I’m so thankful that I was connected with Gilles because what an incredible story he has to tell. Gilles grew up in Campbellton, NB and has been a competitive athlete for most of his life. After experiencing the loss of a few close relationships, Gilles mental health and addiction began to spiral into a very destructive path. On the outside, he was this extreme and competitive athlete, on the inside he was fighting for his life.

Gilles found recovery while simultaneously fueling his passion for helping people to live better lives by staying fit and using science and coaching to give them the extra edge.

Today Gilles is the owner of O2 Max in Dieppe, NB. O2Max is a metabolic and respiratory analysis system that offers a comprehensive and personalized analysis of an individual’s physical fitness. This can be especially useful for athletes and fitness enthusiasts who want to optimize their training and nutrition plans to achieve their goals.

I really appreciated Gilles candor in sharing his struggles and rock bottoms and I can guarantee that you will gain some new perspectives on why what you think you may know about someone can be very different from what they are actually experiencing.

Sylvain Mancuso is the owner of Mancuso Clinic in Moncton, NB where he oversees a team of healthcare professionals who are helping people resolve pain and other barriers that may be impacting their ability to live a full and active lifestyle. Sylvain initially trained in physiotherapy before making the transition to osteopathy which embraces holistic and natural processes to promote healing. Sylvain is a wealth of knowledge and a compassionate practitioner with an infectious energy focused on finding new ways to help support patients succeed in their healing journey. You can learn more about Sylvain and the work he and his team are doing at https://www.mancusoclinic.com/

Emily’s story is about a mother’s love and how she navigated the distress of watching her teenage son struggle with poor mental health and addiction. Emily never wavered in her love and commitment to her son’s wellbeing but she did have the tremendous insight to recognize that helping him meant meeting him where he was at and not forcing her own will upon him. For years, she supported him as best she could until a physical health crisis brought him back home for a period of time and became a turning point in their relationship. Emily’s story is truly about persistence and patience and the power of just staying present when someone we love is struggling. Emily is part of a larger network of parents advocating for families impacted by substance use and you can learn more about their work at www.momsstoptheharm.com.

Sophia Recovery Centre is a non-residential community centre providing continuing care programs for women seeking to take their lives back from the wide-ranging impacts of addiction. Since its founding in 2008, the centre has grown to encompass a well-rounded team of professionals and peer support specialists based in three southern New Brunswick communities: Saint John, St Stephen and Rothesay with expansion to Sussex and other New Brunswick communities underway.

Jacqueline & Sam, who hold the position of Program Directors at the KV and Saint John locations, joined me on the podcast to talk about the work they are doing to support women at Sophia Recovery. We had a really engaging discussion about the impacts addiction has on women and why having programs to support women with addiction are so important. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction and you want to learn more about Sophia Recovery and the amazing work they are doing, have a listen to this podcast episode or find them at https://sophiarecoverycentre.com/

We were delighted to have Brandi come and join us on the podcast to talk about her work with the Saint John Suicide Prevention Committee. The committee is made up of a team of volunteers of various backgrounds that share a passion for decreasing the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide and decreasing instances of death by suicide by raising awareness, providing education, and supporting mental health initiatives in the local community.

The Suicide Prevention Committees work to identify local needs and reducing barriers and gaps between existing services. Although not a counselling centre in itself, the committee works in partnership with existing programs and services to help make sure that those supports are known and available to anyone who may need help.

If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Saint John Suicide Prevention Committee, visit their website at https://www.sjsuicideprevention.ca/. Additional supports are also available through the Talk Canada Suicide prevention number at 1-833-456-4566 (27/7) or text 45645 (4pm to midnight).

David Muise is one of the co-founders of NuVista Psychedelic Assisted Therapy located in Fredericton NB. After having his own experience with psychedelic medicine following a health problem that wasn’t responding to typical treatment, he became a proponent of helping more people have access to the benefits of psychedelic assisted therapy, especially for mental health conditions when traditional treatments, such as antidepressants or psychotherapy, have not generated expected results. 

