Useful Articles by Counsellors and Psychotherapists

Feeling Anxious
Feeling anxious and stressed is a part of the modern world we live in. At times, it’s almost as if we’re telling ourselves being stressed is a good thing. We’re active, we’re busy, we’re meeting our deadlines and coping – a sign of how involved and engaged we are in finding a purpose in life.

But stress beyond a certain point can be a problem, and this is where understanding what anxiety is about can help. Some anxiety and stress can be a good thing. Before an interview or...

Sometimes it seems ‘as if’ we need a label to receive help or at least to be heard, depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, Personality Disorder or Bi-polar disorder.

Often the label is initially welcomed, as the relief that there is something amiss in ourselves, relationships or life generally has been served back to us as a ‘known’ condition. This recognition that distress is actively being experienced comes as a relief when it achieves a ‘label’. The hard part is when the label evades or isn’t in...

Communication is important. Your work, your relationships and your lives succeed or fail one conversation at a time. Good communication helps you overcome barriers, express who you are and what you believe, it helps you get what you want (ideally without sounding like a brat!), it encourages others to come out from behind themselves and show you who they really are and it inspires change.

Maybe you think I'm being a bit full on but I truly believe that good communication can and does do...

For many survivors, counselling may be the first time they have ever disclosed the abuse. They may have been locked into silence for years or even decades. Telling the counsellor can bring tremendous relief. On the other hand, some survivors may have revealed the abuse previously, only to be met with disbelief or rejection. Being heard and believed for the first time is an immensely important experience.

Trust is a difficult issue for most survivors of abuse. They may find it impossible to...

If you have somebody in your family who is struggling with Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) you will find an Article by me on this site providing some further thoughts on the topic. Please remember that your relative is a person in their own right. A person who is healthy and able in many ways, but who nonetheless has a disorder.

Do not allow the OCD to take over your family life, keep stress low and the families life as normal as possible.

For people with OCD...

OCD is an anxiety disorder and many of those that suffer from it realise that their obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour is irrational but they feel unable to stop them. The symptoms may come and go, but often they get worse at times of stress.

Many of us occasionally go back to the home to check that the iron is unplugged or the back door is locked, but when Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is involved this type of behaviour becomes excessive and it interferes with our...

Having just finished an excellent book by Sue Gerhardt “The Selfish Society - How we all forgot to love one another and made money instead” it reminded me of the unique value of counselling and therapy.

Increasingly I believe that the nature of the therapy hour is cherished in many cases by clients. The reason for this is the absence of “white noise” that we find ourselves battling. Last weeks Guardian reports on “sodcasting” - effectively the background music coming from tinny mobile...

The Free Love of the 60s is back!

Well, it is according to some free spirit gurus who want to spread the lurve in London.

Under the guise of self-help therapy, people have gathered in a room, stripped off and made statements to other people about their bodies and how they make them feel (strange, but they never did that on the last course I attended … would have added an interesting slant to the proceedings, I guess).

Well, this is certainly a different approach. Forgive me if you...

Confidence is a belief in yourself and your abilities and a freedom of doubt. Confidence is your opinion and the key to succeeding in many things you do.

Sometimes, people think that self-esteem and self-confidence is the same thing. Of course, these two things relate to each other but in the different ways. These two things must be present in people’s daily lives in order for them to believe that they have the ability to do all that they would like to do.

Self-esteem is a confidence and...

Relationships can be difficult to navigate and to manage if we have had some difficult early life experiences in relating to others and being related to. For example if we were often rejected by others in our lives then we have developed a reciprocal role of rejecting others.

There are a few common patterns that we can get into in relationships for fear of being rejected or taken advantage of, these can include:

Fear Of Hurting Other People’s Feelings Trap

Feeling that it is...