Mallory Becker
Suite 201, 6720 104 Street T6H 2L4 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Some personal news!!! Thank you @claudine_lavoie for the amazing photos that I will cherish together and to everyone on my @pine_health_yeg team that has been supporting me along the way. This time around, I have way more knowledge and support including pelvic physio, prenatal massage, acupuncture and lactation consultant prenatal advice. Although these covid times being on different challenges along the way, I am so thankful for my friends, family and work family.

Another great offering for new moms!

May 5th is World Maternal Metal Health Day and May is Maternal Health Month. I will be doing a series of posts about all things maternal mental health (including a live talk and Q &A at @pinecone_health_yeg at 12:30 pm, Wednesday May 5th). You are not alone. You are not to blame. With help, you will be well.

Stress, and the resulting burnout, have been called the health epidemic of the 21st century by the World Health Organization. It impacts every part of your physical, relational, and psychological self and can have dramatic effects on your health and wellbeing. We live in a fast-paced, high-demand world with many expectations, and it’s harder to just stop, breathe, and find a way to take care our jobs, families and others WHILE taking care of ourselves. With the right tools, insight and some simple strategies, we have the power to greatly decrease the negative effects of burnout and increase personal health, happiness, and well-being long term. Swipe right to learn more about what we will cover in this workshop and how to sign up

This week I dig out my summer shoes out. I received these shoes 12 years ago from my husband as a gift for my birthday our first year together. They are my favourite shoes because they were a symbol of his thoughtfulness, care and practicality! But after my walk, I sadly realized that I could feel the pavement and wet oozing up from the soles - and I know it was time to begrudgingly depart with my favourite shoes. I wondered why I was attached to them and then though about t...he symbolism and connection between shoes and relationships. Most people prefer a brand new pair of shoes to an old one. Especially if the old pair are worn down because they have been worn day in and day out for the last 7 years without cleaning them. I know you wouldn’t expect me to say this, but the same preference goes for relationships. Most people in relationships want the same FEELING a new pair of shoes gives them, and when they have trouble getting that new shoe feeling out of their old relationships, they go get another one. It starts by being too busy to take care of them. Then, you forget to clean them. After a while, they become so dirty that they get pushed aside and you get a new pair. They go from being your go-to shoes to becoming the once in a while running shoes. And eventually, they turn into the pair that you use to do yard work (if you wear them at all). But my relationship with my old shoes shifted in my relationship over the years, which eventually became my marriage. My mindset quickly changed to find comfort in my old pair of shoes you continue to wear because they fit so well. These shoes knew how to hold my feet and every year after winter ended, I always made time to take them out, connect to all the memories and feelings these shoes supported over the years, and thank them for another year to come. Here is to hoping that my new shoes (which are a newer version of my old ones) will live up to the legacy of my old ones. In our life of shoes and people; If they hurt you, They are not of your size. - Unknown -

How can I get the most out of therapy? I’m glad you asked! One of the most frequent questions I get from people is what is the difference between those who have success in therapy and those who do not. We know from research that therapy is effective and that people receiving treatment do better than those who do not receive treatment. ... According to a study by Assay & Lambert, there are 4 factors that mostly influence the effectiveness of therapy (swipe right to see a great visual). The number one factor is actually client variables and things that happen outside therapy (such as the client’s environment, life events, stress, etc.). However, close behind that is the therapeutic relationship - which is how positively the client views their relationship with their therapist. So when considering starting therapy, I recommend finding someone you feel that you can connect well with, and then look at their modality/type of therapy.

There’s a huge gap between what the science says about how we should study & learn vs how we actually do it. I recently dig into research from the Bjork Learning & Forgetting Lab at UCLA to figure out how to close that gap: Learning with the expectation to teach leads to better retention than learning with the expectation to take a test. Practicing retrieval is one of the best things you can do for your memory. If you are taking a class, spend 10 minutes a...fter the class writing down everything you remember learning on a blank piece of paper. At night, get another blank piece of paper and write down everything you remember. Always test yourself. View testing as a form of learning rather than viewing testing to see what you have learned. Use practice exams or open up a textbook and look at the subheadings and try to see what you remember about each topic. Try to write possible test questions - ask yourself what could be on the test or what could people be confused about? Test your friends. Teach your friends. Get your friends to write tests for you that are taking the same class. Active studying helps learning retention more passive learning (ie reading a chapter 5 times). Typically most people study night before an exam. This leads to learning quickly but it leads to a rapid decline in memory. If you have 4 hours to study, studying 1 hour over 4 days leads to better learning retention compared to studying for 4 hours over 1 day. If possible, even breaking that hour up helps (ie 15 minutes in the am, 15 minutes at lunch, 15 minutes at supper & 15 minutes at night). The intervals of rest & repetition boot learning & memory. Rather than focusing on one concept at a time, moving back and fourth between concepts and mixing them up increases the ability to recall information flexibility when you need it and helps you see the connections & relationships between concepts, leading to better generalization. Mix up where you study. Study in the library, kitchen, bedroom... This helps you associate different environmental cues to trigger your memories. How does this match up to your studying? See more

Parenting Isn't Easy. Get Answers On Important Topics in Our Online Conference. This affordable webinar covers topics for children like: Bowel and Bladder He...alth Ways to Keep Kids Active this Winter Speech and Language Milestones Social Emotional Development Conscious Parenting Starting Your Baby on Solid Foods Raising an Anti Racist Child Picky Eating Anxiety in Adolescents Join us for only $10 a session, or $50 for an all access pass. Tickets Are Selling Fast! Click the Book Now Button.

