Anxiety is your inner alarm system… gone rogue. Your fear response is designed to warn you about danger so you can protect yourself. The problem is, for a lot of people that alarm system gets way too sensitive, or it gets stuck in the "on" position. It starts firing when there's no real danger — before an exam, in a social situation, about the future, about things that haven't happened yet and may never happen. That’s when fear (real alarm) becomes anxiety (false alarm).

Anxiety isn't a character flaw. It's not weakness. It's a survival system that's working a little too hard.

The Untrustworthy Voice loves anxiety. It uses it as a weapon — amplifying the alarm, convincing you the danger is real, and offering to keep you safe by making you smaller. Learning to recognize that voice and actually believing it has nothing good to offer you is one of the most powerful things you can do for your anxiety.

When anxiety comes from out of the blue it can really throw you off. It makes you worried that it will show up whenever and wherever it wants – especially at the most embarrassing times. On a date, during an important presentation, when you’re talking to your teacher, professor, or boss.

So why do people get anxious?

You probably already guessed – there isn’t one simple reason.

For some people anxiety is a family thing — anxiety runs in families. For others it's life experience — difficult childhoods, trauma, loss, chronic stress. For others it's a combination of personality, environment, and circumstance.

Sometimes anxiety has a story behind it. Something happened — or a lot of somethings happened — that taught you the world isn't safe. You learned to stay on high alert. And it's been on high alert ever since. Other times, it just pops up out of the blue. It’s hard to point to any reason for it at all. This can often be really confusing and disruptive.

If your anxiety has a story we start there, and at the same time introduce strategies for dealing with the symptoms.

If your anxiety appears out of nowhere, we’ll probably spend more time right away dealing with the actual symptoms – strategies like mindfulness, disengaging from the untrustworthy thoughts, and holding close to the trustworthy ones.

The extra wrinkle with “out of the blue” anxiety is the randomness of it creates its own anxiety. Why am I anxious right now? There doesn’t seem to be any reason for it. If there’s no rhyme or reason to it, there’s no telling when it will come back. And then you start to feel “on guard” all the time. You wake up worrying that today will be the day it returns… which makes it more likely you’ll be right. You can actually make the anxiety come by worrying about it. 

At The Living Project, we’ll show you how to get out of that frustrating cycle.

A panic attack is what happens when your anxiety alarm system goes into full emergency mode — all at once, without warning.

Your heart races. You can't catch your breath. You feel dizzy, shaky, maybe numb. Some people feel like they're dying. Some feel like they're losing their mind. It's terrifying. And… if it’s a panic attack, not a real physical emergency, it can’t physically hurt you.

Here's the important thing to know: panic attacks are not dangerous. They feel dangerous — intensely, convincingly dangerous. But they're not. They're your body's fight-or-flight response firing at full intensity when there's no actual threat.

The Untrustworthy Voice has a field day with panic attacks. It says "something is seriously wrong with you." It's lying. What's actually happening is your nervous system is overwhelmed — and it can be calmed down. Your Trustworthy Voice knows this – you just have to figure out how to believe it in the middle of a crisis. That can be hard, but it’s exactly what we work on together.

If you've ever had one, you know the only right answer is… too long!

There isn't a precise answer for this one. It depends on a few factors:

• How fearful you are of the panic attack itself.

• Whether the panic is brought on by something specific you're facing, or if it feels completely out of the blue.

• Whether you have techniques to manage it or not.

The good news is panic attacks are by definition "acute" — which means they come and go relatively quickly. We aren't talking hours and days.

More good news: once you learn that panic attacks are very uncomfortable but not "serious" they aren't as scary anymore. Especially when you learn effective techniques to manually override your fight-or-flight response and return to calm as quickly as possible. It won't be instantaneous, but the strategies can definitely shorten the duration of the panic attack and keep you more comfortable until it passes.

It can be scary when someone you know — or maybe don't even know — goes into what looks like uncontrollable panic.

The first thing to do is try to move them to the quietest available space. The less stimulating the environment the better. The less public the environment the better.

Panic attacks can look like more serious problems, like heart attacks or strokes. Ask the person if they have a history of any medical problems. If you're concerned it may be something more serious, don't hesitate to call 911. Better safe than sorry is always true.

Try to stay calm yourself. Sometimes your calm energy can be infectious and have a relaxing effect on the panicked person. Talk in a low, slow, quiet voice. And try to move slowly as well. Panic attacks look disturbing but they aren't serious. Knowing this can help you stay calm.

