Category: <span>Self-improvement</span>

Man looking at broken down car.

Men’s Health – What is Your ‘Check Engine’ Light?

We are designed to make, fix, create, provide, compete and win.  Many of us treat winning as evidence of strength magnified by normatively nice “things” or results.   Providing for our loved ones naturally follows when we compete well, sustained by rugged individual strength.  Chinks in the armor of performance are weakness, prompting us to lower our shoulders against the wall, push harder and find a way to make things happen.  This is our lot.  This is what we do as men.  This orientation to success and hard work has sustained relationships and cultural norms for millennia.

What happens when we protect this norm more than we protect our work tools?  In any line of work, men like tools, whether it is IT infrastructure, a band saw, a boat, or a truck.  We monitor mechanical limitations and maintain them in the most cost-efficient ways available to ensure that we can continue to compete and provide without interruption.

What happens when our striving for success exceeds biological limitations?  What happens when the weathering inside our bodily systems and cells collides with additional work responsibilities, unexpected delays, or roadblocks to obtaining a permit or closing a deal?  What happens when weathering collides with physical changes around 40?  Do we avoid the low-hanging fruit; decrease alcohol, stop smoking?  Do we implement preventative maintenance strategies to improve cardiovascular fitness with running, swimming, cross-training, pilates or yoga?  More often than not, we ignore these hassles and push harder into the same strategies to manage stress that worked in our 20s when we had less weathering, fewer skills, less understanding, fewer opportunities and fewer responsibilities to others in our growing spheres of influence.

Read more

Two doctors holding a heart with a stethoscope.

Mind Your Heart – Heart Health Month

Stress and change go hand in hand when our resources don’t create predictability.  Sometimes change happens too quickly, sometimes not quick enough, or sometimes change never stops. Our initial response is usually to stop or avoid some aspect of continuous change.  We experience this stress in our mind, our body and our heart.

Among the many ways to manage continuous change, during Heart Awareness Month we here at OnCourse invite you to focus on your heart as well as your brain.  As it turns out, one of the most effective ways to reduce stress and feeling overwhelmed is to learn how to access the intelligence of year heart.  We do this by shifting your heart rhythms that in turn send a different neural message to the brain.

As psychologists, we implement simple, practical, empirically supported techniques to teach alignment between the heart, physiologically not simply metaphorically, and the brain.  As you consider this shift, please recall a time when that deep physical sense that what we want, or are being asked to do, is probably not the best option or even possible right now. This lack of alignment, or incoherence, provokes somatic and emotional anxiety that we call stress.  Without active intentional skills to generate coherence between our heart and our brain, passive insight rarely makes us feel better. Coherence in our thoughts and actions and physiological responses allows our heart, mind, emotions and choices to align and work together harmoniously toward our own goals and shared needs.

Read more

Group Therapy sessions in a room

Fall 2019 Group Therapy Programs!

OnCourse Cayman is proud to announce THREE new Group Therapy Programs this Fall!

These specialized groups include:

  1. Teen Power Tools for Life EAP Group
  2. Overcoming Trauma EAP Group
  3. DBT Adult Skills Training Groups

The Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) programs focus respectively on helping teenagers build life skills and gaining insight on overcoming trauma, while being surrounded by horses. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) is a talking therapy that identifies thinking patterns and helps manage emotions. Learn more about each Group Therapy Program offered:

Read more

Santa Claus sitting on floor and looks frustrated

Dealing with Difficult Personalities During the Holidays

Ahh, the holidays.  Christmas trees, Santa, Reindeer, the Three Wise Men, Snowmen, etc….

This time of year is supposed to be one of happiness, family, and festivity.  However, it can also be one of sadness, loneliness, and depression.  The holidays can be extremely difficult for a number of reasons.  For the next few weeks, we will be highlighting some helpful tips for getting through this season of cheer. Read more

A collage of two pictures of land and sea

Growing Pains of Change

When my good friend and colleague Dr. Bodden asked me if I would like to contribute to our blog, I spent some time thinking about what I would like to discuss.  I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of opinions!  After thinking over topics for some time, I decided to discuss something close to home.  Dr. Bodden’s most recent blog post referencing embracing opportunities felt like the perfect jumping off point for this current blog post I am sharing.

Read more

A poster with the words mental health helpline.

Cayman Community Resource List

Government/Free Services in Cayman: Department of Counselling Services **Free Services to anyone in Cayman** Additional Government/Charitable …

Smiling woman with dark hair and earrings.

OnCourse now offers Speech Therapy! Welcome to Heather Mitchell!

OnCourse is excited to be expanding our services to now include Speech Therapy with Ms. Heather Mitchell.  Heather is a …

Man looking at broken down car.

Men’s Health – What is Your ‘Check Engine’ Light?

We are designed to make, fix, create, provide, compete and win.  Many of us treat winning as evidence of strength magnified …