Useful psychotherapy articles

Anxiety – Not all in the mind? Anxiety in modern society is a common issue born of many personal historical, psychological and social issues, not least of all our fear of exclusion and difference. Our culture has become so homogenised that deviances from the norm can create crippling anxiety and fear of the future. And never more... [read more]

Its important as a Parent, MAN and FATHER to look after your Mental Health, please take a read...  I am Genovieve passionate through personal and professional experience eager to reach out and provide support and psychoeducation (the missing jigsaw, in some men’s upbringing), to combat mental health issues within the family dynamics. Did you know… men and... [read more]

'They f*** you up, your mum and dad.They may not mean to, but they do.They fill you with the faults they had   And add some extra, just for you.' *So runs the poem by Phillip Larkin and this seems to be the basic belief behind a lot of therapy. However, many people - counsellors and clients - find... [read more]

Having a baby is a life changing experience. As with any transition in life, such a change has an impact on our lives and future. We each respond differently to such challenges, but how we respond has longer term effects on our relationships with ourselves and others. As a society, we still stigmatise people who aren’t... [read more]

At what point was it decided that there are either strong women or soft women in this world? This categorical taxonomy is naïve, if not even dangerous. We are humans and all our traits are better depicted as dimensional scales. In other words, we are both strong and soft at different times in our lives. And... [read more]

Grief and loss come in many forms, whether that is the death of a loved one, terminal illness, the loss of a job position or income, children leaving home (also known as empty nest syndrome), life changes and upheavals such as divorce, moving home or retirement, pets dying or running away, or any other type of... [read more]

We always seem to be in such a rush nowadays. If we want to know something, we just look at our “Smart” phones. The answer is instant- no effort is needed from us, just demand and passive consumption. We are ‘served’ at self-check outs- for our speed and convenience. It also removed that need for a bit... [read more]

States of Anxiety This was prompted by something a client said to me the other day. We were speaking of their anxiety; their understanding of the causes of it, the effects of it on their life and what they (I will use an anonymous ‘they’ to protect their identity) had been doing to cope with it throughout their... [read more]

When looking for psychotherapy, one cannot really know what each modality of psychotherapy really is and how one might benefit from them or not. So it is not a very informed choice... And even as experts, we sometimes struggle keeping up with all new modalities and models that pop up every now and then. This is... [read more]

Being Anxious Being anxious can be described in many different ways: as tension, feeling on edge, nervous, insecure, or worried. Other words used to describe anxiety include uncertainty, vulnerability, and feeling apprehensive, scared or insecure. Describing the experience of anxiety, a fairly common expression is “Anxiety is an inevitable part of life”. Or, there might even be some... [read more]

  Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go, they merely determine where you start (Nido Qubein) With the 10th October being World Mental Health Day, the quote above might offer a much needed signal of hope, perhaps when you are struggling to find some. This, perhaps in spite of the recent results from the latest survey... [read more]

The recent convictions of celebrities Dave Lee Travis, Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris have led the media and the CPS to applaud the breaking down of a long held taboo about sexual abuse (SA). However my experience suggests that a handful of celebrity convictions are not enough to help SA survivors to work through the complex trauma... [read more]

A recent report out by ATL, the British education union tells us that last year 6 out of 10 teachers were subjected to aggressive behaviour from pupils. This also included physically abusive behaviour. Dr Leonard Sax, whose latest book Collapse of Parenting came out this month, tells us  that parents are no longer in charge. He comments on children’s rudeness... [read more]

Carers need help too – how counselling can help you cope Being a carer Are you looking after a parent, spouse, disabled child, or friend? Many of us in the UK are now shouldering the main responsibility for looking after a loved one, either with us at home or living elsewhere. We all know that this is a very... [read more]

Rebellious Kids! What does having a rebellious child mean for you?  If you have a teenager you will have an idea… surly, grumpy, un-responsive. What is it all about? Why do kids need to go through that stage and why are some worse than others? In essence, what the rebellious kid is doing is developing and desperately... [read more]

EMDR is NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) recommended for the treatment of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). However, EMDR has been shown to be effective also for the treatment of panic and anxiety disorders, phobias, depression, survivors of early sexual abuse, the management of chronic pain and complicated mourning. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing... [read more]

On the 25th of this month, British Summer Time will officially draw to an end as the clocks go back one hour. For many, this will trigger cause for celebration, as that much needed extra sixty minutes in bed is recaptured, before we make our way to work in the inky soup of Autumn dusk. Then... [read more]

It is of course true that there are many different kinds of psychotherapy and counselling – person centred and cognitive behavioural therapy are perhaps two of the best known, but other well-known approaches include gestalt therapy, psychoanalysis and transactional analysis. So how do you know which to choose? Is one better than another or are they... [read more]

Why did Freud see human nature as being motivated solely by instincts for pleasure? Freud expressed the view that humans are primarily driven by sexual and aggressive instincts and that sexual and aggressive energy if not able to be expressed in a natural or direct way may be channelled into cultural activities such as art and science.... [read more]

The Truth about Habits: Learn (lûrn) v. To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery of through experience or study. Habit (hab'it) n. A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behaviour that is acquired through frequent repetition. We were all born with a great capacity for learning and our habits are the results of that learning. Which habits have you learnt over the... [read more]

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Fetal alcohol syndrome is a well-known and well-described condition in both psychiatric and pediatric literature. Somewhat less known is fetal alcohol effects or FAE. While not generally causing physical many of the characteristics of FAS, FAA has often-similar cognitive and emotional impact. Cynthia is just such a child. Born of an alcohol dependent and drug-abusing mother,... [read more]

‘Like Angst’: Does it Cut Both Ways? ‘Like anxiety’, or ‘Like angst’[1] as I call it, represents one aspect of the many problems associated with social media anxiety, particularly amongst younger people, but not exclusively in my view. Broadly speaking, it describes the anxiety someone feels when the number of ‘likes’ they receive for a post are... [read more]

A critical exploration of the history of the treatment of mental illness- implications for psychotherapy in the 21st Century Introduction This account explores the history of psychiatric services from the Victorian asylums and institutions of the 19th Century through to the services provided in the present day as part of the Government’s modernisation agenda. It examines the role... [read more]

People have always been fascinated and mystified by dreaming and fairly recent groundbreaking research by the psychologist Joe Griffin has shed an interesting light on the purpose of dreaming. It has been well documented that we dream when we enter the REM state during sleep, and now we have a greater understanding of the link between the... [read more]

The Struggle for Authenticity in the Second Act To step back into the sphere of human being demands something other than therapeutic technique, objective evidence, and curative power. It requires the inspiration of art. All great art worthy of that description calls us to see the world and ourselves more clearly. The bibliotherapeutic impact of the... [read more]