Offer empathy by saying you hear how upset and uncomfortable they are. And avoid telling them to "calm down" or "relax." Remember how much you hated it when your mom used to tell you that?

Gently encourage them to breathe slowly. Start by suggesting breathing in for 4 counts and out for 6 counts. The main goal is to slow their breathing regardless of the counts.

Overall, it’s best to think of a panic attack like a storm. The best thing you can do to help someone is keep them as comfortable as possible until it passes. The more reassuring and safe you are for them, the quicker the storm will pass.

There's a lot of good information out there about the biological reasons for morning anxiety — cortisol levels, sleep cycles, and so on. I'll leave that to the scientists. Here's what I see on the psychological side that may help.

First: We have a tendency to launch right into the problems of the day before our eyes are fully open. Our phone is out, we're hatching plans, mentally preparing for the fires we'll need to put out. My advice would be to commit to giving yourself a few minutes right after waking up when you are just being present. Here are some things you could do:

• Breathing exercises. Try slowing and deepening your breathing — there are many good techniques online. The general idea is the same: slow breathing directly calms your nervous system.

• Think about 5 things you're grateful for.

• Relax in a space with good natural light for a few minutes. Just be still. Listen. Look. Feel. Smell. Taste.

Second: Once we've felt anxious in the morning we start to dread the mornings. We expect that we'll struggle, and sure enough… we do. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy — actually making our worries come true. Being fully aware and present is the antidote. Fill your mind with the moment and there isn't room for the morning dread.

Third: The morning anxiety may be related to a consistent stressor like work. If your work is unpleasant, waking up is your first daily reminder that it's time to face the unpleasantness again. Who wants to do that? Your work may be genuinely stressful, and this shouldn't be ignored. By all means work on the work stress — that's worth addressing. But it's a problem that won't be solved first thing in the morning. The morning is for launching into the day, regardless of what it holds. Giving yourself a small mental buffer between waking and "the problems of the day" can help you build some momentum.

So take 15 minutes to breathe and fill your mind with the present. Then put on your helmet and jump into life.

Different for everyone — which is one of the things that makes it so confusing.

For some people it's mostly physical. A tight chest. A racing heart. Shallow breathing. A stomach that won't settle. Hands that won't stop shaking.

For others it's mostly mental. Thoughts that won't slow down. Worry that loops back on itself. An inability to stop imagining worst-case scenarios.

For most people it's both. The thoughts feed the physical feelings, and the physical feelings feed the thoughts. Around and around it goes.

If any of that sounds familiar — you're not alone. And you're not broken. Your alarm system is just too sensitive. That's fixable.

Anxiety is a "false alarm." Once it goes off you can't just flick a switch to end it. The body needs time to turn the alarm off naturally. And we have a good automatic system to do exactly that. But you can do a few things to help the process along.

1. Make sure you don't add to the anxiety. Being fearful of the symptoms you're feeling will keep you in a "fight or flight" state longer. If it's a panic attack you're experiencing, the symptoms are very uncomfortable but they aren't actually going to do you any harm. It's a "false" alarm after all. And false alarms sound exactly like real alarms. If you can make yourself believe it's a false alarm, the alarm still won't turn off right away — but you won't be worried that there's actually a fire you need to escape.

2. Your goal is to wait out the false alarm as comfortably as possible. When a false alarm goes off in your hotel, you turn the TV on and watch some mindless sitcom until management finally turns the annoying noise off. Same thing applies to anxiety's false alarm. Get yourself as comfortable as possible and wait for your body to do its thing and end your "fight or flight" reaction on its own.

3. You can also do a manual override that makes your "fight or flight" turn off sooner. If you take longer exhales than inhales, you increase the CO2 in your system, and eventually the CO2 reaches the level where it trips your "fight or flight" mode's "off" switch. In plain terms — slow, deep breathing with longer exhales tells your nervous system it's safe to stand down.

Nothing happens immediately. But these strategies can help minimize the discomfort.

I've spent twenty-five years working with anxious clients using just psychological strategies, and I’ve witnessed many, many success stories.

I use a pretty detailed approach when it comes to anxiety, so I won't be able to cover everything here. But I can share the main principles behind my approach.

First: Identify the thoughts you can't trust, and commit to not engaging with them.

Second: Identify the thoughts you can trust, and commit to holding on tightly to those. They come from a trustworthy source that speaks the truth and has your best interests in mind.

