What is Boarding School Syndrome? Boarding School Syndrome describes disorganised patterns of emotional attachment that are (for some people), a consequence of the disruption of being sent away to boarding school. Something that complicates this experience is: that the fact … Read More
What does labile mood mean? Labile mood is a medical, psychological and psychiatric term. It is used to describe people who experience irregular emotional responses. Labile mood is associated with severe mood swings and with intense emotional reactions. Often the … Read More
Systemic therapy – we are all part of different social systems Systemic therapy is interested in the way you as an individual relate to, and are in relationship with other people. It does not view you as someone in isolation … Read More
Feeling like a Failure I went through a phase where nothing I did would go right. It started off with problems at work. Someone joined our team and became very critical of me. Whenever I suggested anything she would be … Read More
“I know I have spent a lot of time walking on eggshells. I recognise the signs. I can almost hear them crunching under my feet. I don’t want to live like this anymore. I want to change things but … Read More
Do you catastrophise? Do you find you quickly go to a negative view of how things will turn out? Do you quickly imagine catastrophes happening? How do you find a way to keep perspective? When we talk about catastrophising we … Read More
Grief can be overpowering It can stop us in our tracks. Try to remember it is entirely natural to feel like this, you feel like this because you are in mourning. You will recover, you will adapt, it may take … Read More
A study carried out in Finland, of more than 3000 women living close to Helsinki has suggested a link between pregnant mothers who experienced anxiety states during their pregnancies, and the subsequent development of personality disorders in their children. The … Read More
What do we mean by an internal working model? In this blog I write about psychoanalysis and psychodynamic counselling and why it is such a useful therapeutic model. Here I am looking in particular at John Bowlby’s (1907-90) internal working … Read More
Do you find yourself crying for no reason? Is there anything wrong with crying? Is crying for no reason a sign of clinical depression? Is it a sign of anxiety disorder? Or are you crying about a deeply sad, perhaps … Read More
What does childhood trauma mean? Childhood trauma refers to events in which a child is psychologically and emotionally overwhelmed by what they experience. If the child is exposed to multiple traumatic events, this is referred to as complex trauma. … Read More
Do you know what your conditions of worth are? Conditions of worth are the moral and behavioural codes that you live by. Often we are not entirely clear about what our conditions of worth are. Are you attached to conditions … Read More
We don’t tend to talk about nerves so much these days. Now we talk more of stress, anxiety and of problems with our brain chemistry and neurotransmitters, we talk of mental illness and mental health. But, I think we retain … Read More