Most therapy groups run once a week. In our practice at Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, we also offer a twice weekly group, but how does having a second session in the week help? Emotional bonds An essential aspect of any group therapy is building emotional relationships between group members, enabling strong attachments to form. This…
This blog follows on from my previous one called ‘Food and Mood‘ and provides you with food examples. Wholegrain cereals, peas, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables are rich in a range of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function well. They also digest slowly, helping to provide a slow and steady…
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…
In recent weeks I have seen various articles espousing the virtues of having an ‘AI companion’ or chatbot friend. Apparently these are particularly popular with the younger demographic. One of these is ‘Replika’ – a prophetic name if there ever was one. Chatbot ‘friends’ are touted as being helpful in alleviating loneliness through to functioning…
Just as what goes up must come down, so whatever begins must end. Each of us comes to deal with this existential reality imposed on our own lives and all the living beings that we care for. As truly relational creatures we humans encounter the inescapable fact of death in those who die before us…
(Adapted from a presentation given at the SEA conference November 2022) – (Part one) Anne Carson (1998) wrote, “‘Now’ is a gift from the gods and an access onto reality. To address yourself to the moment when Eros glances into your life and to grasp what is happening in your soul at that moment is…
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…
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…
At the heart of the process of psychotherapy is trying to see more clearly what our basic needs as human beings are and how they can be met. Most clients seeking treatment are feeling uncomfortable because of difficulties in this domain. The sense of discomfort is often compounded because, without help, it can be hard…
We seem to be in a world slipping deeper into seeking safety, transparency and the need for power and control to sanitise life. All as an apparent response and remedy to pain and suffering. A desire for continued uninterrupted happiness and security. We seemingly long for the place where happiness is and will remain, but…
A topic of certain difference, and at times discussion in the field of psychotherapy, is whether we refer to those we treat as ‘clients’ or ‘patients’. Why might this matter? On the face of it, it should arguably matter little to someone attending psychotherapy, as to what the therapist calls them on paper; in the…
Are you curious to know the most popular song in the world right now? Of course, you might not have been able to miss it. This autumn, a musical milestone was achieved by Taylor Swift, who has become the first musician to claim all ten top slots of the US Billboard Top 100. Of her…