Image above: Illustration from The Arthur Rackham Fairy Book, 1933 ‘Goblin mode – “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that […]
I imagine and even hope that your response to reading a psychotherapists article on this subject will be sceptical. Our society does and has for a long time routinely expressed […]
Like all professions we undertake professional development activities and I like to mix technical training with a focus; for example over the last few years we have concentrated on psychiatric […]
Research out this month showed that the prescribing of antidepressants has reached yet another new record level. From 2021 to 2022 the number of prescriptions rose for the sixth successive […]
I’ve noticed a tinge of annoyance when reading in the media about ‘Micro aggressions’. Having reflected, I realise it is because it is a concept that encourages us to be […]
If during the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend, you found yourself focusing on a period of time in the past with longing and affection you will not have been alone. […]
It is natural for us to make judgments in the current moment based in part upon old experiences and information and this means we never enter into a new situation […]
As we emerge from the pandemic there are some emerging differences in its impact on people’s lives. For many the end of the pandemic brings a return to normality, for others it’s about […]
It really is a very busy time for us working in the mental health and psychological wellbeing field. Services for children and young people are particularly strained and we are […]
In the twenty years since I started in the therapy profession, the stigma around counselling and psychotherapy has significantly reduced and over the last few years it has become a […]
I’ve been thinking about how Chiswick, a place thought of passionately by so many as home, offers such a positive opportunity for friendship. Its thriving centre of shops and meeting […]
Tucked in amongst all the latest terrible news streams this week was a reference to something called ‘Doomscrolling’. I assumed that this was something newly created by an eager journalist […]
I hope that Storm Eunice did not cause you or yours any harm and that you were fortunate not to suffer any damage, losses or inconvenience? For my part I […]
Again in the news we hear there is a huge increase in people struggling with their wellbeing, with anxiety and depression rates soaring. Services are being expanded but it is getting […]
Rather than write about new year resolutions I’ve decided to write about what usually prevents them from being achieved – negative thinking. Everytime you see a news article about COVID […]
In something lost, something is found and in something found something is lost. I don’t know about you but the extent to which the last couple of years and the […]
Since the pandemic I’ve noticed an explosion of public communications that I’m not sure never existed before. Alongside public communications that give straightforward instructions such as ‘Mind the gap between […]
This is a question which is probably as old as humanity itself but first credited to psychologist Sir Francis Galton in 1869. Ever since, many studies have been conducted, trying […]
Image above: American athlete Simone Biles Coverage of the mental health of Olympians raises the question ‘should you push on through or step back?’ One of the differences about the […]
The word trauma is one that is being increasingly used, understood but also misunderstood. Often there is something really powerful when someone realises that the feelings they are struggling with […]
Local news reports show that Hounslow has been recording higher than average COVID infections whilst vaccine rates have been lagging, so “vaccine hesitancy” is something coming up in many conversations. […]
Feeling the pressure to get back to “normal”? Recognising our vulnerability to stress is essential. One way of getting a sense of how you are doing might be to pay […]
As we get used to the fact that we are not yet free of COVID-19’s restrictions it may be worth taking a moment to think about the feeling of disappointment. […]
It seems that as we emerge from the various lockdown restrictions many people are finding themselves struggling to adjust, with accounts of relationships under strain, unhealthy patterns of behaviour around […]
It’s spring, more restrictions are lifting and there is a sense of things improving or moving in the right direction – yes? Mental health awareness week brought a raft of […]
Too stressed to notice that April was Stress Awareness Month? April was Stress Awareness Month and yet with so many stressors in our lives at the moment I think we […]
Do you know how to recognise anxiety, would you know if you were having a panic attack? Last week I wrote about re-entry fear and anxiety and because a few […]
Return to new normal can bring “re-entry fear” and anxiety People have been talking to us about the feelings related to the easing of lockdown restrictions, some feel hopeful and […]
Spring cleaning for psychological wellbeing and your relationships Having marked the first day of spring, with positive news on the vaccine rollout and with COVID restrictions set to ease further […]
Recently there have been many news articles quoting research that paints a grim picture of the impact of the pandemic on our young people. Teenage years are supposed to be […]