The name Corner House is inspired by a concept that originated in my childhood. When I was a kid, our tree-lined street with modest houses dead-ended into a broad avenue that ran along the shores of the Assiniboine River. There, at the corner of our street and the more affluent avenue, was a large and impressive house. In my view, everything that happened in that beautiful corner house must have been perfect. I imagined the harmony, happiness, and belonging the corner house family had and dreamed I, too, would one day have those things. I would marry the “right” person, raise “perfect” kids, and have a successful career. My ideas about romantic love, raising a family, and the kind of life I wanted for myself came partly from what the corner house represented: an idealized version of love and family.
Carl Schurz famously captured the essence of how ideals can be used as positive guides. Schurz says, “ideals are like the stars, we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them.”
The Corner House is meant to represent the brightest star for each of my clients, the ideal they most aspire towards in their lives. Through thoughtful exploration and guidance, my hope is that clients of Corner House will acquire the tools necessary for staying on a consistent path towards living a wholehearted life. This means cultivating the skills to meet the inevitable challenges along the way while keeping our dreams intact. Many of us lose sight of what we most want when faced with hardship. With this in mind, I have diligently created a safe environment where clients can tap into their resilience and gain the confidence to stay the course to chart by the stars.
