FEELING CHALLENGED?
Work with a Calgary psychologist who knows how to overcome challenges… Depression, anxiety, stress & other psychological issues may seem as daunting as completing a marathon. My approach to “Plan, Take Action & Track Progress”, has helped 100s of clients. I used this approach to attain a black belt in karate and to succeed in the Boston Marathon and Ironman.Take the First Step
Meet with Dr. Pat for a FREE Initial 30-Minute ConsultationDr. Patrick Keelan, Psychologist
Counselling Offices in Calgary and Cochrane
Media & Speaking Engagements
Available and experienced with television, radio, newspaper and magazine interviews.In the News & On Stage
See Topics of Discussion and Past Interviews and Events.
Free Initial Consultation
I offer a no charge initial 30 minute consultation in Calgary or Cochrane to provide you us with an opportunity to meet and discuss your needs and ensure your comfort.Take the First Step
Meet with Dr. Pat for a FREE Initial 30-Minute Consultation
Formula for Success
My approach to “Plan, Take Action & Track Progress”, has helped 100s of clients succeed.About Dr. Pat
Work with a psychologist with a record of achieving difficult results.Latest Articles From Dr. Pat’s Psychology Blog
Swimming blind: A demonstration of coping with adversity by an Olympic legend
In this article, I discuss how to deal with unexpected challenges as demonstrated by Michael Phelps. In the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, American Michael Phelps sought to make history by becoming the first swimmer to win eight gold medals in a single Olympics. While this was a daunting challenge in and of itself, it became even more so when he was faced with adversity while swimming for the gold in his strongest event--the 200 meter butterfly. In the following sections, I will describe the magnitude of the challenge presented to Mr. Phelps, how he dealt with it and the lessons you can learn from his experience on how to cope with adversity...[more]
Struggling in making progress toward a goal? Start by forming keystone habits
In this article, I discuss how achieving small successes by forming particular habits can lead you to make significant progress toward your goals. In my last article, I discussed how to form good habits and eliminate bad habits. I defined habits as behaviours or sequences of behaviours which a person performs regularly by focusing on the three components of a habit--cue, routine and reward. In this article, I focus on the value of forming keystone habits. These are habits which have the additional value of spurring you to form additional habits which can lead you to make significant progress toward your goals in different areas of life...[more]
Habits: How to form good ones and break bad ones
In this article, I discuss how you can focus on three components to help you initiate positive habits and eliminate negative habits. Although psychologists help clients address a multitude of issues and achieve a myriad of goals, success in most instances entails a focus on habits. These are behaviours or sequences of behaviours which a person performs regularly. The good habits we engage in have positive effects while the bad habits have negative effects. Therefore, a goal most people share is to add to their positive habits and eliminate their negative habits...[more]
How to improve your children’s behaviours: Focus on the positives and ignore the negatives
In this article, I discuss how you can address behavioural issues with your children by paying attention to their favourable behaviours and ignoring their unfavourable behaviours. In relationships of various kinds, it is unfortunately common for us to pay more attention to the other person’s negative behaviours than to their positive behaviours. Although it makes sense to some degree to follow this pattern, there are also many disadvantages of doing so. In this article, I will focus on the benefits of reversing this pattern so that you pay more attention to the other person’s positive behaviours than to their negative behaviours..[more]
The value of taking a break during the holiday season…and at other times
In this article, I discuss the benefits of taking breaks of various lengths at different points during your day, week, month and even your year. As many people do, I typically take some time off from my work during the Christmas holidays. This year, I made two decisions which will allow me even more time off: First, I decided to take a full two weeks off before returning to work on Monday, January 6th. In past years, I would return to seeing clients on January 2nd if it were to fall on a weekday. Secondly, I decided to take three weeks between blog article postings rather than the two-week interval to which I have religiously adhered for several years. That means that this will be my final blog article of 2019 and I will post my first article of 2020 on Sunday, January 5th. Both decisions made sense on their merits..[more]