COVID-19 counselling preparation A guide for clients and therapists. Life in the era of COVID-19 has thrown up many challenges for clients and therapists alike. The practice of and engagement with therapy has in most cases moved from the physical to virtual. The safety and neutrality of the counselling room is absent for [...]
Diagnoses. Am I on the spectrum? More people I encounter either have been or feel they should be given a diagnosis to explain their feelings. A reason why they feel they experience the world differently to how they believe they are expected to. A name given to not ‘fitting in’. Does living with a diagnosis [...]
Confusion. Why am I so confused about what I should do? Each day we are faced with choices, from the trivial ‘what to wear’; to the significant ‘Should I stay in this job’. Occasionally these can be profound: ‘Should I end my relationship? Should my father go into a home? Should I have [...]
Trauma. Am I suffering from PTSD? Telling someone ‘I feel traumatised’ will generally elicit the response, ‘stop overreacting!’. The reality is that traumatic experiences are surprisingly common. A 2008 Canadian study (Van Ameringen et al., 2008) found that 76% of participants had been exposed to at least 1 traumatic event in their life. [...]
Anger. Why do I get so angry at small things? Anger is the hardest emotion for most of us to deal with. It can turn inward as impotent rage or outward blasting those around us. It can challenge our sense of control to the extent that people often describe ‘..being beside myself..’ as [...]
Unhappiness. Why when I have everything am I still unhappy? We usually know when and why we are not happy, but why do we sometimes struggle to count our blessings when they seem plentiful? It can be uncomfortable to realise that we still feel insecure and unhappy despite the 'evidence' that we shouldn't [...]
Grief and Loss. Will I ever get over this? It is a curious truth that whilst not everyone gets to live, everyone gets to die. Until we experience such loss as bereavement, we can barely imagine the impact of coping with bereavement, yet it is one of the few things that we all [...]
Relationships. Is this what my relationship is supposed to feel like? Why can being with someone we want to love make us anxious? Many people say they have problems with trust or being open with the person they feel they should feel safest with and this causes hurt and doubt. Having someone to [...]
Loneliness . Why do I feel so alone with this? Feeling that we are alone facing the worlds problems, or on our own with problems that face us can leave us feeling overwhelmed and powerless. Along with feelings of loneliness , we can often feel most isolated with feelings and problems that others widely [...]
