The A-Z of Therapy Jargon: Part Two (I-Q)
The A-Z of Therapy Jargon: Part two (I-Q). A glossary of commonly used terms used to describe various concepts in psychotherapy and counselling. This post looks at letters I-Q, part 3 to follow!
This post is a continuation of my A-Z of therapy jargon part one, where we looked at letters of A to H. Please enjoy part 2 - dive with me into therapy jargon, letters I to Q!
Integrative Therapy: This approach creates personalized treatment plans by drawing on elements from various therapy schools. Therapists trained in integrative therapy can incorporate techniques from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, mindfulness, and more, depending on the client's specific needs and preferences. Integrative therapy offers flexibility and aims to maximize the effectiveness of treatment.
Jungian Therapy: Developed by Carl Jung, a pioneer in psychology, Jungian therapy explores the unconscious mind and its influence on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Therapists delve into concepts like archetypes (universal symbols and patterns), the shadow (unconscious aspects of ourselves), and the process of individuation (striving for wholeness). Through dream analysis, active imagination (exploring inner imagery), and exploration of mythology and symbolism, Jungian therapy helps clients achieve personal growth and a deeper understanding of themselves. For those interested in learning more about Jung, check out Jung: Key Ideas by Ruth Snowdon (#Ad)
Kleinian Therapy: Developed by Melanie Klein, a controversial yet influential figure in psychoanalysis, Kleinian therapy focuses on the early stages of emotional development in the unconscious mind. Unlike traditional Freudian psychoanalysis, Klein believed infants experience complex emotions like love, hate, and anxiety very early on. Therapists explore these primitive emotions and defence mechanisms like splitting (seeing things as all good or all bad) and projective identification (projecting unwanted feelings onto others) to help clients understand their present behaviour and relationships. Play therapy is often used to access the unconscious world of both children and adults. Kleinian treatment can be intensive and is not as widely practised as other approaches, but it offers a unique lens for understanding deep-seated emotional patterns.
Life Script: This concept refers to a set of unconscious beliefs about ourselves and the world, formed in early life, that can influence our behaviour. Therapy can help rewrite limiting life scripts.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. It is a core skill used in many therapy approaches to manage stress and increase self-awareness.
Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs): These are automatic, critical thoughts that may not be based on reality and contribute to emotional distress. Therapy helps clients identify and challenge NATs to develop more balanced thinking patterns.
Object Relations: Object relations theory is a psychodynamic approach that focuses on our early relationships with caregivers and how they shape our personality development. Therapists explore how we internalize these relationships, forming mental representations of significant people in our lives, which can influence our current interactions and attachments. Understanding these internalized objects can help us build healthier relationships in the present.
Positive Psychology: This approach focuses on building strengths and fostering well-being rather than solely addressing problems. Therapists may incorporate positive psychology techniques to help clients cultivate strengths and build resilience.
Quality of Life: Therapy can address a variety of challenges that impact quality of life, including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and trauma.
I hope this post has helped shed some light on some of the more obtrusive language often used when discussing counselling and psychotherapy. I will endeavour to complete the third and final part of this series soon!
Free and Reduced Cost Counselling and Psychotherapy Services in Hackney and Tower Hamlets
If you are struggling with your mental health, you may be wondering how you can get help. You may not be able to afford private counselling, or you may not be eligible for NHS talking therapies. If this is the case, there are a number of free or reduced cost counselling and psychotherapy services available in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Here are some of the free or reduced cost counselling and psychotherapy services available in Hackney and Tower Hamlets:
Mind CHWF is a charity that provides mental health support to people in Hackney and Waltham Forest. The charity offers a range of services, including counselling, psychotherapy, and support groups. Mind CHWF also offers a range of online resources, including information about mental health, self-help guides, and a forum for people to share their experiences.
Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies
Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies is a free NHS service that provides talking therapies, such as counselling and psychotherapy, to adults who are struggling with their mental health.
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of free and low-cost counselling and psychotherapy services for children, young people, and adults.
The NHS 111 service can provide information and advice about local counselling and psychotherapy services.
