Counsellors and psychotherapists can be very good at suggesting to clients to start to develop compassion for themselves, stop destructive behaviours and to learn to self-care. This is, after all, part of their job. However, how high a priority is their own self-care? How can clients assess whether their therapist is able to appropriately self-care…
My heart is racing and I feel constantly under threat, even though there is nothing to fear. Emotionally it is like I’m in a war zone, ready to defend or attack, even though it’s peaceful here. I look over my shoulder, tense up with certain sounds. I’m scared for my life and for the life…
Were you to ask a group of clinicians (counsellors or psychotherapists) to define the purpose of therapy , you will likely get a set of quite different answers based in a large part on the lens (modality) through which each clinician views mental health and their approach. One would hope to find some degree of…
Starting counselling or psychotherapy can feel daunting. It is also a significant commitment of time, energy and emotion. Most people begin therapy feeling conflicted. One part wants things to change, while another is understandably hesitant. After all, change often requires us to step into the unknown. Therapy is not something that simply happens to you….
When clients first present for counselling or psychotherapy at my practice in either Brighton and Hove or Lewes, I generally always ask them what they would like to get from our work; how will they know that what we have done has been worthwhile for them? The answer to this can give the work important…
“The person is comprehensible only within this tapestry of relationships, past and present.” (Mitchell, 1988) Despite the many therapeutic benefits of group psychotherapy, it remains surprisingly underused. This may reflect the current emphasis on individual therapy, the specialist training required to facilitate groups, or perhaps a broader cultural shift towards individualism. Yet human beings have…
We live in an age where increasingly our value of anything comes down to money. Even environmentalists are needing to show the value of ecosystems and specific species of animals, in order to put forward a robust case for conservation. Little wonder then that the question of the value of counselling and psychotherapy in monetary…
This morning I awoke after an awesome night’s sleep to read an article in The Guardian entitled ‘How Much Sleep Do I Need?‘ This article draws on data from The National Sleep Foundation in the USA who conducted a literature review of 320 research papers into how much sleep (quantity) we should all be getting. The…
As part of our ever increasing focus on a holistic approach to psychotherapy and mental health (functional psychotherapy) at Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy, I am drawn to writing a little about the importance of sleep and what happens when we don’t get enough. As I have already written, psychotherapy is a fantastic agent of change…
This may seem like a strange article title for a psychotherapist to concoct. And a strange title to post as a blog on a site promoting psychotherapy. But there is a paradox at play here: as psychotherapists, Sam Jahara and myself believe in psychological and emotional change leading to tangible life changes. It is something…
Addiction is most commonly associated with becoming reliant of a substance, such as alcohol or drugs, however behavioural addictions have more recently become recognised not only as genuine mental health disorders but as equally responsible as substance addictions for mental and emotional suffering. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the ‘bible’ on…
Most of us of a certain age will remember watching Mary Poppins as children; indeed the 1964 Disney film continues to occasionally grace our screens, usually around Christmas and at a less-than-prime viewing slot. Even for those of us whose memories of the film have faded, we probably remember the leitmotif of the film: Mary…