Life Dances Counselling

09/22/2025

This program too! So incredible that our young adults are offered support through programs like this!

Hey everyone,
One of the Y's in BC is offering a virtual Y Mind group for Male identifying people. Here is a poster for you! Spread the word!

09/22/2025

I continue to be so glad that these programs are made available for our youth! Thank you YMCA!

Mental health challenges shouldn’t get in the way of doing what you love. Our programs help overcome barriers and get you on the right track to where you’d like to be. Our free mental wellness programs, Y Mind and Mind Medicine, help participants learn how to manage stress and mild-to-moderate a...

09/19/2025

There are so many incredible counsellors offering such healing work! I am so privileged to work along side them : )

10/01/2024

LAST CHANCE TO ENROLL!! Parents, you are invited to experience a compassionate educational support group focused on learning how to cultivate the conditions for emotionally intelligent, secure, and confident children. This 6-week online support program is designed to help you:

✔ Guide your child to be less reactive and more relational
✔ Improve communication and create healthy boundaries
✔ Develop self-regulation and co-regulation skills
✔ Support your child towards healthy independence, relationships, mental wellness, and fulfilling lives

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and to be seen, witnessed, and validated by other parents and facilitators, Leanna Madill and Erin Leach.

Registration Deadline: Monday, October 7th, 2024

To learn more, visit our website: www.lifedancescounselling.com/the-regulated-parenting-program

Limited to 12 participants.

09/17/2024

Stress, overwhelm, and frustration are common emotions as a parent in today’s world, but the intensity and duration of these emotions can be managed and lessened, with support.

We invite you to join us and experience a compassionate educational support group focused on learning how to cultivate the conditions for you, the parents, to experience more emotional regulation and confidence in your parenting approach.

Join facilitators, Erin Leach and Leanna Madill, to expand your knowledge and skills of attunement during this engaging and helpful 6 week program. As educators and counsellors, we will share current research and practical approaches to develop your child’s emotional capacity and tolerance, as well as your own. You will explore practices and learn strategies that will help your child and your family experience less reactivity, more connection, and regulated nervous systems.

To learn more, visit our website: https://www.lifedancescounselling.com/the-regulated-parent-program
To receive the Early Bird discount, register by Sept 30th.
Limited to 12 participants.

03/06/2024

I'm excited to let you all know about this Free online workshop that Teddy Kellam is co-facilitating tomorrow evening, Wednesday March 6th from 6-8PM Pacific time.

She is part of the faculty of the Climate Emotional Resilience Institute ( https://climateemotionalresilience.org/ ):

The workshop is Wise Parenting in Uncertain Times: How to talk with kids about the climate crisis, build your family's emotional resilience & take age-appropriate action. You can find out more and register for free or by donation here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wise-parenting-in-uncertain-times-tickets-844913668527?aff=oddtdtcreator ). If the timing doesn't work out for you, you are welcome to register and request a recording.

My co-facilitator Kristan Childs and I have presented this talk previously for Good Grief Network and for the One Hundred Miles coastal nonprofit, where it has been well-received:

"This workshop exceeded my expectations by offering valuable insights into child psychology and equipping me with essential tools to communicate with children of different ages about the climate crisis. The content was well-structured and thoughtfully presented, ensuring that every attendee left with a better understanding of how to address this pressing issue with the next generation."
-2023 attendee

Kristan has been a parenting instructor for Hand-in-Hand Parenting for the past decade, and I have recently become a therapist. We have both been facilitating Good Grief Network climate distress groups for the past several years, and we are both certified in climate psychology. I am deep into somatic studies these days, so you can expect a lot of helpful embodiment and nervous system regulation "moments" throughout the talk.

If this topic interests you, I hope to see you online tomorrow!

With much warmth,
Teddy

International organization helping navigate the complex emotional responses to climate change for individuals, groups, and organizations.

01/02/2024

Always grateful for free programs for youth! Both in person and online support groups available starting soon.

02/23/2023

Amazing free resource for youth ages 13-18 happening in Sooke beginning this April. Learning that you are not alone in experiencing anxiety or any feelings can be very healing.

