Making space for what matters

It can be hard to hear ourselves think these days.
Notifications ping, opinions stack up, and the pace of life leaves little room for reflection. Even our inner world can begin to feel crowded with self-doubt, imagined futures, replayed conversations, or quiet pressures to do more, be more, fix more.

In a culture shaped by speed and self-improvement, slowing down to consider what truly matters can feel indulgent. Yet that pause may be one of the most necessary things we can offer ourselves.

Stoic Lessons on Focus and Freedom

The Stoic philosophers were no strangers to uncertainty. Living through war, exile, illness, and political upheaval, thinkers like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca were writing from within the challenges of their own lives, not from a distance.

One of their central insights is the distinction between what we can and cannot control. Marcus Aurelius captured this clearly:

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

This is not an invitation to withdraw from the world. It is a practice of returning to what matters:
What kind of person do I want to be?
What values do I want to uphold when life feels uncertain or overwhelming?
What remains within my influence, even now?

These are philosophical questions, and they are also therapeutic ones.

Philosophy as Groundwork for Therapy

Long before psychology became a discipline, people turned to philosophy to consider meaning, suffering, agency, and the shape of a good life. Many contemporary approaches to therapy—including existential therapy, narrative approaches, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)—continue this lineage.

Like philosophy, therapy asks us to pause and reflect, not only on how we feel but on what we believe and whether those beliefs support the life we want.

Are we living in alignment with our values?
Are we acting with integrity, or simply reacting from habit or fear?
Do we notice the stories we tell ourselves, and do those stories still hold up?

Therapy creates space to discern what is worth listening to.

Making Space

Clearing the noise does not mean turning away from the world. It means approaching the world with greater honesty and steadiness.

Sometimes this begins with very practical work:

• noticing thoughts and emotions
• regulating the body
• untangling internalized beliefs or outdated narratives
• responding differently to old triggers

Beneath all of this is something deeper: reconnecting with what you care about so your life begins to feel like it’s yours again.

In this sense, therapy can serve as both anchor and compass, helping you stay grounded while orienting toward something meaningful.

What matters to you?

You do not need to have everything figured out to begin therapy. You only need enough space to think clearly, feel safely, and ask the kinds of questions that open possibility.

I offer 60-minute sessions for couples, adults, and adolescents across Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada (in person and online). My approach draws on philosophical inquiry, narrative work, and evidence-based practices.

Books to Explore

• Marcus Aurelius (ca. 180/2002). Meditations (trans. G. Hays). Modern Library.

• Epictetus (ca. 108/2008). Discourses and Selected Writings (trans. R. Hard). Penguin Classics.

• Seneca (ca. 65/2018). Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency. Andalus Publications.

• Donald Robertson (2019). How to Think Like a Roman Emperor. St. Martin’s Press.

• Massimo Pigliucci (2017). How to Be a Stoic. Basic Books.