Four Reasons Why It’s Good to Talk

In this age of constant online ‘chatter’, 24/7 news and moment by moment updates on what everyone is thinking about everything, you would have thought that there would be no need at all to make the case for the benefits of talking. However, amidst the daily barrage it turns...

Writing out your Grief

Since I was ten years old I have kept a journal. It started off as a diary – my childhood self trying to record what happened each day. That quickly became too time-consuming, because I wanted to write so much about how I felt, and what I had seen...

Losing your Homeland

When I was ten years old, my family emigrated to Australia. Now I’m sure there are lots of people thinking, “Wow how amazing, what a wonderful experience for you!” Well, not so much. It wasn’t until I was well into adult life and training to be a counsellor, that...

When Someone You Have Never Met Dies

Like so many other people in the UK and around the world, I have been deeply affected by the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this week. When I heard the news announced on the radio, I was driving home from work, and I immediately burst into tears....

Why Your Therapist is not going to ‘Fix’ You

The chorus from a 2005 hit song by Coldplay goes like this: ” Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones. And I will try to fix you “.   A cry from the heart of anyone who has ever tried to help someone to overcome their problems. It’s...

“Self-Care”? Or Selfishness?

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, “self-care” wasn’t even a thing – nobody ever talked about it.  In fact I would be very surprised if the term had even been invented back then.  I grew up in a culture of “always think of others...