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- Your Uplift - April 2026
Your Uplift - April 2026
Patricia's Resiliency eNewsletter ❤️🐞
If ever I can help, email me at [email protected]
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Table of Contents
ONE: On a Personal Note
Hard Stuff: Ghosted
In my counselling practice, I often feel compassion, empathy, and connection with clients. I have to be mindful not to do more of the work than they do. My enthusiasm for insight, healing and growth can sometimes go beyond what’s helpful. Simply put, I love my work and my clients.
When a client disappears without responding or closing the loop, I find it difficult. Ghosting and cut-offs can activate real emotional pain in people, even in therapists. After all we are wired for connection. I have a repertoire of self-talk to support my self-worth and competence: “People live life their way,” “No one can change another,” and “I’m okay and they’re okay, just as we are.” They work, most of the time. 🙂
I’m not alone. Many people, including some of my clients, experience no-contact or cut-offs. Sometimes this is healthy; other times, a conversation for relationship repair or closure would be more appropriate and helpful. If this resonates with you, see my book summary of Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them. ❤️🐞
Uplifting Stuff: Aging Has Fun Moments
The seniors of Marda Loop in Caglary invited me to their meeting to present on resilient aging. I had a fun and meaningful morning with them. We stretched, learned, laughed and sang!
I love letting my silly, engaging self out in meaningful ways. My audiences tell me they enjoy my fun, insightful, and uplifting delivery. My programs for older folks include Get Over Getting Older, Tips On Resilient Aging, and Understanding Loneliness: What to Do for You and Others.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for me or know of a seniors’ group that would benefit from a presentation on resilient aging. Okay? Just email me at [email protected].
And Seniors’ Week begins June 01!
In the meantime, I wish you continued resilience,
Patricia ❤️🐞
TWO: Resiliency Research
Cognitive Reserve
One of the most important concepts of resilient aging is cognitive reserve.
Cognitive reserve = the brain’s ability to adapt, and stray functional despite aging or disease. It is built over a lifetime through, education, mentally stimulating work, and continual learning. Basically, the more you use and challenge your brain, the more resilient it becomes. Continual learning:
Builds cognitive reserve
Reduces risk of dementia
Delays onset of symptoms
Supports mental health and resilience
Even everyday activities matter. Read, play games, engage in conversations, volunteer, and learn new skills such playing an musical instrument, learning a new language, or how to use technology.
Source: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
THREE: Patricia’s Resiliency Blog/Articles
Once again, I was in a training room with Dr. Vincent T. Covello, globally recognized for his work in risk communication and human behavior under stress. He is the founder and director of New York based, Center for Risk Communication. This article is based on key insights from his training, with a focus on what helps people listen, process, and respond when emotions run high.
When emotions run high, communication. . . CLICK HERE.
In Fault Lines Pillemer explores the complexities and challenges within family dynamics, delving into the various strains of relationships. Pillemer highlights the impact of societal changes, cultural shifts, and evolving norms leading to fractures and tensions.
Pillemer interviewed more than 1,300 Americans and discovered that 27% of them were living with . . . CLICK HERE.
The teen arrived with his parent, curled up in his hoody, eyes down, and close to non-responsive, until he said, “Everything I do goes wrong.”
That sentence sums up what many parents, educators, and mental health professionals hear more often these days. Teen depression is rising, and with it comes a troubling pattern: school avoidance, withdrawal, and a sense of failure.
Across Canada, increasing numbers of adolescents report. . . CLICK HERE.
FOUR: Resiliency Video Picks
Sammy J & Randy - Soon You'll Be Dead (3.50min) Note: Humor and high skill of a talented ventriloquist. Yes, there is only one performer on stage. Fun & amazing! (3.50min)
Patricia’s Videos
Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff Summary (5.02min)
Six Crucial Self-Care Habits for Busy Women (2.18min) i
FIVE: ReSet: Making the Most of the Rest of Your LIfe by Spence & Yearwood
Aging isn’t the problem. Agism is! Find out how misunderstood aging is, and how to reset your thinking about the 100-year life.
Join authors Helen Hirsh Spence and Debra Yearwood online as they introduce their book, ReSet. Interviewed by publisher Jeanne Martinson, the authors will invite readers to rethink what it means to grow older in a world where longevity has become the new norm.
ReSet challenges outdated narratives that equate ageing with decline. Instead, the book re-frames later life as a gift of time to thrive, contribute, and reinvent.