The Centre for Better Health is a community-based charity that offers a range of free or low-cost counselling and psychotherapy services, including individual and group counselling, as well as couples and family therapy. The Centre also offers a range of other services, such as workshops, courses, and support groups.
Positive East is a HIV charity that offers free and confidential counselling and psychotherapy services to people living with HIV. The service is available to people of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of their income or residency status.
ICC Psychotherapy is a private practice that offers a range of counselling and psychotherapy services, including individual and group therapy. The practice is staffed by experienced therapists who offer a sliding scale fee structure, so that people can access therapy regardless of their income.
Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham
Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham is a charity that provides mental health support to people in Tower Hamlets and Newham. The charity offers a range of services, including counselling, psychotherapy, and support groups. Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham also offers a range of online resources, including information about mental health, self-help guides, and a forum for people to share their experiences.
If you are struggling with your mental health, there are a number of free or reduced cost counselling and psychotherapy services available in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. I hope this blog post has helped you to find the right service for you.
Please note that eligibility for free or reduced cost counselling and psychotherapy services may vary depending on your circumstances. You may need to provide proof of income or residency to qualify for these services.
If you are not sure if you are eligible, you can contact the service directly to ask. This list is not exhaustive and was written in June 2023 - it may be best to double check the info if you’re reading this at a later date.
An Intimate Book Launch in Hackney.
Launch of The Power Of Welcome by Ada Jusic
I was so excited to attend the intimate book launch of my close friend Ada Jusic’s book, The Power of Welcome: Real-life Refugee and Migrant Journeys, at Jam Bookshop in Hackney last night. The bookshop was small and cosy, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. My friend, the author, was there to talk about her book and answer questions. She was incredibly candid and passionate about her work and I was so proud of her for sharing her stories with the world.
I also had the chance to meet some of the other refugees who were featured in the book. They were all so kind and genuine. It was heart warming to hear their stories and to learn about their experiences.
I left the book launch feeling inspired and hopeful. The Power of Welcome is a powerful book that everyone should read. It is a reminder of the importance of compassion and understanding, and it gives us a glimpse into the lives of people who are often forgotten.
If you are in London, I highly recommend checking out Jam Bookshop. It is a wonderful independent bookshop that is committed to supporting local authors and artists. I also encourage you to pick up a copy of The Power of Welcome. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. The graphic novel format of the piece opens the experience to both adults and young people (9+) helping them learn about the importance of the power of welcome, in the face of the painful complexities of refugee experiences.
The A-Z of Therapy Jargon: Part one (A-H).
A-Z of counselling and psychotherapy jargon - helping to demystify psychological language. Part 1 - A-H.
So, here goes with another blog post, and a continuation of my theme of trying to demystify the world of therapy with all its complex and inaccessible language and concepts. I hope this may prove helpful to some, although I am always a little nervous to write these posts (perhaps why they are so infrequent) as I have never considered myself a very good writer. I’m hoping with time I will improve with practice (as is the case with most things) and until then you, dear readers, can be forgiving of any clunkiness in the post that follows!
So here goes with the first third of my A-Z of therapy jargon (A-H). I’ll post parts two and three in the coming weeks (or perhaps months….) and perhaps a special post for the letter P, as there are so many P words in the world of therapy! Obviously, this is by no means an exhaustive list and definitions are my own unless otherwise credited.
A for ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).
This is a type of therapy that is similar to CBT - focusing very much on the here-and-now, rather than exploring the past. ACT seeks to help us understand and change the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings; as well as identify what is personally valuable to each of us; finding ways to work towards living in line with these values. ACT is often a short course of treatment that feels very practical rather than exploratory and is often offered by IAPT services here in the UK, it is also one of the forms of therapy that I am trained in as a practitioner. For some the short and practical nature of ACT is extremely helpful in the management of low mood and anxiety, although when taken as a focused and short course, can perhaps feel impersonal and leave issues from the past unattended. ACT incorporates elements of mindfulness into the work (see entry for M below).
B for BACP.
