Graystone Counselling & Consulting

02/11/2026

💛 Graystone Families — COSP is Back This Spring! 💛

We’re excited to share that the Circle of Security Parenting Program (COSP) is returning this spring!

This program is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your understanding of your child’s emotional world, strengthen connection, and feel more confident responding to big feelings and challenging behaviours.

Parenting isn’t about being perfect — it’s about being present, reflective, and supported.

✨ Free on-site childminding is available for families who would like to participate but may not have access to childcare.

If you’ve been considering extra support, this is a meaningful step - and it's FREE!

📞 Call today to register Family and Early Childhood Anglophone East

02/11/2026

02/09/2026

We’re proud to highlight Brittany Ricker, LCT-C, a Trauma-Focused Licensed Counselling Therapist (Candidate) at Graystone Counselling & Consulting.

Brittany works with individuals, couples, and children navigating trauma, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and complex life transitions. Her approach is grounded in nervous-system-informed care, clinical attunement, and a deep respect for pacing, safety, and trust.

Trauma doesn’t always look the way we expect. It can show up as feeling constantly on edge, shutting down emotionally, struggling in relationships, feeling overwhelmed by everyday stress, or noticing that your body reacts before your mind can catch up. Sometimes it’s linked to a clear event; other times it’s the accumulation of experiences where safety, connection, or support were missing.

As a former Emergency & Community Care Nurse, Brittany brings a unique, integrative perspective to her counselling work — blending psychological insight with frontline healthcare experience to support regulation, resilience, and meaningful change. She understands how deeply our experiences live in the body, not just the mind.

Reaching out for support doesn’t mean something is “wrong” with you. It often means your system has been working hard for a long time and could use care, understanding, and space to slow down. Therapy can be a place to gently explore what you’re carrying — at a pace that feels manageable and respectful.

✨ Brittany is currently accepting clients.

📞 506-777-2274
🌐 Book online: graystonecounselling.ca

You don’t have to navigate this alone.

02/09/2026

Grief and joy can sit together.

From a trauma-informed, compassionate lens, we know that our emotional world is rarely either/or. You can miss someone deeply and still laugh. You can feel heavy and hopeful in the same breath. You can be healing and still hurting.

If you’ve ever felt confused or guilty for experiencing joy alongside grief, or sadness during moments that “should” feel happy — there is nothing wrong with you. Our nervous systems hold our stories, and they don’t follow neat timelines.

Healing doesn’t mean pushing pain away or forcing positivity. It means allowing what’s true to be present, at a pace that feels safe. Sometimes that looks like tears. Sometimes it looks like rest. Sometimes it looks like a small moment of light showing up beside the hard stuff.

There is room for all of it here.
You don’t have to choose one feeling over another.
Both are allowed.

With Love,
Your Graystone Team

02/01/2026

Understanding Cultural Messages and Developing Healthy Coping

As children and teens, our brains are still developing. This makes young people especially sensitive to messages about identity, appearance, success, and how to cope with stress, discomfort, or boredom. This sensitivity isn’t a weakness—it’s a normal and important part of human development. At the same time, it means that cultural influences can have a strong impact.

Many industries communicate messages about improvement, relief, or escape. For some people, these products or activities are used in healthy, enjoyable ways. For others—especially young people—certain messages can contribute to confusion about self-worth or coping.

For example:
• Diet, beauty, fitness, and wellness messaging may sometimes suggest that bodies need fixing or constant improvement.
• Alcohol and substance marketing may imply that discomfort, anxiety, or stress should be avoided or quickly relieved.
• Gambling messaging may emphasize excitement, hope, or the possibility of quick relief through risk.

Research shows that repeated exposure to these ideas can shape how the brain understands safety, reward, and self-worth. Over time, young people may begin to internalize beliefs such as:
• worth is tied to appearance or performance
• control equals safety
• avoiding feelings brings relief
• risk leads to excitement or hope
• discomfort means something is wrong

Adolescence is a particularly sensitive period because:
• the brain is more responsive to reward and novelty
• impulse control systems are still developing
• identity and self-esteem are forming
• bodies and emotions are changing rapidly
• belonging and acceptance feel deeply important

Social media can intensify these effects. Algorithms are designed to maximize engagement, often promoting content that triggers comparison, excitement, fear, or desire. Images of idealized bodies, rigid routines, glamorous substance use, or big wins tend to get more attention—not necessarily because they reflect well-being, but because they capture interest.

None of this means people should never drink, exercise, use beauty products, or take risks. The concern arises when young people are not also supported in learning how to:
• recognize and tolerate emotions
• understand stress and discomfort
• develop internal coping skills
• build a sense of worth beyond appearance or achievement

What often helps most is not avoidance or control, but awareness and choice.

Healthy development includes learning how to pause, reflect, and ask:
• How does this make me feel—before and after?
• Is this supporting my well-being, or replacing something I need?
• Do I feel pressured, or am I choosing this freely?

Supportive environments help young people build emotional skills, self-understanding, and agency—so they can engage with the world thoughtfully rather than reactively.

