Crisis & Emergency Support

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.

These services are free, confidential, and available 24/7:

• Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988 (English & French)

• Distress Centre Calgary: 403-266-4357. Phone, text, and online chat for Calgary and southern Alberta

• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642. Crisis intervention, information, and referrals

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. For youth; also available via text (text CONNECT to 686868)

• Hope for Wellness Helpline (Indigenous): 1-855-242-3310. Culturally grounded counselling, also available via online chat

• 211 Alberta: Call 211 for local community and social services, or visit ab.211.ca

• Health Link Alberta: 811. Speak with a registered nurse or connect to addiction and mental health services

• ConnecTeen: 403-264-8336. Peer support for youth via phone, text, and chat

You are not a burden for reaching out. These services exist because people like you matter.

 

ADHD & Neurodivergence

Living with ADHD, whether you've known about it for years or were recently diagnosed, can feel like running a different operating system than the world was designed for. These resources can help you understand your brain, work with it instead of against it, and build a life that actually fits.

 

Recommended Reading

• "Scattered Minds" by Gabor Maté. A compassionate look at ADHD rooted in attachment and development. Maté reframes ADHD not as a deficit, but as an adaptation. Essential reading, especially for men making sense of their childhood.

• "Driven to Distraction" by Edward Hallowell & John Ratey. The classic ADHD primer. Accessible, validating, and full of practical insight for adults navigating diagnosis.

• "ADHD 2.0" by Edward Hallowell & John Ratey. The updated follow-up, incorporating the latest neuroscience on ADHD strengths and strategies.

• "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk. While primarily a trauma book, this is critical reading for neurodivergent folks who carry the weight of years of masking, shame, and being misunderstood.

• "Unmasking Autism" by Devon Price. Although focused on autism, this book speaks powerfully to anyone who has spent years hiding parts of themselves to fit in. Highly relevant for late-diagnosed adults.

 

Curated Links

• CADDRA (Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance). Canada's leading ADHD organization with provider directories, guidelines, and patient resources.

• How to ADHD (YouTube). Engaging, well-researched videos that make ADHD feel less isolating and more manageable.

• ADDitude Magazine. Articles, webinars, and tools for adults with ADHD, covering everything from medication to relationships.

• The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook Collection (Therapist Nerd). Practical, ADHD-adapted worksheets and planners.

 

Downloadable Guides

• Understanding Your ADHD Brain. A one-page overview of how ADHD actually works, common myths, and what to expect in therapy. (PDF)

• The ADHD-Friendly Daily Planning Sheet. A simplified, low-barrier daily structure designed for brains that resist rigid routines. (PDF)

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Trauma & EMDR

Trauma doesn't always look like what you'd expect. Sometimes it's a single event. Often, it's years of things that were too much, or important things that were missing entirely. Whatever it looks like for you, healing is possible. These resources can help you understand what's happening in your body and mind, and what recovery can look like.

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Recommended Reading

• "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk. The definitive book on how trauma lives in the body and what it takes to heal. Dense but transformative.

• "Waking the Tiger" by Peter Levine. A somatic approach to trauma that helps you understand why your nervous system responds the way it does.

• "Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving" by Pete Walker. Particularly powerful for men who grew up in chaotic, neglectful, or emotionally absent homes. Walker's writing is compassionate and deeply practical.

• "No Bad Parts" by Richard Schwartz. The foundational book on Internal Family Systems (IFS), which frames healing as getting to know, not getting rid of, the parts of you that carry pain.

• "It Didn't Start with You" by Mark Wolynn. An accessible introduction to intergenerational trauma and how family patterns show up in your life today.

• "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Frankl's account of surviving the Holocaust and finding meaning in suffering remains one of the most profound books on the human spirit. A cornerstone of existential therapy.

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Curated Links

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• EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). Learn how EMDR works, what a session looks like, and find certified practitioners.

• EMDR Canada. Canadian-specific EMDR resources and training information.

• The Polyvagal Institute. Understanding your nervous system's role in trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.

• Pete Walker's Website. Free articles on complex PTSD, emotional flashbacks, and recovery from developmental trauma.

• IFS Institute. Resources on Internal Family Systems therapy, including self-help tools and practitioner directories.

