Rob's Blog

I think one of the most dysfunctional and disturbed, not to mention disturbing, groups of people I know are therapists. In their various forms and shapes we have a strange collection of therapy types out there, and equally varied therapists to go with each one. One client came to me recently who had been seeing a therapist elsewhere. They had stopped seeing the therapist after showing up to their office to find it had closed, and that the therapist had been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility. While I would be the first to admit that my own stress levels sometimes get up there a bit, I don't think things have got quite that bad, yet. The psychiatrist in the great 1983 movie, Local Hero, is not so far from being true to life. Coincidentally, he should also have been locked up. You can watch the entire movie above. It's worth every minute. When I look through the feeds on my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts I can see a diversity of humanity that is truly...

Mental healthcare in BC got of to what might at best be called a shaky start. Here's short account of the first reported incident relating to mental health in this, the most beautiful of Canadian provinces. In 1850 British Columbia recorded its first case of insanity. A Scottish migrant who had recently arrived on a ship, assaulted Dr. John Helmcken, the local doctor at the jail in Victoria. From 2.bp.blogspot.com There is something wholly unsurprising about a Scotsman getting off a ship and promptly hitting someone. This may be a sad comment on my own deep seated prejudices, but the fact remains. I like Scottish people. I even like bagpipes. I used to spend every Christmas on the Isle Of Skye. As a result I can picture the scene with crystal clarity. A man stumbles down a gangplank onto the quay in Victoria harbor. He turns to a stranger, and says,”Fok, mahn, where the heel am aye?” A helpful passer-by says,“Canada.” “Wha?” says the new arrival and then punches him i...

I often get asked this question.  There are several answers, but the most obvious is that the medical profession does not really embrace hypnosis as a modality it recognises. While some hypnotherapist are concerned about this, it ceased to be an issue we were concerned with at Vancouver Hypnotherapy a few years ago. We adopted this position primarily because most of the clients coming through our doors treat the medical profession with skepticism, as a result of their own experiences. As such, our bookings calendar is increasingly full, and many of the clients consider the use of pharmacy a step backward, particularly when it comes to addiction. Increasingly the general public treats orthodox medicine as flawed. This is not to say that they reject the 'science' of medicine. They are merely appalled at the way it is delivered, and the extremely questionable practice of medicating someone as a solution to what is often a psychological or behavioural issue. Hypnotherapy is ...