Expert articles by counsellors and psychotherapists

A genogram is a family map that both the client and therapist draw together. It can be used therapeutically to give clients an overview of family relationships, repetitive patterns of behaviour and coping strategies.It is a collaborative way of working which allows the client to take control of the process, to have the freedom to share and represent creatively as much or as little information as wanted. It provides the opportunity to look at presenting problems from multiple perspectives.The...

Depression is a common mental health issue. Which renders individuals with feelings of powerlessness, failure, sadness, emptiness, loneliness and anger. These feelings are prolonged over time and may seem interminable. Individual’s thoughts, physical health and sense of self are often affected.  Symptoms differ from individual to individual and may include: Anxiety, crying, worthless-ness, apathy, thoughts of suicide and an inability to concentrate and etc. It is likely daily...

Lets face it, we all have our anxieties, however for some, our experience in past relationships has taught us to be more anxious in the present than is healthy. We can manifest this in stress, being paranoid about the world and hyper critical of ourselves, or project it onto those closet to us in reactions such as anger or jealousy. If anxiousness is you, your therapist will probably be asking, is your life one in which being this anxiousness is a natural, healthy response? For people in the...

Some of the most common characteristics of low-self esteem are:

Depression / sadness. Anxieties. Low mood. Avoiding of social situations. Feelings of inadequacy. Comparing self negatively to others. Difficulty accepting compliments. Neglect of own needs, particularly emotional ones. Putting the needs of others before self. Low expectations. Difficulty in making / maintaining relationships. Concern over impact you have on others. Difficulty in trusting own judgement. Distorted...

Is the beautiful game an excuse for domestic abuse? Football is the dominant sport in this country and there is a link between domestic abuse and football due to their shared association with intrinsic forms of sexism, masculinity and violence. Football involves a mix of emotions and behaviours; even more so now that the country is full of hope and there is a possibility that England could bring back the most prestigious trophy in football. Watching and being a part of this can make some men...

Shame is the feeling that ‘something is wrong with who I am’; unlike guilt, which makes one feel that ‘something is wrong with what I have done’. I think of toxic shame as a 'soul-eating emotion' which restricts the freedom to be who we are. “I have this really strong feeling that it is not ok to be me; that I will do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing; that I can never get it right.” The experience of toxic shame is so profound that it brings us to...

Relationship therapists see many distraught couples who come in saying it's all over. They have discovered their partner has been cheating on them. Discovery is usually via the indiscreet use of phones. In this day and age of passwords etc., it is as if the errant partner was unconsciously trying to be discovered. Of course, they will say no, they were trying to hide it, but it is a therapist hint that given some good work on the relationship, this couple are probably going to be in a better...