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Downloadable Guides

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• What Is EMDR? A Client's Guide. A plain-language overview of what EMDR therapy involves, what to expect, and how it helps. (PDF)

• Grounding Techniques for When You're Overwhelmed. Simple, body-based practices you can use between sessions or anytime your nervous system feels hijacked. (PDF)

• Understanding Your Window of Tolerance. A visual guide to recognizing when you're in hyperarousal, hypoarousal, or your window, and what to do about it. (PDF)

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Burnout & Executive Performance

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You've built a career, a reputation, maybe a family, and somewhere along the way, the thing that used to drive you started to drain you. Burnout in high-performers often doesn't look like "falling apart." It looks like going through the motions, losing interest in things that used to matter, or quietly wondering if this is all there is. These resources are for the men who look fine on the outside but feel hollow on the inside.

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Recommended Reading

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• "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" by Emily & Amelia Nagoski. Don't let the pink cover fool you. The science here on completing the stress cycle applies to everyone, and it's immediately actionable.

• "The Courage to Be Disliked" by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga. A dialogue-based book rooted in Adlerian psychology that challenges the people-pleasing patterns many high-performers run on.

• "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. If burnout has you questioning what any of it is for, Frankl's work will meet you exactly where you are.

• "The Myth of Normal" by Gabor Maté. A sweeping look at how modern culture makes us sick, and what it means to actually be well. Particularly relevant for men who've been told to push through everything.

• "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman. A refreshingly honest book about time, productivity, and letting go of the fantasy that you'll ever "get on top of everything." For anyone who has optimized their way into exhaustion.

• "When the Body Says No" by Gabor Maté. Explores the connection between chronic stress, emotional repression, and physical illness. A wake-up call for men who have been ignoring their bodies for years.

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Curated Links

• Maslach Burnout Inventory (Overview). The gold-standard burnout assessment used in research and clinical settings.

• The School of Life – Emotional Intelligence. Short, thoughtful videos and articles on work, meaning, and relationships.

• Huberman Lab Podcast. Evidence-based episodes on stress management, sleep, focus, and nervous system regulation.

• Cal Newport's Blog. Practical thinking on deep work, digital minimalism, and building a meaningful professional life.

 

Downloadable Guides

• The Burnout Self-Assessment. A structured reflection tool to help you identify where burnout is showing up in your life: physically, emotionally, relationally, and professionally. (PDF)

• Reclaiming Your Energy: A Values-Based Priority Map. A worksheet to help you get honest about where your energy is going versus where you actually want it to go. (PDF)

 

Men's Mental Health

 

Most men weren't taught how to talk about what's going on inside. Therapy can feel foreign, vulnerability can feel dangerous, and asking for help can feel like failure. It's not. The resources below are specifically chosen for men who are ready to do the work, even if they're not sure what that looks like yet.

 

Recommended Reading

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• "I Don't Want to Talk About It" by Terrence Real. The book on male depression. Real names the hidden epidemic of men suffering in silence and offers a path forward that doesn't require you to become someone you're not.

• "The Will to Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. A deeper dive into logotherapy and the idea that meaning, not happiness, is what sustains us. Especially powerful for men in transition.

• "The Boy Crisis" by Warren Farrell & John Gray. Examines the challenges facing boys and men today, from education to fatherhood to purpose. Eye-opening and solutions-oriented.

• "No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Robert Glover. For men who have spent their lives trying to be "good" at the expense of being real. Glover's framework is direct and practical.

• "Iron John" by Robert Bly. A classic exploration of masculine initiation and the inner journey men are often never invited to take.

 

Curated Links

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• Movember Foundation. Canada's leading men's health charity, funding mental health, suicide prevention, and prostate/testicular cancer research.

• HeadsUpGuys. A UBC-developed resource specifically for men dealing with depression. Practical tools, self-checks, and recovery tips.

• The Man Enough Podcast. Honest conversations about masculinity, vulnerability, and emotional growth.

• Next Gen Men. A Canadian organization working to redefine healthy masculinity through education, training, and community.

 

Downloadable Guides

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• Starting Therapy: A Guide for Men. What to expect from your first session, how to talk to a therapist, and why it's worth showing up even when it feels uncomfortable. (PDF)

• The Emotions Vocabulary Sheet. A simple reference for when "fine" and "stressed" aren't cutting it. Building emotional language is a skill, not a personality trait. (PDF)

 

A Note on These Resources

This page is a living document. I'll continue adding to it as I come across material worth sharing. These resources are meant to complement therapy, not replace it. If something here resonates or brings up questions, bring it to your next session. That's what the space is for.

If you're looking for support and don't know where to start, book a free consultation and we'll figure it out together.

Resources curated by Ryan Filax-Wylie, CCC, MACP  at Pathfinder Therapy, Calgary, Alberta.