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How much time should I devote to self care?

In this blog I explore the concept of self care – what it means and how much time you need to consciously devote to active self care per day: it is probably less than you think!

What do I mean by self care?

In basic terms, self care refers to ‘looking after oneself’. Some people really struggle with the basics of this and once external factors such as poverty have been eliminated, good basic self care correlates to good mental health.

People struggling with depression can find it really difficult to undertake tasks such as getting out of bed in the morning or getting themselves to work.

People with anxiety can struggle with focusing, controlling their thoughts and feelings and in holding onto a thinking mind.

And people who are dealing with eating disorders can struggle to eat for healthy reasons using food to suppress difficult feelings (obesity) or retain an illusion of control over the body (anorexia).

And people who struggle with bulimia can struggle to ingest ‘bite size chunks of life’, instead feeling flooded by others and eventually having to vomit it al out.

These are all real and serious mental health problems and psychotherapy is there to work through what set up these coping patterns and to bit-by-bit help people to better manage their emotions.

The 50 minute hour

Most psychotherapy session are of the duration of what we in the trade call ‘a psychotherapy hour’, which is in fact 50 minutes.

Good psychotherapists stick to the hour and do not overrun as this is unhelpful for the client – it demonstrates poor boundaries and a lack of self care on the part of the therapist.

Over time, clients must learn to keep the therapy and their therapist ‘alive’ between sessions; they must learn to bridge the gap from one session to the next. This means internalising their psychotherapist and thereby holding themselves in mind outside of the therapy room in the way their therapist does. This is where the shift happens from dealing with the presenting crisis (depression, anxiety etc.) to more sophisticated methods of self care.

Psychotherapy is not enough, but it is essential

It is not enough to simply attend therapy and then expect miracles to happen- they won’t.

By bridging the gap between sessions, clients hold themselves in mind and can become curious about what else would be helpful to them in living calmer, more fulfilling lives.

At first bad habits may get dropped – staying up late on work nights, drinking a glass of wine or two every evening, eating junk food – and then a shift can occur to an active engagement with good habits.

These are in addition to living a calm and ordinary life and are constitute self care that is aimed at good mental and emotional health (arguably good physical health too).

Examples may include yoga, meditation, dancing, singing, walking, swimming, meeting friends for connected conversation and so on. The list is virtually endless providing whatever you engage in is mindful (you are present with what you are doing) and leads to sustainable and enduring good feelings afterwards.

Can you spare 4% of your day?

Imagine if all it really took was 4% of your day to make an enduring and significant difference to how you felt and felt about yourself? Well, this is arguably a good figure (and achievable figure) to aim for and guess what? It is only one hour of your day!

So, on days when you are not in therapy, how about spending one hour actively self caring by mindfully engaging with an activity (or activities) that makes you feel alive, positive, brings you into you body and sets you up for the day?

Dedicating one hour per day to self care is a good way of bridging the gap between sessions and in devoting the weekly therapy hour to active self care on the other six.

 

To enquire about psychotherapy sessions with Mark Vahrmeyer, please contact him here, or to view our full clinical team, please click here.

 

Mark Vahrmeyer, UKCP Registered, BHP Co-founder is an integrative psychotherapist with a wide range of clinical experience from both the public and private sectors. He currently sees both individuals and couples, primarily for ongoing psychotherapy.  Mark is available at the Lewes and Brighton & Hove Practices.

 

Further reading by Mark Vahrmeyer

Why is Netflix’s Squid Game so popular?

Space: The Final Frontier of Manic Defence

Do Psychotherapists Need to Love Their Clients?

Unexpressed emotions will never die

What is the purpose of intimate relationships?

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Bridging Political divides

Don’t mention politics. Or vaccinations. Or masks. It feels like we live in a time when opinions are becoming increasingly polarised. The divide between the opinion of one group, compared to that of another, can feel like an impossible divide to bridge.

What is going on that makes this happen and how can we begin to think about challenging some of these divides?

The path to a polarisation of opinions lies in a sense of our own vulnerability. As change happens and individuals begin to feel that they are becoming less significant and influential, the sense of existential fear grows. Ultimately this could lead to the notion that you and what you know and value could be wiped out. This can feel unbearable and gives a sense that one must find what feels safe and hold on to it. The collective nature of thinking, that we seek out those who think as we do, provides the security that can feel lacking.

The divide between those who you agree with and those that you don’t agree with, can be further reinforced by the perception of who the other side are. Leaders and the partisan media lead us to believe that everyone on the other side thinks in a way that is so different from us that they must be disagreed with and diminished.

