Transitions: How Change Impacts Our Mental Wellness
Updated: Oct 8
Originally aired October 7, 2026 on 102.9 CHTM
Thompson Today's Mental Wellness is a monthly wellness conversation featuring Galia Wellness psychotherapist Caroline Winship and Sue O'Brien of 102.9 CHTM, exploring wellness through a Northern Manitoba lens. A Full-Circle Opportunity to Reach More of the North
I’m very excited and honoured to be starting a monthly radio segment with Sue O’Brien of CHTM — and for me, this opportunity is meaningful for more than one reason.
Through Galia Wellness Services, I’m continually looking for new ways to make mental wellness conversations accessible to people across Northern Manitoba. For many Northerners, especially those living in remote communities or on traplines, travelling to Thompson can be challenging — particularly during the winter months.
Having a regular place on our local radio station gives us another way to connect. Wherever you are in the North, you can tune in and take part in relevant, practical conversations about mental wellness without having to travel.
It also feels like a very special full-circle moment.
From 2019–2021, I had the privilege of working with Tom and Sue at CHTM as their administrative assistant. I learned so much from them about serving Northern Manitoba, connecting with our communities, and running a local business. They were also incredibly encouraging when I made the decision to return to school and complete my Master of Counselling.
So, to find myself years later sitting across from Sue as a Psychotherapist, having conversations about mental wellness for Northerners, means a great deal to me.
Each month, we’ll explore a different mental wellness topic through a Northern Manitoba lens — practical, relevant conversations about the things that affect our wellbeing and the communities we call home.
Click play above or Read below for the transcript of this month’s conversation: Transitions: How Change Impacts Our Wellness
If you have any comments or ideas on this or any future segments, feel free to add those below and be sure to tune in each month as we continue the conversation!
Transcript of Interview:
Sue: Good afternoon and welcome to Thompson today here on 1029 CHTM. I'm Sue O'Brien, and my guest is Caroline Winship. She's a psychotherapist and the founder of Galia Wellness Services. Welcome, Caroline.
Caroline: Hi, Sue. Thanks for having me.
Sue: As we begin, please tell our listeners what kind of services a psychotherapist provides.
Caroline: Well, a psychotherapist is a mental health professional with a master's degree or higher usually, who provides specialized counselling. We help people understand what they're going through and build skills to cope. We don't diagnose or prescribe medication, so we often work alongside family doctors and psychiatrists. In Manitoba, many of us are certified nationally through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
Sue: And why might clients come to see you for counselling?
Caroline: In Northern Manitoba, people come to me for a lot of reasons. Family or work stress, grief and loss, often past trauma that shapes how they handle stress now. With children and youth, I'm usually helping them build coping strategies, and with adults and elders, it's more often about sharpening the skills they already have or understanding why certain strategies haven't worked for them in the past. You don't need to be in crisis to reach out to me. Many people come in simply because something feels harder than it used to be.
Sue: Today, we're looking at a specific topic, and that is transitions. Caroline, let's first start with some examples of what transitions we might face in our lives.
Caroline: So there's a lot of transitions we go through seasonally. Like, this time of year, we're thinking about school, kids moving out or moving back in, marriage or cohabitation, changes in our social life, jobs, health. This year has been full of them! As the seasons are changing, kids are starting new school years, families heading into Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes with fewer or newer family members at the table, colder months also change how we spend our days, from work to hobbies. Even changes that we choose, like a new job, partner, or a move, can be really stressful. It helps just to name a transition as a transition, and we give ourselves some grace while we adjust to it.
Sue: Seeing as you did refer to it already about the whole back to school transition, and it just doesn't impact the students. It also touches their parents or caregivers and their teachers. What advice do you have for those who are experiencing this particular transition and may be struggling with it?
Caroline: This time of year, we're usually focusing on the students, which makes sense. But the parents and teachers managing all these changes need support too. Teachers have some of the hardest jobs anywhere. We know this. And parents are juggling the new schedules, new schools, and new teachers. And as the old expression goes, "we can't pour from an empty cup." So my advice is to protect the basics. As we're doing all this, we wanna make sure we're eating well, getting enough sleep, and doing something we enjoy. Keeping it small and realistic. If you're spending more time in a car, for example, keeping a healthy snack and a good audiobook or podcast handy for pickup lines. Or plan one evening a week, sometimes, where you can order takeout and remind yourself you're more than the family taxi. Making sure your kids have what they need is really important, but making sure what you have as the parent or caregiver is just as important.
Sue: Another aspect of heading back to school includes those students who are leaving home, maybe for the first time, to pursue education in another city, and perhaps their parents who are dealing with their child growing up and leaving them behind. Let's break that down. Let's first talk about how we can support our children as they make the move away from home.
Caroline: Yeah, for sure. We don't stop parenting at this stage. We just change how we do it. We can't walk them into their first college class, usually, but we can stay connected in other ways. When one of ours moved eight hours away, we hid little things in their luggage and boxes. A pizza gift card or a "get well soon" kit with cough drops, tissues, and a number for somebody nearby who would drop off homemade soup if I called them. We set up regular check-ins too. Maybe weekly, even if it's just them telling me, "I'm alive and I have groceries". Most of all, we're following their lead, giving them room to spread their wings, and they'll still call on you first when something big comes up.