In this episode, David talks with us about the general process of receiving ketamine assisted therapy, who might be a good fit for receiving this type of treatment and what to expect as a patient. Part of the goal of NuVista Psychedelic Assisted Therapy is to make treatment more accessible by offering lower price points that more accurately reflect the market in Atlantic Canada and moving towards mobile clinics. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve had an opportunity to dig deeper into the world of psychedelic assisted therapy and each day there is more and more information and movement towards the potential benefits of incorporating psychedelic medicine into the therapy in the trauma treatment world. 

Hope you’ll stay with me and find this episode as engaging as I did recording it.

Nicole LeBlanc has been working in the field of community mental health for the past 11 years. She is passionate about working with people as they embark on their journey of self-discovery, personal growth and healing. In this episode, Nicole speaks from her experiences both as a social worker struggling with her own symptoms of stress and burnout which lead her to discover a new path to helping her clients with mindfulness based interventions. 

Nicole has completed extensive mindfulness training over the past 7 years and is now qualified to teach a number of mindfulness based programs including Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy,  Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training & Mindful Self-Compassion Training Course. To learn more about Nicole and the work she is doing, you can visit her website at https://www.nicoleleblanc.org/

Welcome back to another season of Talking To Trauma!!
 
Our first guest of the season is Justin McCarthy, creator New Found Awakening, a Holistic Healing Opus! Originally from Newfoundland, in this episode Justin leads us through his life story and engages us in some in depth conversation about the insights that he has gained along the way. His story includes highlights from a decade of military service, relationship breakdown, and a continuous yearning for travel and purpose. Justin eventually found healing in a variety of sources including psychedelics, men’s work  and breath work. I would encourage you to visit his website at https://www.newfoundawakening.com/ to learn more about Justin and all the ways he is using his own healing story to help others.

In this week’s podcast episode, we are talking all about EMDR therapy!

Emily Bushell is the owner of Whole Therapy https://www.wholetherapy.ca with locations in both Dartmouth and Sydney, NS.

Emily is Registered Counselling Therapist and she is certified in EMDR as well as being an EMDR Approved Consultant with the EMDR International Association. Before starting her own private practice in Nova Scotia, Emily worked as a Clinical Counsellor with Coast Mental Health and as a Concurrent Disorders Specialist with Fraser Health Authority in British Columbia. Emily has also worked in a variety of settings in the mental health system including treatment centres, outreach teams, methadone clinics and outpatient care.

Emily and I have known each other for several years now and she’s had a big impact on my own practice as an EMDR therapist and consultant. I was so pleased when Emily agreed to come on the podcast – her first time as a podcast guest! – to talk about EMDR with me and provide an opportunity for listeners to really understand why EMDR therapy has continued to grow in popularity and practice over the past several years.

Justin Nash is one of those people that you just instantly feel a connection with. His warmth and sincerity is evident as he spoke to me about his journey through mental illness & addiction. 

Justin would be quick to point out that his story never really ends as he continues to manage his mental health and wellbeing. In this episode, Justin speaks candidly about his lowest moments – like being arrested for public nudity - and the steps he took to find his way forward. Justin was admitted on more than one occasion to the in-patient psychiatry unit and worked his way through the mental health system receiving a diagnosis he never fully agreed with while taking medications he was forced to take (and didn’t really believe he needed). His mental health began to improve when he stopped using drugs and alcohol and realized that a lot of his struggles had resulted from a drug-induced psychosis. 

Justin credits his sister for introducing him to a more holistic lifestyle and once he began making positive changes around his substance misuse, he felt his life begin to improve.

Never Give Up (www.never-giveup.ca) is the platform Justin has created to spread the message of hope for healing. Never Give Up is the message branded on his website, clothing, hats and other merchandise. Justin hopes that with this platform, he can encourage and support others who are ready to improve their own lives. Justin also has a podcast called “Drinking Juice with Justin”.