Family—our first home, our first team, and often our first heartbreak. When family issues come up—conflict, grief, misunderstanding—it can shake you to your core. You may wonder: How do we grow closer instead of drifting apart? How do we survive this together?
This guide walks you through what family issues mean, how therapy and intentional…
We’ve all heard “fight or flight,” but trauma responses don’t stop there. Four survival instincts help us cope when danger strikes—or even feels like it’s striking. These responses are called the fight, flight, or freeze reactions, and there’s a fourth one: appease (sometimes called fawn).
In this guide, we’ll explore each response, how they show…
Some questions don’t have quick answers. This is one of them. If you’ve ever sat with yourself and quietly wondered, “What am I even doing here?”, you’re not broken. You’re human. Whether you're starting fresh, rebuilding after loss, or just drifting—feeling like life has no clear direction—it’s okay. You’re not alone in asking how to…
Some relationships feel like chains—tight around your chest, hard to escape, yet strangely comforting at times. That’s what a trauma bond often feels like. You know it’s hurting you. You might even want to leave. But something keeps pulling you back.
So, how do you break something that feels like it owns a piece of…
Introduction
Ever just sit with your phone in your hand, waiting for a message that never comes? Or wander around your house on a Saturday, TV on in the background, but it’s just noise? Yeah, you’re not alone. Turns out, social isolation and loneliness aren’t just about being by yourself—they’re about feeling like you’re on…
Introduction
It’s quiet, but it’s everywhere—a kind of worry shared by parents, teachers, and teens themselves. In Canada, about one in five youth will face a mental health issue each year, and in Alberta, more than 23% of young people aged 15 to 24 report symptoms of depression or anxiety. But behind every number is…
The Heart of Trauma-Informed Parenting
Let’s be honest—parenting is hard even on a good day. But if you’re raising a child who’s faced loss, change, or deep hurts, it’s a different kind of challenge altogether. Here in Alberta, we see families navigating these struggles all the time. Trauma-informed parenting is about meeting your child right…
What Trauma-Informed Care Means to Us
Everyone walks around carrying stories. Some of those stories are heavier than others, and sometimes, what happened in the past still feels close, even if years have gone by. At Changes for Hope, we believe trauma-informed care is about truly seeing and hearing people, no matter where they are…
What Are Community-Based Mental Health Programs?
Community-based mental health programs are the kind of support most people wish they had growing up. Instead of sending folks to a big hospital across town, these programs show up right where life happens. Think of a counselor running drop-in hours at your local rec center, or a friendly…
When things get messy at home, it’s easy to wonder what to do. The 3 R’s—Regulate, Relate, Reason—help. They’re not magic. They just work, especially when you use them in order.
First, you help your kid settle down. Don’t talk too much, don’t rush. Sometimes it means sitting on the floor. Sometimes you just wait.…
What Is Trauma-Informed Grief Counseling?
There’s no map for losing someone in a way that shakes you up inside. Some days you just want to be left alone. Other days, you wish someone would sit with you and not say a word. That’s the kind of help trauma-informed grief counseling aims for. It’s not about…
Mental health integration means making it simple and normal to get help with emotional struggles, right in the places you already go for your regular needs. Instead of having mental health care in a different building—or even a different city—it’s offered at your local doctor’s office, school, or community center. For a lot of folks,…