Have a Wee bit of inspiration for the New Year!

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Dear Friends,

I have been quite busy (unexpectedly) during this Christmas -- Yes, I am saying the "C" word, just as if I would be saying Hannukah -- the "H" word or Ramadan -- the "R" word.

Quite possibly if more religious traditions were respected and understood, one could go back to saying such things, rather than saying: "Seasons Greetings", which regrettably means very little and doesn't convey much of a concept of good will towards your fellow human beings other the winter season greets you with an arctic kiss.

However, I shall be putting out another video very soon on a mental health topic and of course I will return with more information on mental health articles very soon. But for now, here are three "inspirational" videos from three very different women: Lizzie Velasquez, a Texan Woman with a rare disease that does not allow her to gain weight and also a devout (gasp!) Roman Catholic, Maysoon Zayid, an American-Palestinian Muslim woman with Cerebral Palsy and Stella Young, a disabled atheist Australian woman who died recently.

Objectification: Using people as objects. A lesson from the antics of Bill Cosby and Jian Ghomeshi

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Bill Cosby

What with what has happened in the last few days and weeks in the media with first of all Jian Ghomeshi and then later with Bill Cosby, I thought I would talk a bit about objectification and abuses of power. Now, it must be stated that these things are not as simple as they seem from the outside observer. Anything that is risqué or scandalous sells in the general media. This we know.

But quite apart from wanting to follow the dirt on any particular celebrity, there are indeed a couple of interpersonal dynamics that are happening here with the Jian Ghomeshi incident (here in Canada) and then the Bill Cosby case in the United States.

And when it involves powerful people, especially in the media, sometimes it is more about the media scandal than it is about the people (both victim and perpetrator) in the scandal who were hurt.

Oscar Pistorius, Janay Rice and Doug Guyatt: The complicated nature of Domestic Violence

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.
www.cowichancounselling.ca

Reeva Steenkamp & Oscar Pistorius (The Blade Runner)

With the announcement today of Oscar Pistorius' verdict in South Africa, (on September 11th, no less! )which is for the most part not guilty, however the courts are awaiting a hearing on "culpability",  many are reeling with the decision. It comes on the heels of no more than a week where Janay Rice, wife of yet another athlete, this time in America who "stood by her man" and yet has been criticized soundly and she in her turn has struck back.

Here in Canada, specifically, Victoria, in the province of British Columbia, The Victoria Colonist newspaper wrote today that a man by the name of Doug Guyatt, who murdered his wife by beheading years ago has finally died in jail.

It makes one wonder why some women "put up with this abuse" (almost) to the point of death. What is behind it? In a nutshell, "connection, relationship and history" and those who look from the outside cannot understand why the abusee does not simply leave. It is complicated. It is not black and white. And without minimizing, excusing, or condoning the violence, it is also useful to understand how sometimes it is hard to leave such relationships even when the individual KNOWS it is dysfunctional.