Category: Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy

Many pages of a book lying on top of each other.

Does your life story make sense?

Why are stories so important to us humans? Human beings are the story species. From the earliest mythic hunts retold around tribal fires to the modern-day family evenings spent bingeing on the latest Netflix series, stories have captivated us. And yet, when it comes to our own life story, we are more liable to tell…

A picnic with an abundance of fruit.

Food and mood

The links between mood, mental health, sleep quality and nutrition are areas of research interest. Associations between the type and quality of a person’s diet and risk of anxiety and depression are increasingly described in literature. Complexities around the multidirectional relationship between diet and mental health are becoming more understood (Firth et al 2020) and…

A blurry image of a teen looking at a laptop.

Online therapy: good for some, but not everyone

Therapy over the phone and in more recent years on video has been around for a long time, but since the recent pandemic it has become normalised with lots of online therapy platforms emerging and an abundance of “mental health” apps. At Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy we offer both face-to-face and online therapy, and whilst…

A bowl of fruit.

The psychology of mindful eating

Mindful eating is based on the concept of mindfulness which in essence means engaging all your senses and eating without distraction. The aim is to be more present and aware during food preparation and mealtimes to reduce overeating, eating too quickly and ‘comfort eating’ (eating to deal with difficult or unwanted emotions). Although this sounds…

A hand holding a lit sparkler.

Is starting psychotherapy a good New Year’s Resolution?

Most of us make some sort of New Year’s resolution, whether overtly or covertly. The new year can feel like an opportunity to put the past behind us and to start afresh. Whether or not we actively name and own our New Year’s resolutions, most of us can also attest to the best held intentions…

Leaves

On Living as Becoming (Part One)

Who would have known a recent visit to Alexandria Park in Hastings and a guided tree walk would inspire this work in progress. The Park happens to have a very diverse and nationally significant tree collection planted by Robert Manock in 1882, and subsequent others. Much of what was conveyed was fascinating but left my…

The lap of a patient clasping her hands together sitting with her psychologist.

How do I find the right Psychotherapist?

Finding a psychotherapist can feel like a daunting task. For starters, the difference between a counsellor and psychotherapist may not immediately be apparent. Then there are the different modalities, or approaches to therapy. And lastly, there are the different professional bodies to make sense of. The term ‘psychotherapist’, unlike ‘clinical psychologist’, is not a legally…

Brighton beach with two deck chairs.

Mental Health Problems in Brighton

Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, as the name would suggest, is an applied psychology practice located in central Brighton and Hove in operation since 2014. Whilst many of our clients travel from further afield to see and be seen by our clinicians, and whilst we offer online therapy, most of our clients over the years have…

A crowd of many people.

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 disbelieving public. This new year sees the 60th…

Silhouette of a person walking away down a dark passage.

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 Therapy Although opening…

Pebbles balanced on top of each other.

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 present one of freedom and security, the…

Scrabble letters spelling out the words Be Positive.

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…