A common reason that some people come to therapy is because of difficulties in managing their emotions. We all experience emotions and it is part of being human, but sometimes our emotions can become dysregulated and feel overwhelming, unpredictable, or out of control. We might feel that our emotional response is somewhat out of proportion…
If narcissism has become the cultural diagnosis of our time, psychotherapy remains one of the few places where the concept can be approached without hysteria. In popular culture, narcissism is often treated as a category of person, the narcissist, as though a character style were identical with the whole human being. In clinical work, this…
Narcissism has become a cultural obsession. It is discussed as though it were a new epidemic, a modern pathology spreading through society like a virus. The phrase “age of narcissism” is now so common that it is rarely questioned. Yet when we look closely, a more accurate formulation emerges. It is not that narcissism is…
Narcissism is one of those clinical terms that has escaped the consulting room and taken on a life of its own. Like many borrowed psychological ideas, it has been flattened. In popular culture, narcissism is routinely used as a moral verdict, a convenient label for a certain kind of person who is selfish, callous, entitled,…
What is NVR? Non Violent Resistance (NVR) is a powerful, relational approach that supports parents facing violence, aggression, controlling behaviour, or destructive family dynamics. It is equally valuable for families who feel overwhelmed, depleted, or stuck in unhelpful patterns, even when violence is not present. At its heart, NVR helps families recognise unhelpful dynamics, build…
Becoming a psychoanalytic psychotherapist is a deeply transformative process. It changes the way we understand others and gradually reshapes our relationship with ourselves. The training asks us to move through dense theoretical material while cultivating a steady emotional presence, and this mirrors the kind of work we hope to offer our clients. The water we…
Our early experiences can shape how we relate to ourselves and others in the present. Often, the survival strategies we developed in childhood can remain with us well into our adult life. One lesser-known but very important survival response is called ‘fawning’, and is often discussed in the context of the other well-known responses of…
When disaster changes the course of life, the effects are rarely contained to the moment of crisis. The visible damage is often matched by hidden struggles that surface in the days, months, or years afterwards. In my own work, I have sat alongside people who have faced devastating events, and I have seen how deeply…
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being promoted as a tool for psychological support, whether through chatbots, self-help apps, or experimental “AI therapists.” The proposition is seductive: instant access, apparent empathy, and cost-effective delivery. Yet beneath the promise lies a profound risk, one I would call “AI psychosis.” By this I do not mean psychosis in the…
Spend ten minutes on social media and you’d think trauma therapy is a rare, specialist service that only a select few therapists can offer. The implication is clear: most therapy isn’t “trauma-informed,” so you need to shop for the right label. This is marketing, not clinical reality. If you are in depth psychotherapy, psychoanalytic, psychodynamic,…
Winnicott’s radical insight: There is no such thing as a baby Winnicott’s claim that “there is no such thing as a baby” is one of those deceptively simple psychoanalytic truths that resists being reduced to metaphor. He wasn’t being poetic. He meant it literally: there is no baby in isolation. There is always a baby…
EMDR has become one of the most talked-about psychotherapy treatments – and for good reason. Extensive research has shown that it is one of the most effective approaches developed so far for trauma and chronic pain. It is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). The acronym stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and…