Third: Fill your mind with the present so there isn't any room for your anxious, untrustworthy thoughts to get in. Find an activity that takes as much of your focus as possible — a sport, a conversation, a creative project, anything that fully occupies your attention. Or make an effort to focus on your senses and fully experience whatever moment you're in.

There's a lot more to it than this. But these three principles — built on top of well known approaches like CBT, ACT, Narrative Therapy, and IFS — are the foundation.

It probably feels sometimes like your anxiety will never end — and that's one of anxiety's cruelest tricks: your fear can actually make anxiety last longer.

Panic is considered acute so each episode doesn't last very long. Anxiety is a more general thing. I'm going to define it simply as unnecessary fear. It's believing there's a bear chasing you when there's no bear chasing you. It feels exactly like the real thing… but it isn't. Believe it or not — that's good news.

My main job when you come to see me with anxiety is to help you see there isn't actually a bear chasing you. That's the hopeful thing. There's no bear. It's just very, very hard to see through that illusion sometimes. But when you do see through it… your anxiety goes away.

How long your anxiety lasts depends on how quickly you can stop believing the lies coming from your anxious thoughts, and stop engaging with them.

I've seen clients who have gotten over their anxiety very quickly — in a session or two. I've seen others who struggle to stop believing the untrustworthy thoughts. There isn’t anything wrong with them — it's just that the source of untrustworthy thoughts within them is very strong. It's a master at using their vulnerabilities against them, and offering its own version of safety. It's a very compelling message and incredibly hard to resist sometimes. But it's absolutely possible. I've seen many clients do it. And if you come to see me, I'm going to believe that you can do it too.

Absolutely. In fact, exhaustion is one of the most common and least talked about symptoms of anxiety.

Think about it this way: your body is running on high alert when you’re in “fight or flight” mode. Every muscle slightly tensed. Your nervous system constantly scanning for threats. Your mind working overtime. That's exhausting. It takes an enormous amount of energy to be anxious all the time — even if you're not doing anything.

A lot of people come to me thinking something is physically wrong with them because they're so tired all the time. Often the culprit is anxiety they haven't fully recognized or named yet.

Yes — and it's one of the most alarming symptoms because it can feel like a heart problem.

When you're anxious your muscles tense up — including the muscles in your chest. Your breathing becomes shallow. Your heart rate increases. The result can feel like pressure, tightness, or even pain in your chest.

If you're experiencing chest tightness and you haven't ruled out a physical cause, please see your doctor first. Always. But if you've been checked out and everything looks fine physically, anxiety is a very common culprit.

The Untrustworthy Voice loves chest tightness. It says "something is seriously wrong." That thought creates more anxiety, which creates more chest tightness, which creates more fear. We work on disengaging from the poisonous thoughts and finding and believing the trustworthy ones. When you can do this it breaks the anxiety cycle.

Stress is basically the result of “too much”. It’s feeling overwhelmed. In physics terms it’s being under a load that’s too heavy to hold. 

The load can be real and external – think deadlines, financial problems, relationship stress, family tensions, health problems – or imagined and internal – think worries about bad things that might happen, but haven’t yet. 

So stress is a combination of real-life stressors, and anxiety is the imagined worries that get mixed with real-life stressors to make you overwhelmed.

I tell clients that we all have a stress barrel and all of the demands on us go into the barrel. When the barrel fills and overflows we stop coping.

We deal with the real-life stressors by identifying the ones you can change and changing them, and accepting and coping with the ones you can’t do anything about.

We deal with the anxiety by identifying the thoughts you can and can’t trust, and engaging only with the ones you can. Then it’s using mindfulness strategies to fill your mind with your present leaving no room for the thoughts that could cause you problems.

Sometimes — yes. Situational anxiety tied to a specific event (a job interview, an exam, a difficult period in life) often lifts once the situation resolves.

But anxiety that's become a pattern — a default way your brain responds to the world — rarely just goes away on its own. It tends to get stronger over time, not less. The avoidance strategies you develop to manage it (staying home, avoiding social situations, not taking risks) will actually make it worse in the long run.

The good news: anxiety responds really well to therapy. You don't have to just wait it out and hope for the best.

The confusing thing is — most people use these terms interchangeably. 

There are actually two main ways anxiety appears:

• A sudden spike of fear/anxiety/panic. This can show up a little differently for everyone. But usually it involves physical symptoms (chest tightness, fast shallow breathing, sweating), psychological symptoms (dread, distraction, panic), or both.

• An uncomfortable worry that's always there. Sometimes it gets worse, sometimes better — but it doesn't completely go away.