Common ground can feel impossible to imagine when our desire to feel significant and understood, keep us marooned in our respective camps.

Such divides can feel challenging when they present in our interactions be they familial, social or workplace. The desire to avoid conflict and a potential break down of relations can keep us away from the topic. When we avoid addressing what drives our fear of the others opinion, the divide will only grow.

Looking at how to address polarised views we must always try to remain curious. What does someone’s point of view mean to them? What values, if any, do we share? In asking this it reminds us that in any polarising situation there can be grey areas, which may be common to both sides. Thinking about the other viewpoint we need to be aware of our own perceptions of those who support it. Are we making judgements based on generalisations? Thinking that you can change someone’s point of view isn’t a helpful strategy. It seldom works. If it feels too challenging, can we acknowledge difference and walk away?

Among so many differing points of view it would be easy to retreat and never try to understand beyond our own opinions. If we stick to that pattern of relating how can we hope to bridge some of the divides in present thinking?

 

David Work is a BACP registered psychotherapist working with adults, offering long term individual psychotherapy. He works with individuals in Hove and Lewes.

To enquire about psychotherapy sessions with David , please contact him here, or to view our full clinical team, please click here.

 

Further reading by David Work –

Save? Edit? Delete?

Football, psychotherapy and engaging with male clients

When Home and Work merge

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Enhancing the Positive Self

Why is it that we find it so difficult to identify the positives in ourselves and so easy to see the negatives?

As human beings we seem to be programmed to be able to identify our failings, e.g. what we’re no good at, what we haven’t done or what didn’t go well. Or it might be that you can’t stop thinking about the one negative comment that was made about something you did at work or the one criticism that you received amongst all the compliments. It maybe that you find it really difficult to accept compliments, that you dismiss them, play them down or bat them back instead of fully accepting them.

We can have a bias to notice our faults rather than our qualities. This can stem from being taught in our early experiences to focus on our mistakes and wrong doings and being told as a child to do better.

We may also have encountered disapproval or ridicule if we have shown appreciation of our own successes. Consequently we may have stopped valuing our achievements and come to believe that anything we do well is luck.
We can find it difficult to think well of ourselves. To think well of ourselves or to say positive statements about ourselves can feel uncomfortable, risky or just wrong. This may stem from being told to not be big headed, to not boast or blow your own trumpet and not to get to big for your boots.

Thinking negatively of ourselves can lead to low self esteem, depression and anxiety. If we hold negative beliefs about ourselves we tend to screen for evidence from our experience that these beliefs are true. This leads to negative thoughts, in particular self critical thoughts or anxious predictions, which then corroborates and strengthens the belief.

To change this negative view of ourselves we need to focus more on all the positive aspects of ourselves. A useful exercise to shift your focus to a more positive view of yourself is to write a list of all the positive aspects of yourself, to consider all your achievements, skills, qualities, strengths, and good characteristics of yourself.

We rarely pay attention to all the positive things we do, our qualities, positive outcomes or positive comments from others. The fact that we don’t do this can make this a challenging exercise to do. It maybe that you only come up with a few to start with and that’s ok. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have any qualities or strengths, it means you are out of the habit of noticing them.

It can be useful to ask for the help of a close friend or family member, someone you know who would be supportive and may have a different perspective of you than you do of yourself. Be aware you may still get into negative self evaluations or discount the positives as being small or not significant. You wouldn’t do this with the negatives so don’t with the positives! Also remember you don’t have to do these positive things 100% of the time, that wouldn’t be possible.

To build on this it can be useful to keep a positive data log in which you recognise examples of your positive attributes on a daily basis, i.e. at the end of each day write down examples from your day that illustrate certain positive qualities you have. For example: listened to a work colleague – considerate and a good listener, did the hoovering – being house proud, played with the children – fun to be with. By keeping a daily record you will not only be acknowledging your positive qualities as things you did in the past, but also acknowledging them as things you do everyday.

Increasing your awareness of your positive qualities on a regular basis can have a positive impact on how you feel about yourself. It can help you to view yourself more kindly, to appreciate and value yourself. This in turn can help to improve self esteem and self worth.

Melanie Fennell (2009) writes on Overcoming Low Self Esteem and suggests the following questions to help in identifying your good points:

What do you like about yourself, however small and fleeting?
What characteristics do you have that are positive?
What are some of your achievements, however small?
What are some challenges you have overcome?
What are some skills or talents that you have, however modest?
What do others say they like about you?
What are some attributes you like in others that you also share?
What aspects of yourself would you appreciate if they were aspects of another person?
How might someone who cares about you describe you?
What bad qualities do I not have?

