It’s Not Therapy!

We live in loud times. Opinions, especially about politics, are not spoken, they are shouted, at volumes that keep increasing as each side tries to out-shout the other. All that noise wears on our ability to keep a sense of inner-calm, especially when friends, relatives and co-workers are among those doing the yelling, sometimes at us. Liana offers 4 strategies for finding and maintaining your emotional equilibrium in a world that makes that increasingly difficult.

The mental health system can feel like an exhausting catch-22: the process of seeking help creates the exact kind of stress, anxiety, and burnout it is supposed to treat. Psychotherapist Kirsten Davidson talks to Liana about strategies for seeking and achieving mental health supports that move you one step forward, not two steps back.

It's a rare thing when superhero TV or movies offer something deeper than rousing beat 'em up action, but HBO's series about DC Comics' Green Lantern, Lanterns, does it. Liana shares insight into how Lanterns maintains a tight balance between gritty crime drama and superhero fare, while also portraying various types of trauma, where it begins and its effects on the traumatized person and the people around them...while also delivering great acting, action and yes, some great beat 'em ups!

Online dating is a multi-billion dollar business...so why is dating harder than ever? Anxiety over rejection, communication deficits (real & imagined) and less-developed social skills are three big issues, along with a greater need for self-awareness and a host of other factors that have made dating in 2026 a daunting experience. Pieter Niemann, author of Swiping For Something Real, was born in South Africa and moved to Switzerland, so he knows what it's like to feel isolated and unsure of the rhythms of local social interactions. Pieter joins Liana to discuss how he managed to overcome his introversion and trepidation to build a community of friends and the confidence to wade into the dating world.

The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health released its fourth annual Mental Health and Substance Use Health Report Card and the results are… bad. Even worse than last year. Glenn Brimacombe, Past Public Affairs Chair of CAMIMH, joins Liana to discuss the results, and what we can do to turn these negative results into positive action, and make mental health services more accessible for everyone.

When Dolly Parton exited the stage last week, she left behind a legacy of authenticity, positivity, integrity, strength and resilience. Throughout a long career filled with well-earned triumphs, Dolly also faced a number of challenges, which she faced head-on with grace, strength and humour. Walking through Dolly's story, Liana highlights how the country and film star's life is an embodiment of excellent mental health habits, lessons we can all learn from to our reach our inner Dolly.

The end of summer ushers in more than a change in the weather, it can also revive personal anxieties about the reduction of daylight, memories of back to school, and other experiences related to the fall. Also, the eternal battle between "should" and "want to" as Liana gets very personal about the origins of some of her anxieties and their effects. Liana's goal is for her learned life lessons to help you with your own anxiety challenges.

That's Private! ... Or Is It?

In a society where cameras are everywhere, our personal privacy is under assault on a daily basis. But it isn't just technology that erodes our privacy; there are, and always have been, people who violate trust for status, amusement or advantage. At the same time, there are some secrets which should not be kept private. Liana shares some very personal experiences that illustrate the damage done by loose lips and some cases where keeping a confidence can be harmful to those who entrust you with them.

Everyone wants authenticity… from others.  Expressing your real feelings, real opinions, and real needs can be scary in a world increasingly built on rejection; hiding behind pleasant, fake smiles seems safer. But that protective fakeness can sabotage the connections we crave. Ontario psychotherapist Kirsten Davidson (https://mindthegaps.co/) talks to Liana about how to create a comfort zone of authenticity for stronger, more meaningful relationships. 

When her son Jonathan was very young, Lynn Greenberg was told that his neurodivergence would prevent Jon from achieving scholastic success. Years later, Jon graduated from university with a Master's Degree, and the mother-and-son team now write and successfully publish books for young readers featuring neurodivergent characters. Liana talks to Lynn and Jonathan about how they overcame the hurdles of low-expectations - hint: it wasn't by smiling and nodding at 'experts'.