The space between psychotherapy sessions is not empty. It is saturated with psychic material such as fantasy, frustration, longing and resistance. It is where the work reverberates, where the transference lives on, where the unconscious continues its motion. Yet increasingly, this space is being colonised by something that feels helpful: AI therapy. Apps that prompt,…
In recent years, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) has become a trending topic on social media, particularly on platforms like TikTok. Short-form videos often depict individuals rapidly switching between so-called “alters,” complete with visual and behavioural cues. The implication—sometimes explicit, often subtle—is that these portrayals are representative of DID. They are not. Clinically, DID remains one…
The new Netflix series Adolescence has sparked conversation for its raw portrayal of teenage life and family tension. As an NVR practitioner for the past nine years, I’ve come to realise that I view my world now through an NVR lens. As I was watching the show I was struck by its affirmation of a…
“… the truth is that if division and violence define war, the world has always been at war and always will be; if man is waiting for universal peace in order to establish his existence validly, he will wait indefinitely: there will never be any other future”. (Beauvoir, 1948, p.128-9) It is hard to look…
Data as part of our lives There must be very few people who don’t own or use a device that is in some way taking note of their day-to-day lives. Steps taken, hours slept, calories burned. The list of data that our wearable devices can generate for us is sizeable. It might not be something…
There is currently a great deal of noise and speculation about whether artificial intelligence (AI) can provide therapy. There are strong advocates on both sides of the argument, and evidence would suggest that, at least to some degree, AI can provide what some describe as ‘therapy’. The NHS, in part driven by its chronic funding…
In a previous blog we discussed the links between exercise and mental health and how exercise can be hugely important for raising and maintaining our mood. In this blog, we will discuss how the healthy habit of exercise can sometimes become addictive, and can actually harm both our physical and mental health. When healthy habits…
As a psychotherapist, I sometimes encounter individuals struggling with the unsettling emotion of envy. While we might visualise the ‘green-eyed monster’ and make light of it, it can sometimes grow into a significant problem. The socio-economic context Many of us face anxieties over whether what we have is enough. Today, even those who once felt…
The image above* is of Jim Jones who led the Jonestown massacre in November 1978 where 909 people died, a quarter of whom were children. Jim decided that the children should be the first ones to drink the poison. He matches the broad definition of a cult leader, which I compiled from a range of…
In my two previous articles, I have defined a cult and the mind-control process. Now, I would like to talk about what makes people join a cult and why we should care. No one joins a cult Firstly, people don’t join cults: they join a course, an activity, a personal development workshop, a meditation class,…
Brainwashing or thought reform is not a one-off event but a gradual process of breaking down and transformation. Thus, thought reform is a concerted effort to change a person’s way of looking at the world, which will change his or her behaviour. To understand more about mind control, or brainwashing, I will explain it in…
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…