Writing on Betrayal, Divorce, Relationships, and What Gets in the Way.
These posts are written for people navigating difficult relationship experiences: not as a substitute for therapy, but as a place to find language for what you're going through.
Shelby Doherty-Sirkovich, RP, MACP · CRPO #12083 · Virtual therapy across Ontario
Burnout in Women in Their 30s and 40s
You're doing everything. On paper, it's working. Career, family, relationships: you're showing up to all of it. And yet there is a specific kind of exhaustion that has set in, the kind that sleep doesn't fix. You wake up already tired. You get through the day, then do it again. At some point, the things that used to give you energy stopped working. You're not in crisis. You're just... gone. Running on fumes and momentum, waiting for a break that doesn't come.
This is burnout. Not burnout as a buzzword, but burnout as a clinical state of depletion that develops when demands consistently outpace the capacity to recover.
Your Kids Are Watching. Here's How Therapy Can Help You Show Up for Them During Divorce.
Divorce is hard enough on its own. Add kids to the picture and the stakes get significantly higher. You're managing legal proceedings, financial decisions, and a complete restructuring of daily life, all while trying to figure out how to protect your children from the fallout.
Most parents going through divorce want the same thing: to get through this without negatively impacting their kids. That's a reasonable goal. It's also harder than it sounds, especially when you're dealing with your own stress, grief, or anger at the same time.
Therapy isn't a fix-all, and it won't make your divorce painless for your children. But it can give you real, practical tools to be a more steady and effective parent during one of the most destabilizing periods of your family's life.
What Are Boundaries, Really?
The word gets used constantly. Here's what it actually means, and why it's harder than it sounds.
If you've spent any time in therapy, read a self-help book, or even had a conversation with a friend about a difficult relationship, you've heard the word "boundaries." It gets thrown around so often that it's started to lose meaning.
"Set better boundaries. You need to have boundaries. Their boundaries are all over the place."
But when people actually try to explain what a boundary is, things get fuzzy fast. Is it something you say? Something you feel? A rule you enforce? A wall you put up?
Here's a clearer way to think about it, one that's actually useful.
Posts on this site are educational and are not a substitute for individual clinical care. Shelby Doherty-Sirkovich is a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO #12083) practicing virtually across Ontario, Canada. If you are in crisis, the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 by call or text. In an emergency, call 911. For Ontario community and social services, call 211.