The Power Of Connection

About the Book:

In life, there are many things we cannot control, leaving us feeling powerless and defeated. However, what you can control is how you deal with your emotions. In The Power of Connection, psychologist Dr. Bea Mackay explores mental health by teaching you how to process your emotions in your day-to-day life. To process any unpleasant/intense emotion—whether it be fear or stress—the key is to breathe through the sensations of the emotion. Breathing will allow you to synthesize logical thinking and sensory experience, creating new neural pathways, which precipitate new/different sensations that are pleasant, healing, and calming.

A balance of analysis and real-life stories, The Power of Connection is the perfect resource for anyone motivated to deal with their emotions during turbulent times, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Mackay also teaches you how to cope with your current stressful situation or any past trauma. Through this book’s exercises, you will change the way you approach your mental health by learning all about your emotional functioning. In the end, you will live a better, healthier, and fuller life when you reconnect with your emotions and yourself. 

The Power of Connection is now available at:

If you enjoyed my book, I would appreciate any positive reviews!

What people are saying about The Power of Connection:

“This book is the perfect companion for someone who is early in the process of psychotherapy. It is ideal for therapists to give to clients. It illustrates through several case examples many important concepts such as the sensory and logical brain, the function of emotions, and the importance of a support system. The awareness exercises are very useful.”

—Richard G. Erskine, Ph.D., international trainer of Integrative Psychotherapy

“What a revelation! The Power of Connection walks the reader through how to do the wonderful work Dr. Bea does in person, helping people to process their emotions so that they can do it even if they are not with Bea. Freedom awaits. I will be sharing this book with all of my clients. It is well laid out, and the illustrations add depth and beauty. A wonderful book that I will keep close as a constant reminder.”

—Emma Holmes, coach

“Thanks to the clear and concise information laid out in the book, I’m sure many people will be helped with their troubling emotions in these pandemic times. By including case studies and interesting illustrations, Bea Mackay has made her points very understandable. She has written a very helpful and much-needed book for our time.”

—Norma Berkey, retired teacher

“The Power of Connection is an elegantly written and beautifully illustrated book that is both engaging and accessible. It is an owner’s manual to help the reader better understand the mysterious and essential part of our being that is our emotional life. The complexity of how brain structure, brain health, and emotional management fit together is explained in clear and concise terms and is supported by many real-life clinical examples that are easy to relate to. This book explains what it actually means to work through our emotions in therapy and how building emotional vocabulary enhances our ability to communicate and deepen relationships with others. It also offers hope that even long-held self-defeating beliefs and behaviours can change over time through experiencing empathy, understanding, and acceptance towards self and others.”

—Lindsay Stewart, social worker

“This book is essential for therapists and psychologists to recommend to all their clients. It presents current thinking and research on brain science linked to a practical approach to supporting people with lots of techniques to change their lives. It is brought alive by beautiful graphics and is full of exercises and client stories along with a profoundly simple summary at the end of each chapter about how to live from what has been discussed. Highly recommended, and awareness is the key!”

—Brian O’Neill, psychologist and Gestalt therapist

“The Power of Connection could also be called a user’s guide to the human experience. In clear, jargon-free language, Bea Mackay has captured what it means to be fully present and to participate in this thing we call life. Bea shows us the difference between managing our lives and experiencing our lives in ways that are satisfying and at the same time productive. In The Power of Connection, we learn how to tap into the gifts we are given from birth, and the reader quickly learns the difference between managing emotion and processing emotion. These two very different realms of experience are both necessary for living a full life. Bea guides us through sorting out sensations, identifying and accessing emotions, and moving towards acceptance of what is. Or, in her words, “What is, is.” Her antidote comes to us in the form of a book chock-full of tips, examples, and suggestions for building a more contactful life and raising healthier, happier children. Your family won’t regret you reading this book, and they very well may pick it up when you are finished!”

—Charlie Bowman, president of the Indianapolis Gestalt Institute

“Dr. Bea Mackay has provided the reader with excellent strategies to develop and enhance self-understanding and connection with self and others. Her lucid explanations of neuroscience and mindful self-grounding using the breath as an anchor enable the reader to understand how one can integrate feelings and emotions by processing them without getting lost in them by trying to over-manage and control them. Dr. Mackay clarifies how our universal capacity for processing and integration creates deeper connections and creative new enriching patterns of living.”

—Susan Burak, B.A., J.D., M.A., R.C.C., lawyer, certified mediator, and registered clinical counsellor

Happy new year Bea! Thank you for your book and congratulations! So exciting! I just read one page and I love it. We were in the middle of talking to Scarlette about feelings and processing feelings and that one page (page 91) was already helpful in framing the conversation. I loved the simplicity and clarity of your writing. Also, love the font size and the diagrams and visual in vivid colours.

—Warm wishes, Rojia

Happy new year Bea! Thank you for your book and congratulations! So exciting! I just read one page and I love it. We were in the middle of talking to Sue about feelings and processing feelings and that one page (page 91) was already helpful in framing the conversation. I loved the simplicity and clarity of your writing. Also, love the font size and the diagrams and visual in vivid colours.

—Warm wishes, Reilly

“Very helpful book about processing rather than blocking emotions. It’s very well organized and accessible. The author provides many interesting client stories as well as practical exercises for working through emotions and freeing oneself from dysfunctional cycles. I particularly liked her tip sheets for how to help others by listening to them reflectively. This is an author who is really trying to help others!”

—Elizabeth

Just a small note to say thank you so very much for sending me your wonderful book “The Power of Connection”. I especially like your metaphor that emotions are like constellations of stars in the sky, as well as the excellent illustrations. Bravo! I’ve shown my 11-year-old some of these images and talked about a bit of the theory with her. Thank yo so much.

—Warm regards, Jenni

Thank you for generously giving me a copy of your book!! Congratulations, you have made something complex and subtly intricate comprehensible and graspable for all—Well Done! Beautiful book. Love the photos and graphics. This will be in my waiting room for sure.

—Warmly, Eva