For 17 years, I have worked with people living with cancer; also with their loved ones and those mourning a loss. As a cancer survivor myself, I have experienced anxiety, grief, anger and confusion, so I understand that this disease can make you feel very alone.

When you have cancer, or any other life-threatening or chronic disease, you have a job to do which is to get through it! There are times when you need a place where you can express how the disease has knocked you for a loop, where you don't have to censor yourself. Sometimes it feels like it is too much to manage, especially if you are alone. This is a traumatic experience that you are navigating.

You're in love; you tie the knot; you make a home. What could go wrong? In most marriages there comes a time when you need help getting through the rough patches. Marriage counseling is often very specific, goal-oriented, short-term.

A marriage makes a public statement of love and commitment. It is not something that most of us will walk away from casually.

What pushes your buttons? What pushes your husband's / your wife's? Here are some of the issues that can make you feel misunderstood, unheard, alone:

Losing a loved one is traumatic. We don't experience sadness in this society very well. A client sometimes says to me: "What's wrong with me, he (or she) died a couple of months ago and I can't get on with my life." Each of us finds our own way to grieve, and I will support you in navigating yours.

People used to wear black for a year: it gives a message, doesn't it? It says, "Be careful with me, please, I might suddenly cry, or be a little nutty." Or the message might be: "I'm not able to do my work very well, I get distracted and sad, so give me a bit of a break." If only it were the way we handled our grief these days.

"What do you love about her / him?" "What is good in your relationship?" Those might seem like strange questions with which to begin a counseling session. However, that is often how I begin. Starting with the positive is often my approach, and it can open up the possibility for change in a relationship when things feel hopeless.

Communication has broken down and that is why couples - whether married or not, gay or straight, or parent and child - come to counseling. There can be fear or anger and hurt, real or imagined rejection, old wounds, stories of betrayal; too much pain.

For 21 years I have been a social worker and psychotherapist counseling individuals and couples. Before I became a psychotherapist I was a performing artist, and I had managed a small business. I bring this experience and interest to working with people in the creative arts, and to people making major life changes.

Do you want to change careers, go back to school, change in some way to enrich your life? It is a risk, and though it may be scary, it is also an adventure.