Anger management is a common term used in working with clients with anger issues. Even Hollywood has capitalised on the term as a title for a movie, which unsurprisingly was directed at a largely male audience.At Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy we offer work on ‘anger management’, however, what … [Read more...]
What doesn’t kill us makes us weaker: Developmental trauma and attachment styles
There is a lot of wisdom in sayings that have been part of our language and culture for as long as we can remember. For example, being ‘on the back foot’, meaning to be at a disadvantage or on the defensive, is a perfect expression of how our relationship to our body influences how we relate to … [Read more...]
Trauma and Recovery
Judith Herman (1992), writes:“Psychological trauma is an affliction of the powerless. At the moment of trauma, the victim is rendered helpless by overwhelming force. Traumatic events overwhelm the ordinary systems of care that give people a sense of control, connection, and meaning”Although … [Read more...]
New Year Reflections
Like many of us, at the end of each year I like to take some time to reflect on the past year and also look to the year ahead for changes and improvements I'd like to make in the personal and professional areas of my life. The beginning of a new calendar year can be a good opportunity for a … [Read more...]
Holiday Blues?
This time of year can evoque a range of feelings in most of us. Whilst some of us may have a festive and positive outlook on Christmas and look forward to spending time with friends and family, for many it is a time filled with conflicting emotions. Some of us have difficult memories associated with … [Read more...]
The Therapy Room
Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy started after Mark and I decided it was time to get our own premises. Finding the right work environment wasn't easy. We spent years practicing from other clinics, never quite satisfied with the therapy rooms we used. Although, arguably, good therapy work can take … [Read more...]
Working with The Pyramid of Change
In our last blog, entitled ‘The Pyramid of Change’, we introduced the concept (and paradox) that in order to achieve results (change) the locus of attention needs to begin not with change but with the felt sense in the body. How can we facilitate this?Counsellors and psychotherapists are taught … [Read more...]
The Pyramid of Change in Psychotherapy
Counselling and psychotherapy is about change. Whether that is a fundamental change in how we experience ourselves in the world, or in working through a difficult emotion and changing how we are feeling. Everybody who enters into a process of therapy is seeking change of some kind.There are a … [Read more...]
Self Care 101 for Therapists
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 … [Read more...]
A Plane Falls From The Sky
After some well earned time off over August, it had been my intention to write a blog on self care for psychotherapists. However, as with all best laid plans, a more pressing topic has come to the forefront our of minds with the recent Shoreham air crash which resulted in the tragic deaths of (at … [Read more...]
Trauma
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 … [Read more...]
What is the purpose of counselling or psychotherapy?
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 … [Read more...]
Making the Most of Therapy
Starting a process of counselling or psychotherapy can be daunting. It is also a significant commitment. And just as we are paradoxical in other areas of our lives, we are paradoxical when it comes to therapy; part of us wants to embrace change and another part doesn’t. So how can you get the … [Read more...]
Make me happy…
When clients first present for counselling or psychotherapy, 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 clinical perspective, but can also provide an … [Read more...]
5 Reasons to Join a Therapy Group
“The person is comprehensible only within this tapestry of relationships, past and present” (Mitchell, 1988).Despite the great therapeutic benefits of psychotherapy groups, unfortunately they are sparsely offered within the therapeutic community. This may have something to do with the current … [Read more...]
