If a teacher or parent had a loonie every time s/he heard this age-old complaint there would be a lot of Rockefellers in the world.
 
This blog is an argument against this old saw, borne of personal experience.  I graduated from high school when the years still started with 19!  In fact, I even finished my post-secondary education before the Y2K disaster didn’t happen.  I took high school chemistry, biology, and physics, as well as more chemistry and biology in university.  After that, I used chemistry only insofar as it applied to my work in Nuclear Medicine.  That is to say, not much more than a thorough knowledge of the metric system and its prefixes, and the Periodic Table of Elements abbreviations for the few elements that we used to make radiopharmaceuticals for the tests we performed.  However, this past summer, I found myself tutoring high school chemistry.  Talk about a flash from the past.  The very distant past!  A quick crash-course review in chemistry was in order.
 
Then, the other day, as I was puttering in my shop, building a stand for a new fish tank, I was temporarily stymied trying to figure out how to calculate the correct angle to set my mitre saw to, to cut something on the diagonal.  Everybody knows a2 + b2 = c2 but that doesn’t address the angles.  A quick search on the net reminded me of SIN, COS, TAN, and just like that, I knew how to calculate the angle.  On another occasion, I was trying to calculate a safe dose of medication for the fish tank.  It was the right medication but in a format made for cattle, and therefore, way too concentrated.  I not only had to dilute the medication but then calculate the new dose, as the dosage for cattle is less (believe it or not) per kilogram than the concentration required in water for tropical fish.  How do I do that?  Well, algebra sure came in handy.  (And might I add that saved me a lot of money as ‘farm’ medications are much cheaper than ‘pet’ medications!)
 
So, while I had to review the Universal Gas Law, and refresh myself on what Avogadro had to say about moles (not the pests in your lawn); and while I had to do a quick search online for SOH CAH TOA, the fact is, because I had learned these things, all those many years ago, it came back in a flash.  The psychologists at Brunswick Creek tell me my brain wasn’t re-learning these things.  Once they’re in there, they’re in there!  All my brain had to do was lay down some new pathways to the location where it had stored these facts.  And this is a much easier, and much faster process.
 
Let me circle back to my opening.  It had been well over two decades since I studied Avogadro’s Number, and longer still since I used SOH CAH TOA in physics or elsewhere.  And even if you asked me five years ago, I likely would have told you I didn’t have a use for them.  However, one never knows where life will lead him/her, and what tools s/he will need once there.  One thing I do know, however, is that I can’t use those tools if I don’t have them to use. 
 
There is a high school student out there, I am sure, who wants to be a carpenter and thinks you’ll never have use of a cosine or tangent function. In your second, as-of-yet-unimagined career of surveying, however, you might very well be using it.  And there is an aspiring actor who is certain you’ll never use biology. It might come in very handy when your beloved pregnant dog is having a difficult delivery in the middle of the night.  (Animals only get sick in the middle of the night or on holidays, but that’s a topic for another post.).  And finally, to the student who is certain this quadratic equation is a waste of time, take it from someone who has a gray hair or two, even in the most mundane of circumstances, 10, 20, or 50 years down the road, you just might find it useful after all.
 
No knowledge is ever a waste.

​Mark Brooks, Academic Strategist
 
PS
Except any question that starts out:  One train leaves Calgary travelling at 60 km/h and another one leaves Montreal travelling 58 km/hour ….  This question is completely useless, you’ll never use this in real life and I’ll support your claim to that effect.

Hello! My name is Erica Houde and I am an Associate Psychologist at Brunswick Creek Psychology Services. I have worked with Dr. Conor Barker (Clinical Director) within and outside of his practice for several years, but I have had a desire to work with people for as long as I can remember. Take a scroll through my childhood keepsakes and you’ll find a note from grade six that reads: “When I grow up I want to be a ….psycologist”. Though I’ve had my eye on this profession for years, my ideas about what it means to be a psychologist and a helping professional in general, have evolved over time.

At present, my work is a combination of assessment and counselling. When it comes to assessment, my goal is to understand a person’s history, obtain a profile of an individual’s unique strengths and weaknesses, and provide recommendations that may benefit a person in their academic studies, in their occupational work, and in their social functioning. Moreover, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to help an individual achieve a new level of self-understanding, and to witness a person’s relief as long-unanswered questions are finally recognized and understood.

In my work as a counsellor, I truly believe in the power of creating a soft place to land. I tend to take a client-centered approach, and I want you to feel as though you are in an environment, and with a person, that you are physically and emotionally safe with. I believe in “walking beside” my clients, rather than leading or directing them; I believe in offering information, and teaching tools that clients can choose to accept and practice when they feel ready. Ultimately, I want to offer my clients a service that helps them move towards a healthier, fuller life.

I promise am not always as serious as I sound; I love to have a laugh and make people feel at home. Hope to see you soon!

I’m a new resident to Leader, Saskatchewan and excited to share that I am providing counselling, psychotherapy and assessment services to residents aged 16+, as a licensed Provisional Psychologist. I work as part of Brunswick Creek Psychology Services and support clients in-person and over video therapy.

Being born and raised in Toronto, I have gained a considerable amount of experience working with a diverse range of individuals, as well as supporting clients through a broad spectrum of presenting concerns. My previous work comprises of assisting individuals who have struggled with homelessness, mood disorders, personality disorders, stress, various types of trauma, gender-based violence, sexual abuse, suicide, self-harm and more.

