The individual sacrifices and efforts for our collective wellbeing are bringing out some beautiful opportunities for creativity, compassion and solidarity. And hopefully a stronger, more fair, more cooperative society will result. Alongside that, there is also acute pain and trauma stemming from the disconnection. This includes being unable to be with the people we love… Continue reading Disconnection and desperation
In the therapy room, there are many ways we can use creativity to explore death and dying. If we take Irvin Yalom’s analogy of “staring at the sun” it can feel too painful, or even be impossible to directly look at or fully comprehend our own mortality. Viewing and exploring thoughts, feelings and meaning associated with death through a creative medium can be a way of reducing the glare and perhaps even providing opportunity for greater insight.
That's just what we did today at our first Faversham Death Café. Tea, cake and conversation In a cosy wooden cabin at the welcoming Abbey Physic Community Garden, with a plentiful supply of tea, delicious homemade vegan cake and an unexpected abundance of snacks, a group a strangers gathered and talked about death and dying.… Continue reading Let’s talk about death and dying
The counselling journey brings us to our own reflection. How do we see ourselves? What do we believe others' perception of us is? We are then invited to question that surface image and look deeper. What we see on the surface is made up from what is beneath and what is reflected from the world… Continue reading Our reflection and beneath
The first Wednesday in November is National Stress Awareness Day, a great reminder to think about what stress means to us and others. Understanding your own stress I wanted to share with you a short animation I found from Bill Cunningham which explains the "Stress Bucket" analogy - developed from an idea from Brabban and… Continue reading Stress; understanding yours
I often get asked why I became a counsellor. My answer is; authentic connection. The counselling relationship provides meaningful, authentic human connection, and the opportunity for the person in counselling to be truly heard and understood as they are, and as they are experiencing life in that moment. The therapeutic process works on enabling the… Continue reading Why I do what I do
For the past few days, whilst driving I've noticed the beautiful contrast of the clouds against bright blue sky. I wanted to photograph them to share with you, along with a mindfulness technique I was introduced to by Simone at Sati Yoga; a way of bringing your attention to how you are feeling right now,… Continue reading What’s your internal weather report?
Are you going over the same thoughts again and again? Struggling to live the life you want to lead but not sure how to change things? Do you feel trapped by your thoughts and feelings, with no-one to share them with? Are you in emotional distress and want to understand how to ease that pain?… Continue reading Need to talk?
A treasure trove of antique and restored tools at Old English Tools, Standard Quay, Faversham I recently published an article on Counselling Directory, describing how I view Integrative Counselling as a craft. Read the full article here. Integrative Counselling means bringing together different ways of counselling to best achieve the outcomes you want from therapy.… Continue reading What does an integrative counsellor do?
Labyrinth Feeling like there's no way through or out? Overwhelmed? Lost all hope of things getting better? Wondering if the people you care about would be better off without you? Do you just want the pain to stop? Make your next step a step towards talking to someone about how you feel. There is always… Continue reading No way out?