Sign up at Eventbrite now and choose from two FREE sessions:
1:00-2:00 pm EDT, or 9:00-10:00 pm EDT
Pre-order Reset on Amazon now!
The issue isn’t how “old” you are, but how fully you choose to live. ReSet isn’t about “aging well.” It’s a book about intentional living. Place your Amazon order HERE
Discover how to:
Recognize and unlearn ageist myths that limit your potential
Reconnect with your strengths, values, and motivations
Navigate transitions like retirement, career change, or reinvention
Find purpose, meaning, and opportunity at any age
Stay engaged, visible, and energized in a rapidly changing world
SIX: A Year of Becoming: A Seasonal Women’s Gathering Series
Joyce Sunada believes that life is all about 'timing' - when the timing is right, opportunities present themselves and you are able to step into them.
Well, it just might be time for you to “Pause with the seasons, reconnect with yourself, and grow alongside a circle of inspiring women."
If now IS the time, I invite you to join us to experience beautiful and meaningful transformation in your life. You can do this by registering for the individual sessions that resonate with you or sign up for all of them.
1. April 30 6:30 - 8:30 PM You are Here to BE Seen - Register Now
2. July 23 6:30 - 8:30 PM You are in FULL BLOOM - Register Now
3. Oct 22 6:30 - 8:30 PM Thriving down the Home Stretch - Register Now
4. Jan 7, 2027 6:30 -8:30 PM What a Difference a Year Makes - Register Now
Series Package - Register Now
SEVEN. Test Anxiety, Study Skills & Test Taking for Students
Child Inspired Psychology Group offers a practical workshop on Test Anxiety, Study Skills, and Test-Taking Strategies for students.
Participants will learn how to recognize and reduce test anxiety, improve focus and retention, and perform with greater confidence under pressure.
Topics include:
Strategies to reduce test anxiety
CBT-based tools to shift negative thinking
Study skills to improve retention
Effective test-taking strategies
Building a resilient mindset
Boosting mental well-being
Take-home tools and resources
The workshop is led by a Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC) with extensive experience supporting youth.
Date & Time: Saturday, May 2, 2026 | 2:00–4:00 PM
Location: Child Inspired Psychology Group
240, 52 Gateway Dr, Airdrie, AB
Cost: $150 per student
Register: [email protected]
Website: www.childinspired.net
Phone: 403-448-0048
Limited spots available.
EIGHT: In-person Opportunity with Patricia
Return to Center Workshop * Friday, May 22, 2026
Creating Emotionally Safe Spaces in a Stressful World
OPEN to THE PUBLIC
Creating Emotionally Safe Spaces in a Stressful World
Based on the award-winning book:
Return to Center: Simple Strategies to Navigate Distress, Depression, and Disconnection (2024 Canadian Counselling Book Award)
Why this workshop?
Life can knock us off balance—through relationship struggles, work pressures, or the weight of responsibility. This training is designed for mental health professionals, community leaders, and anyone required to create emotionally safe spaces for others.
Join us to explore practical tools to steady yourself, improve relationships, and foster genuine emotional safety and connection.
What you’ll discover:
✅ A simple understanding of the Polyvagal Theory and your nervous system
✅ How to recognize signals of safety and danger in yourself and others
✅ Tools to map your own nervous system states: Charged, Give Up, and Centered
✅ A list of strategies to increase calm, focus, and connection
✅ Ways to emotionally regulate yourself and help others return to center
What you’ll gain:
✨ Clarity on how body and mind respond to stress
✨ Awareness of when you’re agitated, shut down, or steady—and why it matters
✨ A personal toolbox of strategies to calm your mind and reconnect with others
✨ Practical ways to handle challenges with confidence while helping others, including children, feel safe and supported
WHERE: Caroline Library, ·5023 - 50th Avenue, Caroline, Alberta
TIME: 5 -7pm, Friday, May 22, 2026
No Registration — JUST COME * See you there! ❤️🐞
NINE: More Opportunities for Resilience
Presentations — In-Person or Online
Keynotes/Workshops: CLICK HERE.
Presentation Skills: For those who want guidance to develop a speaking business or simply craft and deliver an engaging message CLICK HERE.
Counselling Therapy: Can be delivered online or in-person. CLICK HERE.
Publications: To view resiliency books and ebooks CLICK HERE.
Please let me know how I might be of service at [email protected]
Your Spunky Patricia ❤️🐞