Dr. Stillman Jacquard,  Psychologist/Psychologue

When I Am Among the Trees

 

When I am among the trees,

 especially the willow and the honey locust, 

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.  I would almost say that they save me, and daily

 

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment, 

and never hurry through the world 

     but walk slowly, and bow often

 

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

 and call out, “Stay awhile’.  

The light flows from their branches.

 

And they call again, “It’s simple” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this,

to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.

 

-Mary Oliver

 

By considering the classic elements (earth, water, air, fire, aether/spirit, psychotherapy can access more holistic frameworks that honor body, mind, emotion, spirit and environment.  Earth provides safety and stability.  Water allows for emotional movement. Air clarifies thought and expands perspective. Fire fuels transformation and passion. Aether integrates all into a sense of meaning and wholeness.

 

I like to describe myself as an artist and a gardener. Both art and nature help to keep life simple and me grounded. Both art and nature help guide my work.  I also happen to be a registered psychologist with a doctorate in psychology from the University of British Columbia and profess to be a practitioner of decolonial mental health and offer liberation oriented, anti-oppressive, culturally informed therapy, and practice from a justice oriented, system-informed framework. My clinical orientation is influenced by person centred therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy within the context of a multimodal lens. I look for opportunities to engage in adventure and movement-based therapy and value building community within an Indigenous wholeness where consideration is given to holism, community and relationships, spiritual connection, traditional knowledge, and balance and harmony.   I am proud to be of Indigenous heritage. My current research pursuits include mindfulness, self-compassion, movement therapy and animal assisted wellness within the context of the therapeutic relationship.

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Currently engaged as part of a multidisciplinary team at a local university in Halifax, Nova Scotia: medical doctors, nurses, social workers, counsellors, and psychologists.  We serve approximately twenty thousand (20,000) students from all parts of the world.  Immersed daily with a diverse range of people across different age groups (between 17 and 70+ years of age) providing support for various populations including Indigenous communities and individuals with marginalized or underserved backgrounds.  Working to adapt therapy to the unique needs of each individual and cultural context, ensuring a respectful and empowering healing process.  Focusing on emotional regulation, identity development, resilience building, stress management, relationship challenges, trauma recovery, and life transitions.  Providing assessment and diagnosis along a wide gamut of psychological disorders. And I am an artist and a gardener and I love what I do. 

 

I often wonder how people get to where they are - how I got to where I am.  Grew up in a small fishing village (population 500) on the outskirts of Nova Scotia. Only know of three people who ever left the community to pursue a life elsewhere.  My dad always said I would never be a fisherman.  He was a fisherman for over fifty (50) years. I would like to say that it was a tight nit community but it wasn’t.  When I left at the age of eighteen, my mother knew I would not be back.  You are welcome to ask about my pursuit of the road less travelled. 

 

So how did I get here?  Three short years ago, a client expressed, ‘I do not like the person that I have become’.  Overtime, this statement left me feeling most uneasy, leaving me to ask what is beyond talk therapy.  This sent me to exploring other ways to support individuals in an attempt to support and encourage shifts, change, and progress in therapy.  This led me to explore several pathways, most currently animal assisted wellness. Two years ago, Enzo, a maltipoo entered my life. He continues to be a godsend.  He is a therapy dog in training and he comes to work with me once a week.  With client permission he sits in on therapy sessions. My experience with animals focuses on dogs at present, but also have experience with cats as an owner as well as serving in a helping capacity.   We also have a 240 acre family farm and care for cows, chickens. 

  

And so, I will pause there and look forward to our time together. As for the artist in me, I sense that it offers a unique way of seeing, expressing, connecting and coming to terms with ambiguity and process. After all is said and done, I am first and foremost and artist and a gardener. Find me among the trees in the forest as I move between the complexity and simplicity of life with a sense of hope.

 

(I go by ‘Stillman’- which means quiet person)