Amy Sedgwick, Occupational Therapist

10/16/2025

On my sample calls with potential clients, I often tell people that finding the right therapist is a little like dating. 😅 It has to feel like a good fit. My approach is eclectic and unique, and I don't take it personally if it's not a good match. If you've had bad or unproductive experiences with therapy in the past, please don't let it deter you from getting the support you need.

No, you’re not “too broken”—but a few things could have affected your experience.

10/02/2025

So grateful that my work allows me to take beautiful walks in the woods during my lunchtime break. Did you know I offer walk-and-talk therapy at FireLoch on Thursdays? And if you have insurance with MBC I can direct bill. Come get your weekly or biweekly dose of eco-therapy. 🌿

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.