There seems to be this perception of what counselling looks like. Thanks to the movies, likely! The client is sitting on a leather couch with their feet up, the counsellor sitting on a tall wingback chair with a clipboard making notes and asking the question, “How do you feel about that?”.

I won’t be the first to tell you that our bodies and mind are better off with movement, and I won’t be the last either. Since years ago parents would encourage their kids outside to play and run and though exercise was not always as widely spoken about, the benefits have been highlighted for decades.

Sitting face to face is not the only way to do therapy. We aren’t created equal and we all bring something different with us, along with a different comfort level. My favorite way to work with clients is often through movement.

Oh boy, this is a favourite topic of mine! I live in a small rural town in Ontario. There is lots of stigma and ideas about what therapy is or what it should look like. I have heard comments like “Hope I don’t need therapy”, “It’s not that bad”, “I am not that far gone” etc. It’s too bad really because I often wonder if stigma is a barrier to seeking support.

I am well aware of the stress beyond the seat, the family, kids, people in the barn or in the home holding things together. But here I am talking to you- the farmer. The one in the seat, in the field and in a lot of situations maybe spending your waking hours both in the barn and in the seat.