"Anxiety attack" and "panic attack" both refer to the first kind — the acute, sudden kind.

"Panic attack" is the official term used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). "Anxiety attack" isn't actually used officially in the mental health field — but informally, people use it to mean basically the same thing.

Whatever you call it — it's real, it's frightening, and there’s a lot you can do to help with it.

When it's getting in the way of your life.

Not when it's uncomfortable — anxiety is always uncomfortable. But when it's stopping you from doing things you want or need to do. When it's affecting your sleep, your relationships, your work, your ability to enjoy your life.

A useful question to ask yourself: is my anxiety running the show? Is it making decisions for me — what I avoid, where I go, who I spend time with, what I try?

If the answer is yes — that's when to get help. You don't have to wait until it's a crisis. In fact, the earlier the better. Anxiety that's caught early is much easier to work with than anxiety that's had years to dig in.

Depression shows up differently in different people — which is one of the reasons it often goes unrecognized for too long.

The classic signs most people know: persistent sadness, loss of interest in things you used to love, changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness.

But depression can also look like: withdrawing from people, losing motivation, feeling numb rather than sad, moving and thinking more slowly than usual, crying for no obvious reason — or not being able to cry at all.

One thing I've learned after thousands of sessions: depression almost always involves the Untrustworthy Voice working overtime. It tells you you're worthless, hopeless, a burden, beyond help. It's convincing. And it's lying.

Worst of all, once you’re under the spell of the Untrustworthy Voice you’re often blind to the strengths and capabilities within you that you need to pull yourself back into life.

It can be desperately frustrating when you feel like this, can't it? You know the things you like to do. The things that make you happy. So you do them. But… nothing. That enthusiasm is gone. Everything seems grey.

I would love to give you an easy quick-fix answer. But if there is one, I haven't found it.

I've thought about this a lot — and listened closely to what people I respect are saying and writing. I keep coming back to this uncomfortable reality: we weren't built to be happy all the time. As much as I would love to offer a way for you and I to crack the happiness code, I'm convinced there just isn't any such code to crack.

It's a hard answer to swallow because everywhere we look we're told happiness is a great goal. And an achievable one. I disagree with our culture on this one. I don't see happiness as a goal at all. I think it's a precious accident. Each moment of happiness is fleeting — and worth cherishing because of it. We enjoy the first warm sunny day in spring. We don't know when it's coming, or how long the sun will last. So the best we can do is soak it all in and be grateful for it. I look at happy moments that way.

If we shouldn't expect to achieve happiness on demand, what should be the goal then?

For me a far more reasonable — and in the end more meaningful — goal is fulfillment.

My belief is, we feel fulfilled when we live our values. Living our values gives our lives meaning and purpose. We get a felt sense of "lining up", of "rightness". What's lining up is "the person we are" and "the person we need to be".

The good news is, nothing can ever stop us from living our values and feeling that "rightness". Just think — if one of your values is "kindness", what could keep you from acting it out? A homeless person can be kind. An investment banker can be kind. A person confined to a wheelchair can be kind.

In therapy we can explore what your values are and how to live them. Then you don't have to worry about trying to achieve happiness — a goal that really isn't in our control to begin with. Instead you can focus on making "who you are" match "who you need to be". The feeling of fulfillment you'll get might not be as mindblowing as your happiest moment. But my bet is it will be more gratifying.

This might be a little bit controversial, but I believe, depression is just too much sadness. It’s sadness that becomes a problem. Sadness is a normal human emotion. It comes, it does its job, and it passes. It's usually tied to something specific — a loss, a disappointment, a difficult moment. Sadness is actually healthy. It's how we process hard things.

Depression is too much sadness. It’s sadness that’s too intense. It’s sadness that goes on for too long. It doesn't lift when circumstances change. It colours everything — not just how you feel, but how you think, how you see yourself, how you see the future. It's not just an emotion. It's a state that takes over. That’s why I liken it to a spell.

I’m imagining you as you typed this question in the search bar. It’s a desperate kind of question. I bet you aren’t even expecting a real satisfying answer. Sometimes a question like that is just a way to get something out before it bursts out. 

I’ve had people ask me versions of your question in therapy. Here’s the approach I usually take. I start by reminding myself and my clients that there are so many unique reasons for deep and prolonged sadness. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you. You’re a unique, complex person. That’s what makes you so valuable. You’re a human being with infinite value who deserves to be treated with respect. And jumping to a quick surface answer, expecting it to apply to everyone isn’t respectful. 

