October is Menopause Awareness Month, a time to bring more visibility, compassion, and conversation to a life stage that so many women move through – often quietly, often unsupported.

As a person-centred counsellor, I work with women who are navigating this profound transition – physically, emotio...

 Situations which create stress or anxiety trigger our fight or flight reaction. Nothing new there. What many people do not realise is that the fight or flight reaction causes a number of hormones to be released into the body including Cortisol. The purpose of cortisol is to help us survive a life t...

Do you remember your childhood when you were lying on the grass, looking up to the sky and watching the clouds?

You interpreted the shapes to be fairy creatures, animals, faces and whatever came up.

You let your imagination wander and follow the clouds as they either slowly or rapidly moved across...

“Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional”   Buddhist Saying.

We know that men do not get stressed. However, from time to time they feel exhausted, do not want to eat and get snappy with their partners. They surf the TV channels and feel that they cannot cope with one more thing.  They have no...

“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can’t, we’re afraid!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can’t, We will fall!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
And so they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.”

― Guillaume Apollinaire

It is twelve months since I wrote a course ...

Every one of us is an individual with our own life story and history of memories and events. Each encounter, however trivial, leaves some small imprint in our subconscious mind, larger events can cause a disruption to our development, and we refer to these as traumas.  What is traumatic to one...

This was a question I was asked well over twenty years ago by a counsellor when I was battling depression.  It was the light bulb moment that brought me back to a bright  life that I had forgotten existed.

I have listed this example here in response to the suggestion that therapists should be trans...

Who stole “Me” is an odd question until you realise it is at the core of much of the mental illness, we see every day as counsellors and therapists.  If you are self-harming, addicted or suffering from anxiety it may seem stranger still. 

One of the early lessons that I encountered in my training w...