Recently Mark Vahrmeyer interviewed Dr. Simon Cassar on the topic of Existential Psychotherapy. This is the first in a series of interviews and VLOGS into the topic of psychotherapy generally. So, please check out the interview and we would welcome any feedback or suggestions for future VLOGS.
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mood disorder that is thought to affect about 1% of the UK population. Typically, the onset of Bipolar disorder is at around 15-19 years, although some may develop it later on. What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder? The symptoms of Bipolar disorder are mood related,…
People often arrive in therapy looking for answers to life’s difficulties. This might seem like a reasonable proposition. However, it pre-supposes that there might be such a thing as a simple answer to any of the thorny challenges life presents, and, indeed, that the therapist is an “expert” on life, uniquely qualified in their provision….
There is a lot of hype surrounding mindfulness at present. The NHS now sees it as a psychological intervention, and large corporations recognise that calm, happy employees are more productive. But how realistic is mindfulness, a secularised and stripped-down version of the Buddhist practice of meditation, as a long-term psychological intervention? What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness…
There is No Such Thing as a Baby I frequently blog about the importance about including the body in the process of psychotherapy and how the unconscious resides in the body. However, unlike many ‘body psychotherapists,’ I believe that the involvement of the body is more profound than identifying the presence of the body in…
Most of us have to work in order to live. For many, work can take up a large proportion of our waking lives with up to a third of our lives being spent at work. While the primary reason for working is to make money, our work life can (and should) be much more than…
We Need You! Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy is expanding thanks to consistently increasing demand across our Hove and Lewes practices. We are seeking an experienced and motivated psychotherapist who has the clinical training and experiential background to work with individuals and couples, ideally splitting their practice between our clinics in Hove and Lewes. This is…
Couples can often get into familiar and fixed patterns of relating which can be deeply unsatisfying to both parties. This style of relating is one which can eventually seriously threaten the health and longevity of a relationship. In this brief blog, I open a window onto a session which explores a particular dynamic which I frequently encounter…
A Response to Johann Hari’s Book – Lost Connections As a psychotherapist, I welcome honest debates about mental health, as they can help reduce the stigma and isolation of many sufferers experience. Recently, a book has been published by controversial author Johann Hari, that has created a bit of a storm, in which he claims to…
Warning – This article contains spoilers for anyone who has not seen the movie Lady Bird. A critical success, this film about a mother and daughter relationship falls into the ‘coming of age’ genre, however it is also so much more than this in considering the systemic and unconscious processes at work that make…
For many women in the 21st century, the menopause leads to a sense of freedom, independence and creativity. Of course, I want to celebrate this, but I also want to talk about less welcome aspects. Culturally, the menopause is still somewhat feared and is something of a taboo. It is also open to derision and…
Berlin was the setting for a symposium organised by the International Group Analytic Society (IGAS.) Over 600 people from 40 plus countries attended. This was my first time in Berlin, a place I had wanted to visit for a long time. When I saw the symposium was going to be based there, it made the…
Come the New Year, come the idea to make some changes; to get fit, to be happier, to drink less – the list goes on. I am sure it is a well-researched fact that sales of self-help books increase in January, as does gym membership. And yet how often does the resolve dissolve after a…
The relationship between a psychotherapist and their supervisor is a very important one. Supervision is a vital place to reflect on clinical dilemmas, talk about professional issues and learn from someone more experienced. It can also be a self-care exercise. It feels good to talk to a trusted colleague about our work in a confidential…
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…
Christmas can be an emotionally challenging and difficult time for many of us. There is such expectation on how Christmas ‘should’ be. Yet like the weather fails to deliver on the ‘winter wonderland’ scenes on the TV adverts, for many of us, our family experience often falls far short of the loving idyllic family reunions…
Remember when I told you that panic attacks originate in the body and can therefore only be controlled through our relationship with the body? It is called Soft Belly – Soft Throat – Soft Tongue. This is how you do it: You can do this process any time, anywhere. While it is ideal to do…
Panic attacks can be terrifying and debilitating. They can feel as if you are going to die and like you have lost control of your body. While nobody has literally died from a panic attack, feeling out of control and overcome by fear and anxiety can be one of the most unpleasant experiences. It causes…
In this age of jettisoning the past and continually embracing the new, the answer to the question of how psychotherapy works has remained largely unchanged since the days of Freud. Modern enquiry and comprehension brings the capacity to understand what happens in the brain as a result of effective analysis, psychotherapy, or indeed, good enough…
Andrew Robinson, an MA Photography student from the University of Brighton, recently visited our Hove clinic to photograph our rooms for a project around the therapist’s chair. We are delighted to be able to share some of Andrew’s images on our blog. His artist’s statement can be found below. Andrew can be contacted via baronbouchard@hotmail.com. In…