I love reflection questions. Here are some good ones to ask yourself and those around you: 1. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? 2. How are you, really? 3. How would you act if you were the best in the world at what you do?... 4. Are you finding your dream job or are you creating it? 5. When was the last time you did something for the first time? 6. How do you treat people who can do nothing for you? 7. What or who lights you up? 8. If there was a solution to your biggest problems right now, what would your life look like? See more

Exciting News & Giveaway Our team of experts at @pinecone_health_yeg is offering a very affordable webinar series on infant, child & teen health. We will have many exciting health topics including Raising and Antiracist Child, Picky Eating, Conscious Parenting, Promoting Social-Emotional Development & Activities, Adolescent Anxiety, Pelvic Health for Kids (potty training, bed wetting, constipation, etc), Keeping Kids Active This Winter During Covid, and Speech, Language Mile...stones and Strategies, and How to Add Solids While Breastfeeding. In addition to these interesting topics, each webinar is only $10 (plus GST each) or $50 for an All-Access pass. Giveaway I have a set of tickets for you and a friend to a webinar of your choosing. To enter, tag a friend and comment which webinar(a) you would like to attend. Each comment is a separate entry and bonus entries for stories posted.

Did you know retailers & marketers use psychology to influence your shopping? I love shopping, but I’ve also been working hard to be more purposeful and sustainable with my money. Being aware of our cognitive biases can immunize us to sales techniques and help you focus on purchases that align with you. Here are some common cognitive biases often used in marketing: 1. Loss Aversion... Creating a misbelief of a potential loss of is one of the oldest tricks of marketing. If a brand manages to create an image that by not buying a product, you are likely to lose out on something, they can sell more products. Ie: Only few items left! (This one gets me all the time)! 2. Framing Effect If a shortcoming of a product is presented as a beneficial feature using wordplay, it becomes more likely to be a success. Ie: 90% chance of success is more desirable than 10% chance of failure 3. Anchoring A consumer is likely to purchase a product that was presented as the first piece of information. Ie: If the first sweater you see in a store is $500, and then you see a similar sweater for $250, your mind will make a comparison and perceive the second item as inexpensive. 4. Confirmation Bias New information processed by the human mind confirms pre-existing beliefs. Humans tend to hold on to their beliefs strongly and look for confirmation of their beliefs and often ignore information that disproves their beliefs. Ie: Testimonials help customers consciously/unconsciously confirm they found a competent product. 5. Bandwagon Effect A consumer is more likely to purchase a product that is being purchased by others. Ie: An ad focusing on high sales already achieved by the product. 6. Salience The tendency to buy products which stand out from the others. Ie: Attractive packaging & branding, exclusiveor new technology. What marketing techniques have noticed around you? Which biases are you more vulnerable to? by @emmanicoleyeg

It’s been a while since I’ve introduced myself - so I figured I would give it a go. As you know from my posts, I’m a Registered Psychologist and am passionate about getting psychology out of the office and into the world. I want people to see psychology as a place where you go when life gets overwhelming, hard or you want to learn about yourself - and that us Psychologists are just like you and easy to talk to. In that spirit, I have some fun This or That questions. I’d l...ove to hear your answers to these questions in the comments. Pumpkin spice latte or peppermint mocha? These are all ready hard questions.....I can’t choose. Seriously. Boots or scarves? I love boots - more functional too when trapped on a winter island. Holiday movies or holiday music? Holiday music. I am starting to que up my playlists. Cookies or cake? Cookies - because they come from cookie dough. Cat or dog? Team K9 all the way! Pop music or Rock music? Another one I can’t choose. I love Rock bands from the 2000s like Three Days Grace (with Adam Gauntier) but I also love some good pop like the BSB, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendez. Pancakes or waffles? Waffles! With all the fruit, chocolate and whipped cream. Morning or evening? Definitely evenings. Mornings and me do not mix. Text message or call? Texts for quick questions but calls for anything more than 3 sentences. Summer or winter? Summer any day. Love or money? Love!! The most powerful force in the world. Book or movie? Movie - I love the art of production, music with a great story combined. Tea or coffee? Tea - I stopped drinking coffee because it makes my body feel too hyped up. Coca-Cola or Pepsi? Pepsi (I did the Pepsi challenge when I was 5 and have been hooked on Pepsi since. Comedy or horror? Comedy - I can’t watch horror shows anymore after the Saw movies came out. Hamburgers or hot dogs? Burgers. Especially with garden tomatoes. Boat or plane? For fun a boat as I love water and grew up fishing. But I do love planes for traveling. Bagels or toast? Bagels! Especially from @bagelbar.yeg Skates or bike? Biking is the best! by @emilieiggiotti