Instead, I'd start finding out all about you. School, work, family, relationships, interests, past, present. As many pieces as possible in your life puzzle. Because sadness rarely has one source — and understanding its roots is the best way I know to develop a plan for dealing with it.

Once we create a theory about why you’re feeling sad, I put together a one-of-a-kind therapy recipe out of my experience and knowledge. One that’s custom fit for who you are and what you’re dealing with. I suggest it to you. And then we try it out, changing things as we go and as we learn more about what works for you.

Your question sounds to me like a cry for help. So I’m all in. Let’s figure out how to try and make things better for you. It starts with figuring out what the actual problem is, which may take some time. And then we move to solutions. Let’s find meaning for you. Let’s find the spark that makes you feel important and necessary to yourself, to others and to the world.

Yes — and this is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of depression, especially in young people and men.

When the sadness and hopelessness of depression have nowhere to go, they often come out as irritability, frustration, or anger. The person isn't walking around crying — they're snapping at people, getting frustrated easily, feeling like everything is annoying and nothing is worth the effort.

If you or someone you love seems persistently irritable, short-tempered, and disengaged from life — and it's been going on for a while — depression is worth considering.

Yes — for many people, therapy alone is highly effective for depression.

That said, I'm not anti-medication. For some people, especially those with moderate to severe depression, medication can be an important part of treatment. It can lift the floor enough that therapy becomes possible.

If you’re under the spell of depression, it can take away the energy and motivation you need to do the things that will help with depression – like going for a walk, or spending time with friends. Sometimes medication can give you a boost to do the things that make the difference.

It depends — and I know that's not the answer you're looking for.

What I can tell you is this: most people start to feel some shift within the first few weeks. Not a complete transformation — but a loosening. A little more room to breathe.

Deeper, more lasting change takes longer. How long depends on how long the depression has been there, what's driving it, and how ready you are to do the work.

What I've noticed is that people often underestimate how quickly things can shift when they're actually in the room doing the work. Depression can feel permanent and immovable. It rarely is.

You may be looking for me to recommend a specific kind of therapy approach like CBT or ACT or IFS. I'm not going to do that. These approaches, and others, have many valuable things they bring to the table. But as a therapist, I'm focused on something beyond approaches. I am trying to find a spark of interest and motivation within you. Once I find it, I fan it – hopefully into a fire of meaning and action.

In my experience, there's more art than science to this process. I pull from whatever I can to make that fire roar. For example, I might get a client talking about their interests. I've seen people go from stone cold to fully engaged when we have a conversation about music or politics. It might not sound like therapy, but coming alive as we talk gives clients a glimpse of the real self behind the black spell of depression. The more they see it, the more the flame of meaning grows.

All of the thoughts coming from the untrustworthy part in you want to pull you out of life – off the road of life. At The Living Project we try to stoke that fire of purpose in you and pull you back into your life. Depression lifts when you find yourself in line with your life's meaning. Back on the road. A life filled with focus, direction, and energy.

Usually it's not what people think. Most couples assume their communication problem is that they're not saying the right things, or not saying things clearly enough. So they try harder to make their point. And the other person tries harder to make theirs. And nothing changes.

Here's what I've actually found: most communication problems aren't about the words. They're about the feelings underneath the words. Specifically — both people feeling unheard. And when you feel unheard, you don't communicate better. You communicate louder. Or you shut down entirely.

The real fix isn't learning new communication techniques. It's creating enough safety that both people feel heard before they try to be understood.

Because they're not actually arguing about what they think they're arguing about.

The dishes. The money. The in-laws. These are almost never the real issue. They're the surface. Underneath is usually one of a handful of deeper things: feeling unappreciated, feeling controlled, feeling like your partner doesn't really see you, feeling like you're not a priority.

The same argument keeps happening because the surface issue keeps triggering the deeper wound — and neither person knows how to get to the wound directly. So they keep fighting about the dishes.

Therapy helps couples get underneath the surface. Once you're actually talking about what's really going on, the argument about the dishes tends to lose its power.

Yes. In my experience — yes, more often than most people think.

Trust gets broken in different ways. Sometimes it's a single catastrophic event — an affair, a betrayal, a lie that changes everything. Sometimes it erodes slowly over years of small disappointments, unkept promises, moments of feeling let down.

Either way, rebuilding trust is possible. But it requires specific things from both people. The person who broke the trust has to be genuinely accountable — not defensive, not minimizing, not rushing past it. And the person whose trust was broken has to be willing, eventually, to extend grace even before they feel completely safe.

