experiencing severe or complex symptoms.
- Body language cues may be outside of the video frame and may go unseen by your therapist.

✨ BOTTOM LINE ✨
- Will this format help you feel more comfortable accessing therapy?
- Will this format help increase convenience and accessibility for you?

If yes, then virtual therapy may be the right format for you!

☀️ Still have questions? Click the link in my bio to book your Meet and Greet and let's chat! ☀️

Refs:
- Ivey, L.C. (2021). Psychotherapy delivered via telehealth is comparable to in-person psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1097/ebp.0000000000001487
- Krzyzaniak et al. (2021). The effectiveness of telehealth versus face-to-face interventions for anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633x211053738

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Address

2437 Princess Street , Suite 204
Kingston, ON

Website

https://www.kcmcounselling.ca/

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