Sue: And how can parents cope with the fact their child is now out of their proximity and is growing their independence?
Caroline: This one caught me by surprise as a parent, and not a lot of people had talked to me about it ahead of time, so maybe we don't talk about it enough. My biggest advice is to let yourself feel it. That might mean having a cry in their empty bedroom, or it might mean celebrating with friends or picking up a hobby I didn't have time for before. Many of us either keep busy so we don't have to feel it, or we get stuck looking at old photos, wishing things could go back to the way they were. And I'm learning - and my clients- are learning that both of these things are normal for a little while. The key is not to stay there. We set aside some intentional time to reflect, talk it through with our partners or friends, and we think about what this new chapter could look like for both of us.
Sue: We also have to remember that transitions aren't a negative thing, at least not always. What can we do that make the changes we face, particularly when it comes to our children, not to be make or break moments?
Caroline: It comes down to self care and connection. First, we keep some things in our life that don't revolve around our kids. So we gotta remember that we are a person on our own. Second, we protect small rituals. With busy young kids, we synced our calendars for one family night a week. It didn't matter if it was over cereal or a game, as long as we were connecting. As kids grew up, we wanna be clear about what we're hoping for and letting go of how it has to look. If I'd love everyone home for Thanksgiving, for example, I'll invite them and maybe offer to cover gas or a bus ticket, but then make it clear that it's okay to say no. No guilt trips. Being warm and available matters more than having things go exactly the way we planned.
Sue: And there are other transitions in our lives that are gradual and others that are unexpected. As we age, our lives often change. We may retire from long time jobs. We may downsize our homes. All of that comes with many transitions. What do you advise for those who may be approaching this stage in life or have already experienced some of these changes?
Caroline: Yeah, and just as some of us find our identity in our children, others have built it around a career or a home. And when that changes, it can feel bittersweet. And the quieter, less predictable pace can be unsettling. So it's important to take time to look back, to be proud of what you've built and notice what you enjoyed and what you wish You've done differently. That reflection helps you decide what matters next. Trying to give your week some structure, like a regular coffee date with a friend or a class or volunteering, so you keep a sense of purpose and connection. Many people find this is a stage where they finally have time for hobbies or for giving back to their community, making sure the next generation has the support that they need.
Sue: Our health and lifestyle can unexpectedly change due to accidents or illness as well. How can we prepare a network of support ahead of time just in case?
Caroline: Really, really good questions. And we can't predict everything. What we want to make sure we're doing ahead of time, if we can, is we build a safety net before we need it. We start by thinking about who our go-to people are, one or two for emotional support and a few for practical help, like rides, meals, or childcare. I'd also add in here too that we want to make sure we're thinking ahead of time of what really matters to us and prioritize what traditions we can do away with and what we're going to focus on. But we mostly want to have a conversation with these people, with these supports, with our families, now, about what kind of help each of them would be comfortable giving. Keeping a short list of key information somewhere easy to find - like medications, doctor's contacts, and who to call, and learn what's available in our community, such as our health centers, support groups, or counselling services like Galia Wellness. Up here, that planning matters even more when care can often mean traveling south for the big things. Finally, we wanna practice asking for help in small ways now when it's not a crisis. It's much easier to lean on people in a crisis if you've already let them in for the smaller things.
You'll probably notice a theme here in my answers because connection is really important. Sue: And it's important that we all find our own little village, so to speak, whether it's members of a group you belong to or even the neighbors on your block.
Caroline: Yeah, 100%. And that's what Thompson's always been, is that we all kind of connect and link arms and help each other. But it's still hard to remember that it's okay to reach out when we need it.
Sue: Do you have any final words of wisdom, Caroline, about how we should face transitions that are coming in our life? Should we be looking at them with trepidation and fear, or should we look at them as great opportunities for growth?
Caroline: One thing that I've learned myself, but also with my clients, is that sometimes just saying it out loud, it helps other people feel free to talk about it too. So if we're saying to people that we care about and people we know are in the coffee shop and we say, "hey, this is what's going on with me", you're going to find other people are in the same place as you. And that connection can really make all the difference. It's okay to talk about it. It's okay to say we're feeling things and we just want to hold space for it.
Sue: Caroline, thanks for the words of wisdom, and I think my takeaway from this is that we can expect changes to come in our life. We just can't let them take over every moment, and that we have to really look after ourselves whenever we are facing something. As you mentioned, self-care is very important.
Caroline: Yeah. And I'm really flattered that you reached out, and I'm glad to be here, and I hope we can chat again soon.
Sue: I'd like to thank my guest again, Caroline Winship from Galia Wellness Services. We were talking about transitions, and obviously, we all have different transitions that take place in our lives, whether it's kids or jobs or traveling or homes. Whatever transition that you're working through, be patient with yourself and talk to someone if you really need a little bit of an extra helping hand. If you have any comments or ideas on this or any future segments, feel free to add those below and be sure to tune in each month as we continue the conversation! - Caroline :) Find out more about what's going on around Thompson and Manitoba by tuning into
Thompson Today on 102.9 CHTM weekdays at 12:40pm and 5:10pm.
for a complete list of all Thompson Today shows on 102.9 CHTM .
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