We’ve all encountered people who do a lot. Or perhaps we like to be doing ourselves? People who do stuff are useful to have around as they are excellent at getting things done! However, there often comes a point when a limit is reached and doing tips into over-doing. How…
‘How To Talk To A Defensive Person’ (15th February 2014) has proved to be the most popular post on this blog. Finding a way to have important conversations with someone who fends off all advances appears to be a subject which touches hearts and minds across all cultures; it’s not…
Panic attacks commonly bring people to counselling or psychotherapy. Usually, I am asked how to make them go away. Rather than simply treating the symptoms (e.g. through breathing techniques), I tend to look at the anxiety behind the panic attack as providing a warning or message that something is amiss…
Recently, I had a call from someone looking for a counsellor. They asked me two perfectly reasonable questions – “How do you work? And what do you actually do?” These are tricky questions to answer since the kind of narrative therapy I offer is not so much about what I…
Ever find yourself thinking ‘I have no choice’ or ‘I couldn’t say no’? These are phrases I hear very frequently when people talk to me about what is going wrong in their lives. It is common to feel manoeuvred into a corner by a situation and that there is only one, or at best perhaps…
When we are going through a difficult time in our lives we often turn to those closest to us for comfort and advice. Talking to friends and family can help us make sense of what is happening in our world and give us much-needed support. What can we do to make it…
We all get anxious. Most of the time we can contain the feelings that accompany anxiety; we know that they are uncomfortable but also that they will pass. However, many of us will have periods in our lives when excess anxiety overstays its welcome and we might need some help in
Metaphors often prove to be a very useful tool when trying to find out what is going on in someone’s life and how best to help. People who come to me for therapy might describe a tangled mess of emotions or a feeling of carrying a heavy weight on their shoulders. But what…
You’ve signed up for some sessions with a psychotherapist or counsellor. You’re committing your time, energy and hard-earned cash. You’ve even been warned that the road ahead often gets tricky here and there. How can you be sure that this slippery-sounding process is going to work?
People coming for counselling at my practice in Brighton often ask me for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Perhaps they have read about CBT in the press or it has been mentioned to them by their GP. CBT is one of many approaches to counselling, rather than a separate form. I adopt…