If you or your child are struggling with stress, identity, coping, or feeling overwhelmed by these pressures, support is available. You don’t have to navigate it alone.

Reach out to when it feels right for you.

With Love,

Your Graystone Team
Graystone Counselling & Consulting

01/31/2026

Addiction can take many forms.
It may involve substances such as alcohol or drugs, or behaviors that are often harder to recognize—but just as impactful. Common types of addiction include:
• Alcohol
• Drugs (prescription or non-prescription)
• Gambling
• Food or disordered eating behaviors
• Po*******hy or compulsive sexual behaviors

Other forms of addiction may include:
• Ni****ne or va**ng
• Technology, social media, or gaming
• Shopping or spending
• Work or productivity
• Exercise
• Caffeine
• Relationships or codependency

Addiction is not a moral failing. It is often a response to pain, stress, trauma, or unmet needs. As Allen Carr emphasized, many addictions persist not because of pleasure or benefit, but because of powerful beliefs and fears—once those illusions are understood, change can feel less like deprivation and more like freedom.

At Graystone Counselling, you don’t need to walk alone.
Whether you’re questioning your relationship with an addiction, feeling stuck in patterns you want to change, or supporting someone you care about, help is available. You don’t need endless willpower or perfect readiness—just openness to a different way of understanding what’s been holding you in place.

You don’t have to have it all figured out to begin. When you’re ready, booking an appointment can be the first step toward clarity, relief, and freedom.

With Love,

Your Graystone Team

01/30/2026

Repair isn’t about saying the perfect thing.
It’s about showing up differently.

When something goes wrong in a relationship—with a partner, a child, a colleague, or even yourself—repair is what determines whether trust weakens or deepens.

Psychological research and clinical practice consistently show that meaningful repair includes three essential pieces:

Ownership
Repair begins when we acknowledge our impact, not just our intention. This means moving away from defensiveness and toward responsibility.
“I see how that affected you,” matters—even when harm wasn’t intentional.

Empathy
People heal when they feel understood. Empathy isn’t fixing or explaining. It’s staying present, curious, and emotionally available. When someone feels emotionally met, the nervous system can settle and connection becomes possible again.

A plan for change
Insight alone doesn’t create change. Repair is strengthened when accountability is paired with action—clear intentions, new skills, and repeated practice over time.

In counselling, repair often looks like:
• slowing down instead of shutting down
• staying engaged when things feel uncomfortable
• learning how to regulate emotions before responding
• practicing boundaries, communication, and self-awareness

Repair is not a test you pass or fail. It’s a process that unfolds with patience, compassion, and practice.

You don’t have to do it alone.

You don’t have to do this perfectly—just with intention.

With love,

Your Graystone Team 🤍

01/30/2026

✨Colleague Spotlight: Colleen Doucette, LCT-C

We’re delighted to spotlight Colleen Doucette, a Licensed Counselling Therapist (Candidate) with Graystone Counselling and Consulting.

Counselling that supports the whole you.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected—from yourself, your relationships, or the life you want to be living—you’re not alone, and you don’t have to navigate it on your own.

Colleen is a Canadian Certified Counsellor and Licensed Counselling Therapist (Candidate) with additional training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and holistic nutrition. What makes her work unique is her integrative, holistic approach—blending mental health counselling with nutritional therapy and lifestyle education to support meaningful, sustainable change.

Colleen works with individuals and couples navigating:
• Stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm
• Low mood and complex emotional patterns
• Communication and relationship challenges
• Boundary-setting and lifestyle concerns

Her work is grounded, compassionate, and collaborative—meeting clients where they are and supporting emotional regulation, healthier relationships, and improved quality of life at a pace that feels realistic and supportive.

✨ If you’re looking for counselling that sees the whole picture, Colleen is here to help.

📅 Book online: https://graystonecounselling.janeapp.com/
📧 Contact: info@graystonecounselling.ca

01/25/2026

Meet Tammy MacDonald – Evidence-Based Nutrition & Personal Training at Graystone Counselling

At Graystone Counselling, we’ve always believed in supporting the whole person—including the important connection between mental health, nutrition, and movement.

Tammy MacDonald is a nutrition-focused Naturopath (n.d) and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) who has long been part of the Graystone team. She provides evidence-based nutrition support and personal training alongside our counselling services. Her work is grounded in current research, clinical experience, and collaborative, recovery-informed care.

Tammy offers:

✔️ Individualized, nutrition support
✔️ Meal planning and progress monitoring
✔️ Recovery-focused education and support
✔️ Collaborative care with counselling teams
✔️ Personal training and private coaching

Tammy works with clients navigating food-related concerns, recovery, or those seeking sustainable ways to feel stronger and more at ease in their bodies. Her approach is compassionate, non-judgmental, and aligned with best practices in both nutrition and movement.

Tammy MacDonald, n.d, CPT
📧 tammy@graystonecounselling.ca
📞 506-777-2274
🌐 www.graystonecounselling.ca

Book online:
https://graystonecounselling.janeapp.com/ #/staff_member/5