• Susan Van Asselt Counselling
  • Susan Van Asselt Counselling

A Warm Welcome To You All

What is “mental health” and how do we define it? Another way to describe it is to think of it as our “mental well-being” (CMHA, 2025). We will all find our mental well-being to be out of balance at some point in our lives. This is very normal. Mental well-being exits on a continuum and it is important for us to assess on a regular basis where we are sitting on this continuum.


How do we do this? How do we figure out if we feel out of balance? Take a look at the following life categories located on the pie below. Do we spend more time on some than others? Is that imbalance causing us to feel stressed out, disappointed, not having fun, or worn out? If the answer is yes, we would probably benefit from learning skills and tools to help us manage our lives better.

Mental illness is different than mental health. “A mental illness is an illness the affects that way people think, feel, behave, or interact with others. There are many different mental illnesses, and they have different symptoms that impact peoples’ lives in different ways.” (CAMH, 2025)

Poor mental health can lead to mental illness, but that is not always the case, and we can have good mental health at the same time as having a mental illness. It is important to know the difference between mental health and mental illness. And, it is important to learn to have good mental health, regardless of what is going on in our lives. Depending what is out of balance in our lives, will determine what skills and tools we could learn in counselling. As a counsellor, I personally find great joy in being able to embark on this journey with someone. We all can learn new skills and tools to manage our lives better and it is a great honour to be trusted in this process.

Please look around the website for information about myself, tools, links to other resources and to book an appointment. Very best wishes; may we all be loving and kind, compassionate, joyful, and equanimous.(CMHA, 2025)



Counselling

Providing guidance, counselling, support, and inspiration on your path to healthier living.

 

Meditation

I am a student of Lama Mark Webber & have studied the Buddha Dharma with him for the last 10 years.

Courses

Join me for fun and informative explorations of a variety of life enhancement topics.

 

CMHA. (2025, 06 03). What's the difference between mental health and mental illness? Retrieved from heretohelp. Mental health and substance use information you can trust: https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/q-and-a/whats-the-difference-between-mental-health-and-mental-illness