The most effective ways to deal with loss Throughout my career, I have helped a variety of people come to terms with grief and loss in my bereavement counselling sessions in Stretton, and because of this, I understand the necessary steps that need to be taken for the period to pass as painlessly as possible.…
When your relationship is on the rocks it can be hard to see a positive solution. It can affect your whole life and before you know it you can find yourself struggling to do the things you need to do – like go to work, get out of bed and even shower. Regardless of what…
Why Stress Management is Essential Whether you are struggling with a large workload, finding your studies too much or fighting to keep your relationship alive, having stress management techniques in your life is helpful in keeping you happy and healthy. Stress may not feel like a big deal and you probably think you just need…
What makes A Good Ending in Therapy? Relationships are hard work and when they end people can feel devastated. A secure therapeutic ‘alliance’ often helps clients find a more constructive way to say “goodbye”. But to do this, counsellors must focus on the end of therapy as a phase rather than a single event, as…
After a traumatic bereavement, people often feel intense rage mixed with guilt and shame. Every area of their life tends to be affected by such a sudden loss. But how this kind of experience can be treated has not been so clear. In a practice-oriented evidence review, Nicole Barlé and her colleagues recommend a comprehensive…
As a matter of course, mental health clinics try to address suicidality as a risk and build secure therapeutic relationships. Yet, client suffering means therapists working with this level of pain often feel helpless. Building a therapeutic alliance is therefore a tricky path, as therapists need to authentically empathise with their client’s suicidal wish, but…
On a regular basis, I hear that people ‘just want to be happy’. Happiness is defined differently by everyone. Some people think the key to happiness is more money, better working conditions, stronger family ties and although all of these contribute to your mood, the real key is improved self-care. In our fast-paced world, it’s…
One reason self-injury remains hidden is the commonly held view that those who self-injure are ‘attention-seeking’. Prejudice in the health service and the media can brand people as wasting professionals’ time and resources. Shame is compounded by visible scars and fear of being labelled ‘mentally ill’. Maggie Long is sceptical about whether self-injury is the…
Therapy can be “psychologically transformative” for clients who have been affected by their political, social and cultural environment. However, in a new paper in Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Andrew Samuels presents a more nuanced picture, showing that active engagement in political action, with other activists “leads to spirituality of some kind and spirituality informs political action”. The…
Although crying is effective for many people in everyday life, it doesn’t help everyone. In fact, in some cases it might do more harm than good. And while many studies suggest that therapists cry because they are moved by client’s struggles, we actually know relatively little about what therapists communicate when they cry in front…