 

Rebecca Mead is an accredited, registered and experienced Psychotherapist offering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) to individuals adults.  Rebecca is available at our Brighton and Hove Practice.

 

To enquire about psychotherapy sessions with Rebecca Mead, please contact her here, or to view our full clinical team, please click here.

 

Further reading by Rebecca Mead –

Is that a fact or an opinion?

As we come out of lockdown, will a number of us be feeling socially anxious?

New Year’s Resolutions

Making Changes

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) explained

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How Psychotherapy can help shape a better world

In Psychotherapy people learn how to reflect more on their lives, choices, behaviours and feelings. This more thoughtful and reflective mode translates into how one sees her or his world and their place within it.

We learn to feel more connected to ourselves and others, and to behave in more thoughtful ways as a result of greater self-awareness. This ‘looking inwards’ has sometimes been mistaken for individualistic or self-indulgent. However, what it does is exactly the opposite – we can only relate better to others and the world around us when we have first developed a better relationship with ourselves. Qualities which are usually seen as altruistic, selfless, and giving usually stem from a place of gratitude and generosity. Whilst some have it in themselves already, others will need to learn it.

Psychotherapy is also about congruence and authenticity. The more out of touch we are with our true values, needs and wishes, the more we suffer. Psychotherapy puts us back in touch with those values, needs and wishes, through a complex process of working through barriers which we have put in place early in our lives.

These needs and wishes are not material or superfluous, but are universally felt needs for connection, love and belonging. The more we diverge from these needs, the more alone and isolated we become. Admitting the need for connection and love can sometimes be painful and even shameful. This is because our fundamental early needs for connection, attunement and love have not been met in the past – to varying degrees.

Only through realising our early wounds, can we begin to heal and move past them into a different way of being in the world which entails connectedness, support, caring and giving. In essence, some of us will need to learn how to feel and give love.

Learning how to love others is the most fundamental quality needed during any crisis. If we can’t love, we harm – ourselves and others. When we love, we can extend ourselves to others, empathise and feel with others. When we truly see someone else’s pain, we see them as a ‘real other’. This applies not just to human beings, but also animals and nature.

In Psychotherapy we can work on lessening this ‘disconnect’ between who we want to be and how we currently live. People discover new ways of being and living as a result of this work. Therefore, in key times such as these, let us move consciously into shaping a better world for everyone and the planet we live in.

 

Sam Jahara is a Psychotherapist and Co-founder of Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. She has a special interest in how Psychotherapy can influence social change.

 

Further reading by Sam Jahara

Making the most of your online therapy session

How Psychotherapy will be vital in helping people through the Covid-19 crisis

Leaving the Family

Psychotherapy and the climate crisis

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Home is in my Head: Rediscovering your Identity in a New Culture

The urge to migrate twists through the marrow of our bones; the restless energy moving our ancestors across vast wastelands in search of a better life mirrors our journey to self-actualisation.  With global migration on the rise what happens to your relationship to yourself and to others when  you leave your birth country for a different life? How do you fit yourself to a culture that is both exciting and un-lived and yet as closed as an unread book?

Years ago my mother an economic migrant and native french speaker, studied French A Level at my school together with my peers. Back then I didn’t understand and was embarrassed by her presence in the school corridors.  Now I see how courageous and important it was to navigate, and excel in, a world of English teenagers (she achieved Grade A).  Undoubtedly she struggled with her inner voice that continues to taunt ‘you are a guest in this country’.  How much I ingested of her shame I can’t say. It is impossible to separate the hidden toxicity of shame from my identity – the me who lives, breathes and continually adapts to the pull of three different cultures: my parents’ and the British culture I was born into.

Whether through choice or forced migration the traumatic consequences of relocation can include rootlessness, alienation, difficulties in relating to others and disconnection to yourself – it requires emotional investment to redefine yourself in an alien culture, to start to fit in, to feel a sense of belonging.  Dislocation leads to a sense of disease, of being ill at ease with the person you thought you were, without a clear sense of yourself in relation to others. Says Gestalt theorist Yontef (1993)  ‘Living that is not based on the truth of oneself leads to feelings of dread, guilt and anxiety’.

You might ask who am I in this new place I inhabit, how do I move, talk, occupy this alien environment? Whose space is it? Am I allowed in? Will the other give up some of their space for me in the territorial dance between us?

