“First we are written and then we write." These words resound in my head daily. Helene Cixous, the speaker of those words, was immediately given special and spacial status in my lived experience. Her words speaking to the many dynamic forces that seemingly make up my lived experience including … [Read more...]
Demystifying Mental Health Issues
In the last few years there has been increased awareness of mental health issues in the media, way before the pandemic hit. Mental health professionals are seeing a growing mental health epidemic which has become significantly worse due to the human and financial cost of Covid-19, prolonged … [Read more...]
Understanding Sexual Desire
All couples in long term pairings know something of the vicissitudes of desire. The sexual intensity that more often typifies the early stages of a new relationship cannot remain the same over years of familiarity. The up close and personal experience of day to day coupledom means witnessing one’s … [Read more...]
Thinking about the menopause in energetic terms
I often have women clients who are going through the peri-menopause or who are post-menopause and I am curious about how I might better support them therapeutically. I want to share some thoughts from a recent talk by Joanna Groves where she invited us to think about the peri- and post-menopause in … [Read more...]
Out of sight, out of mind
Available entertainment over the recent end of year break included the chance to laugh at the prospect of us all being killed. The climate crisis satire, ‘Don’t Look Up’ presented a mirror of our times, with scientists struggling to communicate imminent planetary annihilation by comet to a … [Read more...]
Pornography and the Online Safety bill
Having just come off a phone call with the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Policy Lead, my thoughts have been drawn to the enormity of the problem we face with pornography and the ‘pornification’ of society, particular the world of young people.Pornography use has become ubiquitous and … [Read more...]
Does the sex of my counsellor or psychotherapist matter?
A question I have often either been asked or has come up up is whether the gender of the clinician matters (or should matter) to the client?The answer, as with most questions relating to the intricacies of psychotherapy is not categorically ‘yes’ or ‘no’. However, the question opens up other … [Read more...]
Executive Coaching, Psychotherapy, or both?
Executive or Leadership coaching is nowadays widely offered in organisations. Employers know the benefits of investing in developing their leaders and employing a coach is one of the best ways of doing this. What Makes a Good Leader?Good leaders need to be self-aware, emotionally intelligent … [Read more...]
Compassionate Curiosity and the fundamental rule of Psychoanalysis
Freud said that there was only one rule in psychoanalysis: say whatever comes to your mind, even most importantly when you don’t want to. It is through this honesty that we listen to different parts of ourselves and start to discover our internal dynamic. Why You Should Say What You’re Thinking in … [Read more...]
How do I know if I am ready to become a parent?
No, I am not addressing this to women caught in the age old story of young women fearing the passing of time and the urgency of finding a partner to start a family, although this is an important fact of life. I am thinking of what questions we might need to ask ourselves before we even begin our … [Read more...]
How much time should I devote to self care?
In this blog I explore the concept of self care - what it means and how much time you need to consciously devote to active self care per day: it is probably less than you think!What do I mean by self care?In basic terms, self care refers to ‘looking after oneself’. Some people really … [Read more...]
Thinking about Dyslexia Differently
“The word itself – dyslexia – is ironically very hard for dyslexic people to spell correctly” Eddie IzzardUp to one in five people are influenced by dyslexia, including me and Eddie Izzard. Our differing genetic differences inform our ability to process and learn information – however, we can … [Read more...]
Reflections on freedom and security in a turbulent year
What a strange and disquieting time 2021 has been. We might all be advised to pause and reflect upon its impact, personally and socially, individually and collectively, locally and globally. A significant theme running throughout, it strikes me, from the family to the global stage is the ever … [Read more...]
Bridging Political divides
Don’t mention politics. Or vaccinations. Or masks. It feels like we live in a time when opinions are becoming increasingly polarised. The divide between the opinion of one group, compared to that of another, can feel like an impossible divide to bridge.What is going on that makes this happen and … [Read more...]
Enhancing the Positive Self
Why is it that we find it so difficult to identify the positives in ourselves and so easy to see the negatives?As human beings we seem to be programmed to be able to identify our failings, e.g. what we’re no good at, what we haven’t done or what didn’t go well. Or it might be that you can’t stop … [Read more...]