Y mind is a FREE weekly psycho educational support group for youth experiencing anxiety. Participants learn healthy coping skills through mindfulness and the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy process.
Please reach out to mindfulness@vancouverislandy.ca if you would like more info or to register

This will be held in Sooke at EMCS if enough register.

10/01/2022

Listening. Honouring. Grateful.

Indigenous artist K̓esugwilakw (Sierra Tasi Baker) has made their work Nexw7áyentsut (Transform Oneself) available to stream for 48 hours surrounding the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. bit.ly/3CkYMc3
It will be available from 2pm Thursday Sept 29 to 2pm Saturday Oct 1 (PDT). Read more below:

"Hal7h skwáyel túniyap, my name is K̓esugwilakw, Sierra Tasi Baker, (they/she/he) and I’m from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxumixw. I’m also Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, Łingít and Magyar. I am an Indigiqueer dancer, choreographer and Urban Designer.

If you’re in a space today to listen to a vulnerable dance piece created with the intention of processing my thoughts and feelings about colonization, from my perspective as a Host Nation person doing their best to thrive despite colonialism, then please follow the link to the film. I’ve titled the piece Nexw7áyentsut, which loosely translates to “Transform Oneself” in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim. It will only be available for a short time out of respect for the vulnerability in this piece and for the Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

This is a process based piece. The spoken word was recorded in one sitting after a movement session processing grief and trauma. The noises of the city in the background reflect the feelings of the weight and heaviness of colonial imposition.

The soundtrack was developed in collaboration with my nephew Sekawnee Baker, an Afro-Indigenous sound producer, artist and athlete.

The dance itself is improv and was performed 4 times at different locations. Notably at X̱wáy̓x̱way and Skwácháy̓s, locations where my ancestors and families were forcibly removed from to make way for the concrete and glass that we call Vancouver.

The movement processing was developed with guidance from Olivia Davies, Anishinaabe, who brought medicine wheel teachings into the work to inform the healing. This piece was performed with the intention of transformation, of myself, the city, and our collective healing. Please view with kindness and gentleness.

Chen wanáxwstúmiyap,
(Respectfully)
K̓esugwilakw"

This work was commissioned by DanceHouse in collaboration with Matriarchs Uprising. Videography by Hemstock Films.

08/03/2022

FREE online course for parents and caregivers of youth about talking about mental health and su***de prevention! Enrol here if you are interested:

As a student, parent, teacher, coach, or health professional, learn strategies to help improve the mental health of young people in your life, recognise concerning behaviours, and feel better prepared to have conversations about mental health.

06/02/2022

This is the information session for the new REAL online program starting this fall!! It’s going to be practical, supportive, connective and provide people with ways to walk more authentically and lovingly in the world!! Hope to see you online this Saturday morning:)

New name, same program!

Join us for our REAL Life Program Info Event and the June community talk "Finding the Courage to Care."

Save the date: June 4th, 11am PDT (UK Friendly time)

Get your FREE tickets below! You don't want to miss this!

https://clearmind.com/clearmind-connects/

04/07/2022

We spend their childhood ensuring we keep them safe. We become incredible problem solvers, fast thinking, and can anticipate ahead of what they will ask or need. Therefore, it can be challenging to know how to support our teens about how to manage their own well being. They need to learn all those same skills for themselves. It takes time and practice and it might be messy. Providing a calm, safe, patient and compassionate relationship is incredibly helpful. This means that Parents need to take care of themselves and their needs so that they can be resourced for their teens.

Unfortunately, shutting-up and listening is incredibly difficult when someone is in distress and feels totally counter-intuitive. When a young person comes to us crying, self-injuring, shouting, despondent, or despairing our natural instinct is to try and make the pain stop by doing something. We give advice, try to 'fix' the problem, or try to convince them that they should/do feel differently than they do. When our 'doing' doesn't work we can feel frustrated, resentful, or hopeless with the young person and their 'unfixable' problem.

When young people (any people!) share their distress and difficulties with us what they most often want is to be seen, heard, and understood. They usually need us to shut up, listen empathically, and try to understand how their world feels right now. To feel really 'seen' by a safe other is a hugely regulating and reparative experience - suddenly the world and our problems feel more manageable.