Many people struggle with boundaries. They are often the challenging part of handling relationships, and represent the line between you and others. Your sense of what this line is like in relation to specific people is a good place to start thinking about putting better boundaries in place for yourself. Managing boundaries can be an […]
Regulating Embodied Stress Using Breath & Movement
Although humans have evolved over time it’s worth looking to the fundamental survival mechanisms in our bodies and minds to understand how to manage stress, including traumatic stress. This is because our bodies automatically react to any kind of threats in our environment, including at unconscious levels. For people who have experienced significant and/or repeated […]
Introducing Myself Online
Whilst we’re all behind screens more than ever during lockdown, I thought it might be helpful to introduce myself. My name is Erene, and I’m an Integrative Psychotherapist. I have worked with adult clients for ten years so far, including setting up two community-based services between 2014 and 2018. I am also a writer, and speaker, […]
Mental Health Awareness Week: Busting Myths About Asking for Support
For MHAW I’d like to bust some myths about psychotherapy, so that people feel more able to access support for their mental health in this way. Here are five myths I hear a lot about psychotherapy: ‘You have to go to therapy for years to make any progress’ Not true at all. Some types of […]
Online & Phone Psychotherapy
I don’t believe that authentic, therapeutic connection online or by phone is impossible. In practice it can actually highlight nuances that are full of important information such as tone of voice, specific words, and enhanced facial expressions. These can ensure that people are fully heard, and responded to in psychotherapy. It is also hugely important […]
Understanding & Managing Emotions
We’re socialised to consider certain emotions as negative. We’re also then more likely to feel bad about them when we feel them. That doubles the problem, so where to start? Every emotion is valid, including ones you’re experiencing for the first time during lockdown. It’s normal to feel things you haven’t felt before when something […]
Accessing Mental Health Services: Why This Matters More Than Ever During the Covid-19 Crisis
Accessibility to mental health services is an important topic right now. I have thought, spoken, and written about accessibility to mental health services throughout my career. This takes on a particular meaning during this Covid-19 crisis, especially as accessibility isn’t just about being able to afford or access a funded service. It’s also about it […]
A Response to Weinstein’s Lawyer
Trigger warning: several versions of sexual violence discussed in some detail. A note on language: the range of words used to refer to different types of sexual violence are used interchangeably to denote the many ways someone can experience it. ‘Asked whether she had herself ever been sexually assaulted, she replied, to the astonishment of […]
The Climate Crisis in Psychotherapy
People generally imagine a Psychotherapist or Counsellor as someone who sits quietly. This might involve them being silent for long periods of time, as they take in whatever their client is bringing that week. Often, this imagined idea translates into one of the myths I hear most often when I tell people what my job […]
How Many Appointments Will I Need?
One question that almost always gets asked when I meet a new client is ‘How many appointments will I need?’. There are lots of different motivations for asking this question all rooted in the emotions of starting counselling or psychotherapy, such as anxiety, uncertainty, and urgency. It can also be a practical question as working with […]