That last part is hard. It requires the kind of vulnerability that feels terrifying when you've been hurt. But I've seen it happen. And when it does, what couples build afterward is often stronger than what they had before.

Emotional intimacy is the feeling of being truly known by another person — and truly accepted in spite of being known.

It's not about grand romantic gestures. It's about the small moments: feeling safe enough to say what you actually think. Being able to show your fears without being judged. Knowing your partner sees the real you — not the version you perform for the rest of the world — and chooses you anyway.

Emotional intimacy is what makes a relationship feel like home.

A lot of couples come to me with what looks like a communication problem or a conflict problem. Underneath it's almost always an emotional intimacy problem. They've stopped feeling truly known by each other. And when that goes — everything else gets harder.

Twenty-five years of couples therapy and thirty years of marriage have taught me a few things about this.

The foundation matters enormously. Trust, respect, shared values, shared goals, genuine commitment, real support, and chemistry. Without those, you're building on sand.

But the foundation isn't enough on its own. What makes relationships last is what you do with the foundation — the daily choice to show up for each other, to keep building, to face the hard parts instead of running from them.

In my experience, the couples who last aren't the ones who never argue or never hurt each other. They're the ones who keep choosing each other anyway. Who do the unfair thing when it's needed. Who receive each other's grace. Who treat the relationship like the most important house they'll ever build — and keep showing up to work on it.

There are several therapists practicing in Cambridge. If you're looking for someone who specializes in couples therapy or therapy for teens and young adults, The Living Project offers both in-person sessions in Cambridge and online sessions across Ontario. We offer a free 20-minute consultation so you can decide if we're the right fit before committing to anything.

The Living Project offers couples therapy in Cambridge with over 25 years of clinical experience. Our approach draws from the most well-researched methods in couples therapy, combined with original frameworks developed over thousands of sessions. In-person sessions in Cambridge and online sessions across Ontario.

The Living Project works with young people aged 10-25 in Cambridge and across Ontario. Whether your teenager is dealing with anxiety, school stress, low confidence, or social struggles, we offer both in-person and online sessions. Book a free 20-minute consultation to talk through what your teenager is dealing with and whether we're the right fit.

No. Psychotherapy is not covered by OHIP in Ontario. However, most extended health insurance plans cover some or all of the cost of sessions with a Registered Psychotherapist. Before your first session it's worth a quick call to your insurer to find out what your plan covers and whether you need a physician's referral. We don't do direct billing, but we provide a detailed invoice after every session with everything you need to submit your claim.

Therapy fees in Cambridge vary depending on the therapist's training, experience, and specialty. At The Living Project, our fees reflect 25 years of clinical experience and a PhD in Counselling Education. Most extended health insurance plans cover a portion or all of the cost. Contact us directly for our current session rates.

Yes. The Living Project offers online therapy across Ontario. Whether you're in Cambridge, Toronto, Ottawa, or anywhere in between — if you're in Ontario, we can work together. Online sessions are conducted via a secure, private video platform. Same quality of care, no commute.

Yes. The Living Project is based in Cambridge and serves clients throughout the Waterloo Region and beyond — including Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, and surrounding areas. In-person sessions are available in Cambridge. Online sessions are available across Ontario.

A Registered Psychotherapist (RP) is a mental health professional regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). To become registered, therapists must meet strict educational and clinical requirements and adhere to professional standards of practice. Dave Kydd is a Registered Psychotherapist with a PhD in Counselling Education and over 25 years of clinical experience.

In Ontario, look for the designation Registered Psychotherapist (RP) — it means the therapist is regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and has met strict training and clinical requirements. Beyond credentials, ask about their experience, their approach, and whether they've worked with people dealing with your specific issues. And trust your gut — the relationship matters as much as the credentials. That's why we offer a free 20-minute consultation before you commit to anything.

The Living Project is based in Cambridge, Ontario and serves clients throughout Waterloo Region — including Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph. We also offer online therapy across Ontario, so location is never a barrier to getting the help you need.

Yes. The Living Project offers evening appointments to accommodate work and school schedules. Thursday appointments are available from 11am to 9pm. Friday appointments are available from 10am to 5pm. Online appointments are available during the same hours.

Yes. You do not need a doctor's referral to see a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario. You can book directly through The Living Project's online booking system. However, some insurance plans require a physician's referral before they'll cover the cost — so it's worth checking with your insurer before your first session.