As a mental health advocate, I am driven to share my knowledge and care to the people of Saskatchewan through offering an empathic safe space. I use a blend of therapeutic modalities including – but not limited to – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Somatic Psychotherapy, Feminist Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and mindfulness. 

I look forward to working together in efforts to end stigma in accessing mental health services, as well as encourage patients/clients towards a lifestyle of inner peace and healing. 

Christianna Zolis, ​M.Ed., R. Psych. (Provisional) 

​My name is Mark Brooks and I am delighted to come on board at Brunswick Creek Psychology services as Academic Strategist.  I’m really excited to start working at Brunswick Creek because I love teaching and watching the delight in a student’s eyes when the ‘aha’ moment comes. 
 
When I’m not working, I spend my time expressing my creative side.  I love to garden – dahlias, hyacinths, and hollyhocks are my specialty.  I’m also musical.  I direct a choir, Noteworthy Chorus (Two Flats But Not Too Flat), for which I arrange and write a good deal of the repertoire.  I’m also a language geek.  I found out my gift/love for languages when I enrolled in French immersion in the second semester of grade ten, and graduated with my certificate of bilingualism in French. I love to travel and can speak phrases from all the countries I’ve visited.  I’m also conversationally fluent in Spanish, and Korean.  An extension of my love for languages and my creative side, both, is creative writing.  I’m currently in the middle of bringing a strong colourful character, Talulah Fairweather, to life.
 
There are likely only two things that exceed my love for languages. The first is animals, and in particular, dogs, or the doogs as they are affectionally called at our home.  My friends call me the dog whisperer.  You’ll also find other furry four-footers and several aquariums chez nous.
 
Oh, I said there were two things, didn’t I?  The Coca Cola Company will never go out of business so long as I am around.  Spend any time with me and inevitably you’ll see me with a can of Coke in my hand.

Mark Brooks, B. Sc. 
​Academic Strategist 

​I grew up on a farm in the Swift Current area, and, although I’ve travelled and moved a lot since high school, this town will always be home. It is a place of comfort, safety, and happiness for a lot of people – but challenges and troubles, pain and disappointment, happen here, too. Life doesn’t always make sense; personally, I’ve known my share of confusion, of feeling lost among the familiar.

At the end of the day, “community” takes work. It takes real effort to try to connect when you feel disconnected, or to reach out when you feel alone. I do this job, as a counsellor, because I want to honour those efforts. I want to be on the other side: the person willing to listen to your story, to witness your struggle and your triumphs.

I completed my training at Briercrest Seminary in 2017 but didn’t realize that my degree would only be the beginning of my education. Turns out, I learn the most from my clients, rather than from textbooks. You teach me what you need, who you are; theories on human development don’t quite cover it. But even though I’ll always be “client-led” as a counsellor, I’ve also learned to seek out tools that allow me to give something back, to be of real help – if help is indeed what you want. (At the moment, I’m learning TEAM-CBT; come and ask me about it and we can see if it works…!)

I believe anyone can change if they want to, but sometimes it takes another person holding your hand to summon that desire and put that first foot forward. I’ve needed a lot of help in my own life; I’ve drawn strength from others, sometimes family and friends, sometimes professionals. Together, we help make sense of each other and our lives.

Outside of work, I’m a mother of two. I love to read novels, to climb trees, to bake cakes, to shop at thrift stores, and to go on road trips. I thrive equally on soulful talks and crazy adventures. I believe hope is a good thing (even if it was in Pandora’s box).

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
           
Jordi Wieler, M.A., Canadian Certified Counsellor 

Brunswick Creek Psychology Services has moved to our new space in downtown Swift Current!  We are now located in the Professional Building at 12 Cheadle Street West. Mark has been busy setting up the artwork, furniture, and yes, the aquarium, and I must say, it's starting to look pretty spiffy.  I have been busy orienting three new clinicians to the space. Watch for these clinician profiles as they get posted. 

This Friday afternoon, I'm thinking about how this practice has grown and changed. It started dinner at Original Joe's where I said to a friend, "you know - I'd really like to do some counselling out of North Side Medical Clinic." I met with Dr. Savoy, and spent four years working with her physicians and staff, sharing an office with Dr. Val and her love of cat decor. It's why we still have a phrenology cat! Then we moved to the condo, changing from a clinical setting into more of a home setting. Then COVID hit, and we moved from the home setting into a virtual setting, something none of us planned for. Now, we are transitioning again to a full service psychology practice, providing counselling, assessment, treatment, academic tutoring, and supervision. 

Brunswick Creek will be expanding it's service delivery based in Swift Current, but offering services across Saskatchewan and the country. Our services will include: 

• Individual counselling for adults & youth
• Child & Family Counselling
• Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
• Psychoeducational Assessment
• Diagnostic Clinical Assessment
• Autism Spectrum Assessment
• Employee and Family Assistance Plan (EFAP/EAP) Services
• Professional Development opportunities for teachers, psychologists, and mental health clinician

We will be adding additional content to our social media and blog posts in the coming days. Stay tuned, and keep in touch, we are here to help! For more information or to book an appointment, send us an email at [email protected] or call us at 306 700 3141. 

Yours in mental wellness, 

Dr. Conor Barker, Ph.D., R. D. Psych. 
Clinical Director, Brunswick Creek Psychology Services