“I can’t stay in one place, my home is in my head”* state A-wa, an Israeli pop group who sing in Yemeni as an homage to their grandparents.  This sentiment is felt as a spiritual and physical load, the burden of those who carry the heart and soul of their homeland with them wherever they go.

I hold inside me poignant stories of others’ longings for a secure base: the European man who seeks love looks for a woman who understands the food he used to eat at his mother’s table.  The woman whose future lies in repeated migrations – whose only home is her partner.

Perhaps a way to reorient yourself to a new country is in finding allies in people from your own culture or embracing your partner’s family. In the therapy room you may want to explore finding a way back to yourself, the you who hasn’t stood still but hasn’t yet found a way to fit in.  Therapy can support you to restore the sense of who you are, what you want to say, what you want to ask for.

By rooting yourself in your own identity, you can re-build self esteem and ultimately risk new and exciting relationships in the world around you – your colleagues, peers, future friends and family.

 

Resources: 

*  A-wa, (2019) from the album Bayti Fi Rasi

Yontef, G (1993) Awareness, Dialogue & Process: Essays on Gestalt Therapy. Highland. N.Y: The Gestalt Journal Press

 

Please follow the links to find out more about about our therapists and the types of therapy services we offer.  We have practices in Hove and Lewes.  Online therapy is also available.

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Psychotherapy supervision

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 setting. As I learn and reflect more on psychotherapy supervision, it has made me think about the supervision I’ve received throughout my career so far. During a recent group discussion with other professionals, we asked ourselves, “What constitutes good supervision?”

From my own learning and experience, including trial and error with supervisors who did not meet my needs, I thought about the importance of the following elements in supervision:

  • Education
  • Ethics
  • Political and social awareness
  • Relationship to power and authority
  • Self-awareness
  • Supervisor/therapist compatibility
  • Theoretical and philosophical values
  • Trust

Education

I want to be able to learn from my supervisor and absorb the knowledge of someone more experienced who will positively inform the work I do. Therefore, I have chosen to work with supervisors who keep up to date with the latest research and enjoy both learning and developing others.

The way supervisor and supervisee think together is vital for a productive relationship. This doesn’t mean always agreeing with one another, but having a strong alliance where difficult issues can be discussed and resolved.

Ethics

Ethics and client safety is paramount to the work we do. Therefore, an ethical supervisor needs to be able to explore, question and reflect honestly with their supervisee whilst always holding the client’s wellbeing and safety in mind.

Political and Social Awareness

We all exist in a social, political and cultural context. Therefore, this surely needs to be a part of supervision. Like in psychotherapy, a politically and socially aware therapist and supervisor will think about the place in society of their client and supervisee through their culture, sexuality, gender, age, class, ability and relationship to their identity.

Relationship to Power and Authority

This takes me to the supervisor’s relationship to power and authority and how they use, or potentially abuse, their role. A supervisor needs to hold their authority and personal power in a way that acknowledges the power imbalance in the supervisory relationship, whilst being open to being challenged and learning from others. Granted, this is a fine balance to strike and one which is entirely possible to hold if the supervisor him/herself is willing to have an ongoing enquiring relationship to their power and authority and be honest with themselves in these areas.

Self-awareness

This relates to the point above. For a practitioner to be able to supervise others in an ethical way, they need to practice what they preach. Senior practitioners can fall into the trap of thinking they know it all and don’t need to be professionally supervised or have therapy. In my opinion, this attitude can lead to a fall in professional standards, and even to professional negligence or malpractice.

Supervisor/therapist compatibility

Lack of compatibility between supervisor and therapist can have significant consequences for career development. Often, trainee therapists end up with a supervisor who is allocated to them, rather than actively choosing the right practitioner for them. As a trainee therapist, this experience led me to staying in supervision with an allocated supervisor for way longer than I should have. In the end I left feeling resentful and frustrated with the lack of compatibility between us in theoretical approach and professional direction. My learning had stalled and was hungry for someone that could help me grow professionally. I was lucky to then find the right person from whom I learnt immensely as a professional.

Theoretical and philosophical values

I believe that supervisor and supervisee need to be on the same page on the fundamental basics of what constitutes effective psychotherapy or counselling. Also, on the level of training and skill needed to offer an ethical and professional service which is of sound therapeutic value to the client.

