Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Founder

Yesterday I had the honor of being invited to present to a group of trainers with the BC provincial FRIENDS program. You could literally feel the dedication of this committed group of professionals who partner with schools and educators to address the rising number of school-aged children struggling with anxiety. Read more »

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Founder

The University of Edmonton, under the guidance of Denise Larsen, is home to the world’s largest library on hope. Currently, there are more than 4000 academic research papers catalogued in this library! For a topic to receive this much attention in the academic literature, there is an obvious sense that there must be something about “hope” that has us intrigued. Over the years I have had the honour of being invited into the lives of many families who are healing from illness or injury. Often times the experience of an illness or injury, particularly one that is perceived (perception being key and in the eye of the beholder) as potentially life threatening, throws kids and adults for a loop. Read more »

Dr. Carla LeHouillier, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Associate

The other night at a dinner party, a friend was telling me a story of a fond memory from her childhood. She described how her parents picked her up from elementary school, and stated that they were heading to McDonald’s. Excitement overflowed, as she was not allowed to eat McDonald’s very often. Then, in the next minute, they said, “actually we’re not going to McDonald’s, we’re going to Disneyland!!” The bags were packed in the trunk, and they were on their way to the airport. My friend described her disbelief and then her absolute excitement at the upcoming trip. Read more »

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Founder

In today’s school systems, parenting books, training programs for professionals working with children, and general pop-culture around the raising up of children there has emerged this peculiar hyper-focus on fostering independence in our children. Parents are encouraged to train their babies to “self-soothe” so they can fall back to sleep on their own; Read more »

Dr. Carla LeHouillier, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Associate

Usually I have an easy time blocking out extraneous noises when I’m working. But the other day, at my home office, I had the opportunity to gain a glimpse of what it might be like for students with auditory sensitivities. We are doing some construction on our upper deck at the moment, and the workers (all 6 of them!) were trudging in and out of the house and firing the waterproofing material all day. Read more »

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Founder

As I have said before, my inspiration in my career comes from the parents and children that I spend my days with. Below is a picture of Mikaela, gorgeous little guest of my two training days at Splatsin Tsm7aksaltn (Splatsin Teaching Centre) Society last week. Her mom and dad were both part of the group that I met with and Mikaela actually comes to work with them each day at the request of the elders in their community. Read more »

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, R. Psych.
Wishing Star Founder

Today I attended the memorial service of a dear little 3-year old boy. As I sit with my own grief at the un-natural and horrendously sad loss of a life so young, I am reminded of what it means to be a child and have to grieve the ultimate loss.

There were many children amongst the hundreds that gathered to honor the life of my little friend today. You could see in their different faces the developmental faces of grief. The very young (2 and younger) were clearly not aware of the circumstances under which we were gathered except perhaps to sense the emotions of their parents. The preschool children were more aware of the sadness around them and could be heard asking their parents “why is it a sad day”… “why are the people crying mama?” Some of these little ones had some tears and then lapsed back into their usual playful selves and then maybe had some more tears. The school aged children (5+) were much more aware of what had happened and the purpose of the occasion. Most sat snuggled very near to their parents, and many had tear-stained faces.  Read more »

Dr. Carla LeHouillier
Wishing Star Associate

This past week, while on holiday, I was reminded yet again that learning happens everywhere. I was visiting my in-laws and spending some much needed quality time with my young nieces. We were all sitting around the table for breakfast, and my niece, who is just about to turn 9, was fully engaged in a make-believe game of restaurant. She had written up a menu of our breakfast items, and was going around the table taking our orders and taking the role of “waitress”. We were laughing and joking about the “fanciness” of the restaurant ($5 for one slice of toast!) and she was having a blast immersing herself in this fantasy play. In that moment, I was struck by how much learning was occurring without anyone even trying. Read more »

Amanda Hall, M.A.
Wishing Star Associate

With the 5th annual CKNW’s Pink Shirt Day coming up on February 29, 2012, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at cyber-bullying and how it affects our kids. Bullying has been an issue that many kids have had to deal with. How bullying occurs, and the intensity of it, has changed over the years. It used to be that children or teens who were bullied would get a break from the social stress when they came home from school. With social media and with technology being such a big part of our daily lives, bullying can continue throughout the day. Read more »