Brighter Path Psychology: Trauma Therapy & Chronic Pain Management

01/21/2024

For My Grandma's, who always spoiled me and made me feel soo SAFE. And for my mamma, cause I know she is an AMAZING " grandmere", even if she might not be feeling the love lately!!

Mine included!

08/10/2023

I don’t quite know if anyone’s gonna see this but I’ll post it anyways!!

I am posting to tell you all that I (Melissa Gates) will be starting (and running) a 10-week GROUP THERAPY SESSION for women and men struggling with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) OR Complex-PTSD (which is often related to having had a lot of trauma or even just a lot of unpleasant memories from childhood).

STARTS: Wednesday Sept 12 @ 3:30-5
RUNS: 10 weeks in a row, every Wednesday.
COST: $90 per individual session (CAN be paid weekly, but you must sign up for all ten).
**YES this group IS MOST OFTEN COVERED BY YOUR INSURANCE PROVIDER through employment “benefits”
*** The same 12 group members will attend all 10 sessions

If you’d like to read more about it, sign up or get on the wait list, please see my online booking page. If you can’t find the Sept 13th session, please DO click the link that says “MELISSA GATES’ wait list and you WILL likely get into the group!

The page is: www.brighterpath.janeapp.com

Should you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me or call me!

Thanks!
Warmly,
Melissa Gates, R Psych
Brighter Path Psychology
(780) 907-7677
traumatherapy@yahoo.com

08/01/2023

See the post below about FEAR!!

08/01/2023

08/01/2023

Fear and anxiety are HELPFUL TOOLS (ie they kept us safe a lot of the time)…but to those of us (myself included) who suffer with an anxiety DISORDER, the fire detector on our brains, our AMYGDALAS, have gone off the rails, and are making us fearful of even the most unrealistic things!!! we KNOW it’s not logical, but we still FEEL IT!

Well…I’m here to tell you, as someone who struggles with a crap ton of anxiety herself, there IS a way thought.
And I asked my friends to take this video as proof that OUR BRAINS CAN overcome even the most “”realistic” fears, just as they can the illogical ones.
I hope after seeing this video you too will decide to try jumping feet first into one of the things that is making you anxious or fearful! (And if you can’t get through it alone, call or message me anytime! (780) 907-7677)

07/30/2023

This is what I have believed since I was 18 years old…when I first realized that what I had been through as a child teen actually WAS trauma. Can wait to read it!

The idea that neuroscience research could be germane, even necessary, to psychotherapy began as a seed planted by Bessel van der Kolk to prove his hypothesis that post-traumatic reactions are perpetuated by the body and brain.

With the publication of works such as Allan Schore’s Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self in 1994, Joseph LeDoux’s The Emotional Brain in 1996, and Daniel Siegel’s The Developing Mind in 1999, the world of science began to inspire new growth in psychotherapy.

Each of these experts challenged the primacy of the mind as the basis of human emotional life to bring attention to how the brain affects our capacity to use our minds. Each argued that the slowly maturing brain and nervous system could be dramatically and perhaps permanently affected by early attachment relationships, neglect, and trauma.

07/23/2023

IM in LOVE with this shirt I found today!! I so often need to remind myself, so this may be my next tattoo!!

07/23/2023

So THIS is “belly breathing”(for your little ones, or the kid in you!) or “deep breathing “(boring name!) or “diaphragmatic breathing” (hence why we call it BELLY BREATHING!!) in a nutshell! It’s as easy as 1)breathing in and 2) breathing out!!!
And it can have DRAMATIC effects on your physical and your Mental Health!!
In fact, the research indicates that increasing the amount of BELLY BREATHING we do throughout the day can and DOES drastically improve things like heart health and mood. Deep breathing more in your day also leads to decreases in depression, decreases in stress and anxiety, and decreases in heart attacks and strokes (the number one KILLERS in Canada)!!
Soooo…try this for me:
1) put one hand on your tummy/“belly” and 2) place the other hand gently on your chest. NOW 3) breathe IN through your nose to a count of 4, **letting your belly fill up with air like a balloon, then HOLD for 2, then 4) breathe OUT of your nose to a count of 4 ***While letting all the air out of your belly, AND HOLD FOR 2.
And in for 4, and hold for 2, and out for 4, and hold for 2. And so on and so forth!! (And please DONT forget to hold after the OUTBREATH…it’s VERY important for relaxation and people always tend to forget it!
AND THATS IT!!…NOW do 10 full breaths, do this 5x per day, and you are well on your way to living LONGER AND enjoying the time you have left more! Ps. Your hand on your chest shouldn’t move much or you’re breathing too shallow! Pps. You don’t have to KEEP your hands on your belly silly!!…just for the first couple, just to get a feel for it!

07/23/2023

My first ever therapy-related instagram post!! (Urggg…I have NO idea what I’m doing but hopefully I get better!!)
Welcome all to BRIGHTER PATH PSYCHOLOGY!!