For the past year we have largely been confined to our homes, a lot of us working from home and only going out for regular exercise. Our social lives have been depleted, we’ve not been able to see friends and family and generally life may have become quite repetitive.As we come out of lockdown … [Read more...]
Unexpressed emotions will never die
Short sharp, to the point and written by Freud. His full quote is ‘Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways’. What does he mean and is he right? With this statement Freud is defining on the pillars of psycho-analysis and psychotherapy - … [Read more...]
Why is Love Island so Popular? And why it’s not for the reasons we think
For those of you that don’t know, Love Island is a British ‘reality television’ concept that has become a global phenomenon. Arguably deriving from the first global reality programme, Big Brother, which launched in 1997 it is the latest incarnation of this genre.The premise is one whereby a … [Read more...]
When Home and Work Merge
The onset of national lockdowns in early 2020 (and subsequent restrictions) have made working from home the ‘new normal’. What was once seen as an ideal for many, free from commuting and office politics, suddenly became an enforced reality for all of us.Our homes, which were previously separate, … [Read more...]
The Problem with Change
When people come into therapy it is usually with the wish or hope for something to change. If not, they want help with adapting or stabilising following a major change.It is a paradox that change is such a constant in our lives. As we age our bodies inevitably change and if nothing else this … [Read more...]
Executive Function (part 2): Ideas for Supporting Thinking Skills Development in Children
Referring back to my previous blog - Children and young people with Executive Functioning Difficulties need us to:Accept that they have gaps and delays in these skills.Learn, by spending time with them and observing, which Executive Function Skills need scaffolding and practice.Support … [Read more...]
Relax: Watching people using their hands
Stuck at home I don’t always want to chat with friends and family or listen to any more news, podcasts or watch TV drama or read a book. Yet I want to be taken out of myself. I want to be elsewhere and with my own thoughts at the same time.Being engaged in an activity that uses our hands is … [Read more...]
What is Transactional Analysis?
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a widely recognised form of modern counselling and psychotherapy, originally conceived by Eric Berne in the 1950’s and which is now used not only in therapy but also in education and organisational training and consultancy.It is a theory of personality, behaviour … [Read more...]
Why all therapists and mental health professionals need therapy now more than ever
I don’t know about you, but I have been riding the Covid-19 emotional roller coaster since March 2020 with very little roadmap, whilst trying to guide those who I work with like “the blind leading the blind”.I also see my own psychotherapist and supervisers in the exact same boat. They are … [Read more...]
Executive Function Skills (part 1) – What They Are And Why Some Children Struggle With Them.
Executive functions are the cognitive skills we use to control and regulate our thoughts, emotions and actions to achieve goals. These three main areas of executive function work together:Self-control/ inhibition – the ability to resist doing something distracting/ tempting in order to do … [Read more...]
Fear and hope in the time of Covid – part 2
I am writing a follow on from the wonderful blog written by Gerry Gilmartin back in August. 6 months on and here we are again, facing new Covid-related challenges with more restrictive measures in place, more infections and more deaths.The theme of Gerry’s blog revolves around fear and hope, and … [Read more...]
New Year’s Resolutions
In my last blog I wrote about goals for change and linking these to our values. When someone decides to come into therapy it is often because they would like to make changes and it can help to set goals as a means of knowing when these changes have been achieved.Given this is a time of year when … [Read more...]
What’s wrong with good advice?
Often, the people who engage in therapy with me will ask for advice, tips on managing anxiety, what to do about a relationship situation, how to manage a tricky situation at work. Sometimes someone might ask for general ‘life advice’. Of course, mostly what they want is some sort of reassurance and … [Read more...]
The Pandemic and the Emerging Mental Health Epidemic
There is a lot of talk about how Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown cycles are causing a mental health crisis in the UK. This blog aims to unpack and list some of the reasons why the response to the pandemic is also causing a mental health epidemic amongst us.This year has been very hard on … [Read more...]
Love and family
The family is our first social group. It is the crucible in which our passions are born and our capacities to love and to live are shaped – and misshaped. The family imbues its members with its own specific culture, habits and attitudes.As an organism, it too is shaped by the cultural moment … [Read more...]