Trust

Arguably, without trust there is no relationship which can withstand the challenges of this key professional alliance. The supervisor’s role is, in my opinion, the most important support system of a clinician. Hence, there needs to be enough trust for the therapist to be open and honest, and feel able to navigate through difficult issues with their supervisor. Both are required to acknowledge and respect that mutual trust is vital for the benefit of all involved: supervisor, supervisee and, ultimately, the client.

Sam Jahara is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, certified transactional analyst and clinical supervisor. She works with clients and supervisees in Hove and Lewes.

Further reading

Clinical Supervision

Self Care 101 for Therapists

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What makes a good leader?

The result of the US presidential election has created shockwaves around the world. The USA is taking its first steps into an uncertain future, with the reverberations of one of history’s most brutal presidential campaigns still echoing.    At this time, it seems apposite to reflect on the qualities of a strong leader.

Most people would agree that self-awareness is a vital element of good leadership. In order to effectively lead a team, group, organisation (or indeed, a country) you need to have a conscious understanding of your own character, desires and motives.

It is vital for a good leader to be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture. They should be able to examine their own internal responses, to have a clear vision and find a way of delivering something to others – a strategy, an idea, a plan – that has been carefully thought through.

 

The ability to reflect on emotional responses is crucially important – not to just blindly react to a feeling, which might lead to lashing out or sinking into despair, but to be able to identify it and to be curious about where it originates and what it might be telling you.

A strong leader will be resilient and robust enough to see challenges as opportunities for growth and to adopt a responsive, rather than a reactive style. Someone who has developed their self-knowledge does not become triggered easily or allows perceived slights to their ego to distract them from their objectives.

The ability to communicate effectively is also highly important. An effective leader should be able to listen attentively and empathise with the points of views of others, especially if these differ from their own. It is important for a leader to bring diverse people together to obtain a variety of different viewpoints. However, this does not mean that leaders should unquestioningly accept ideas – the ability to effectively challenge and provide constructive feedback is hugely important and will earn respect.

A strong leader should be firm but fair, and should set and hold clear boundaries, inspiring trust and confidence in others. This can be a difficult tightrope to walk – too harsh, and you alienate others. Too soft, and you are not taken seriously.

Of course, this process of self-development will never be entirely finished, but the ability to dispassionately examine your own behaviour and feelings is key to developing your capacity for self-awareness.

Unfortunately, as we all know, sometimes, the people that are chosen for leadership roles are not necessarily those who encompass these ideal qualities. Many people have stories of workplace bosses whose unreasonable behaviour makes work difficult for everyone they encounter. It remains to be seen how effective the new President of the United States will be in encompassing these qualities.

However, we can all work towards adopting these characteristics in our daily lives. After all, we all control our own behaviour and reactions to events in the world. You are in charge of all the various physical and mental components that make up the whole of ‘you’, whatever that may be. While matters of world leadership may be outside our control, we can start with ourselves, today.

Kate Connolly and Sam Jahara

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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 reflective pause before going back into the busy-ness of working life.

I am sharing some of my reflections in the professional domain in here, hoping it will inspire you to think about yours too. This can be followed in any format. Here are some of my appreciations and challenges, and suggestions for further thoughts:

What I have appreciated in the past year

I am really appreciative of what a good year this has been for our practice, Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy. We have continued to offer a valuable, skilled, ethical and professional service to many individuals in East Sussex. In addition, working alongside other skilled therapists who enjoy practicing from our premises has continued to be a positive experience.

As therapists we are fully committed to improving ourselves in all domains: intellectually, psychologically, emotionally and physically. Thus, I am really appreciative of all the great extra training we have undertaken in the past year. We continue to be engaged and passionate about the latest research in the fields of psychotherapy and mental health. This also includes looking further afield, including the areas of functional medicine, nutrition and health. We strongly believe that the more we develop ourselves as people and as practitioners, and the more we “walk the talk”, the better we can be of service to our clients.

What I have found challenging:

Balancing work and life is a modern day challenge for many of us, and I am certainly not immune to it! Learning to self-care is an ongoing endeavour and one that we at Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy are deeply committed to.

Some of the challenges of being really passionate about self-development and further training is finding the right balance. 2015 has been a training-heavy year, involving a great deal of academic reading and writing. Therefore, my intention is to give myself more of a break in 2016 and focus more on integrating last year’s accomplishments.

Continuing on this strand of thought I elaborated by including:

– What I have learnt

– What I’d like to let go of

– Some intentions for the year ahead

To summarise, I continue to strive for integration and balance in the personal and professional domains, which entails combining worthwhile and contributing work with quality of life. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it!?

Happy New Year to all!

Sam Jahara

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