Everyone experiences anxiety. It’s not a pleasant feeling, but it is something everyone will feel from time to time. The fact is there are legitimate things to worry about in the world: from COVID or general health, to relationships or money. However if the feeling of anxiety becomes overwhelming and interferes in everyday activities it …
There is often a nervousness from counsellors about disclosing personal information to clients, and to examine the reasons for doing so or wanting to, because the therapy should always be focussed on the client’s needs over that of the therapist. While I do feel this is important, the most effective aspect of therapy is the …
What’s in a year? 366 days, 12 months, or 8784 hours when it came to 2020. I generally know how long a year is, but I take this information for granted sometimes. So what did I do in this time, how did I exist? How did I spend those hours? In thinking of 2020 what …
“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” Philip K. Dick The black and white image above shows autumn trees with mostly bare branches. A girl dressed in white is re-attaching the fallen leaves to the tree with string while a man in a suit appears to be addressing her. This is …
As a general election has been called in the UK I have been thinking more about the parallels between politics, the media and counselling. In politics and the media there seems to be a deliberate simplification and separating of people into opposing camps – either through an attitude of ‘winner takes it all’ or through …
“My voice just echoes off these walls…” – Nine Inch Nails, Echoplex I’ve always been fascinated by sound and remember very clearly the first time I used headphones to listen to music. It was on a Walkman which my Dad had lent me, and I remember being surprised at how loud and clear the music …
“What is it to take care of yourself? Getting paid? Getting laid? Getting married? Getting pregnant? Fighting for visibility in your market? Realising your potential? Being healthy, being clean, not making a fool of yourself, not hurting yourself? Shaving in all the right places? What am I taking care of?” – Jenny Hval So what …
As an existential-phenomenological counsellor, I believe that people exist in relationship to one another and the world around them. To put it another way, I believe that people are fundamentally relational beings and that our concept of ourselves as individual beings comes later. This is at odds with our capitalist society, which treats us as …
I’ve been thinking a lot about the language we use around mental health, and whether the way we describe mental health is reflective of people’s experience, or if instead it tells us more about the way society defines people. The way we think of mental health and specific ‘disorders’ have changed quite significantly over time, …
The main thing I took from studying Sociology at college was to question where information comes from. Why is this person or organisation telling me this, and why now? What are their motives? I think about this when reading the news, listening to official government narratives, when hearing clients’ stories, when reading fiction, and even …