B is for the BACP - or the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. I thought it important to include the BACP in this list as it is a common misconception that terms like ‘counsellor’ ‘therapist’ or ‘psychotherapist’ carry some sort of legal protection here in the UK. In fact, this is not the case, and anyone is legally allowed to set up a business tomorrow claiming to be a psychotherapist whether they are qualified or not - and potential clients of charlatans such as this may risk incredibly damaging experiences.
For this reason, it is important to consider when looking for a practitioner whether they are a member of a professional body, that verifies their qualifications, provides best practice guidance as well as provides advice and complaints/disciplinary procedure should things go wrong or you suspect unethical behaviour has occurred. I am a member of the BACP, however, to complicate things further, the BACP is not the only professional body on the scene….. other major ones include the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), the National Counselling Society (NCS) and the British Psychological Society (BPS).
C for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
C0gnitive behavioural therapy (or CBT) is probably one of the most well-known modern therapeutic schools of thought, not least because it is usually what is first offered by a GP or NHS service. As with ACT above, CBT is often offered as a short term intervention and feels very practical and focused on the present rather than the past. CBT focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and helps us understand our anxiety response in these terms, learning to challenge unhelpful but ingrained styles of thinking that lead us to feel low or anxious. Your therapist will assist you in understanding these links and thinking styles and work with you to challenge or broaden the way we interpret the world and events around us. CBT therapy sessions often will feature tasks to complete between sessions like thought diaries or other written exercises designed to further the understanding of the concepts introduced in the sessions.
Some people may find themselves able to incorporate some of these ideas and techniques alone without the assistance of a therapist via various online resources (or, increasingly, automated therapy chatbots). Personally, I would recommend (at the risk of offending) the self-help book CBT For Dummies (Ad) as a clear and easy to understanding resource for those without psychological training. Others will benefit from exploring these concepts carefully with a skilled professional.
D for Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.
Dialectical behavioural therapy is another therapy sometimes available on the NHS, more specifically (although not exclusively) as one of the few interventions for some personality disorders (most commonly borderline personality disorder). Both DBT and CBT will focus on the way we think and how this affects us emotionally, although DBT has a stronger focus both on accepting ourselves and the way in which we relate to others. For this reason, DBT is usually delivered partly or wholly in a group setting, and often over an extended timescale. Often, potential participants are wary of working in groups, however, this has often (in my experience) proved to be some of the most helpful elements of this type of treatment. I do not offer this intervention as part of my private practice and would encourage anyone interested in this to research providers in their area, which will often be organisations rather than individual practitioners.
E for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing is a widely recognised (e.g. by the WHO) therapy with primary applications such as treatment of PTSD or unprocessed trauma. Whilst it is known to be an effective treatment for these issues (which we may often seem to get ‘stuck’ on), the mechanism by which it works is less well known and is an area of ongoing research. The process involves careful preparation with a specialist therapist, moving on to a process of revisiting the trauma or unprocessed events while making regular eye movements or listening to regular sounds in alternate ears through headphones. This is not a form of therapy that I personally practise, and care must be taken to ensure you find a suitably qualified practitioner. If EMDR sounds like a familiar term and you don’t know why it may be because Prince Harry has recently spoken about undergoing the process.
F for Freud.
Sigmund Freud - the grandad of the psychological professions, was the founder of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy more broadly. He lived between 1856 and 1939 and was the first to introduce several concepts that we all take for granted today. These include the idea that we have a subconscious that motivates us and that we may not understand, that our past relationships and experiences can affect our current and future ones, and that physical symptoms may have a psychological cause. His method of psychoanalysis was the first time that distress was treated by a process that we are now familiar with as therapy, instead of archaic methods that seem shocking to us now, lobotomies, exorcisms and the like. Dream analysis, hypnosis and free association (word association) were all techniques featured in his work as ways of accessing elements of our subconscious. The Freudian slip, where one accidentally says something that reveals our subconscious desires is one of the ways in which his ideas have entered our common language; so thank you Freud for giving us the language to help us describe what is often an awkward phenomenon.
Some of Freud’s writings and ideas (such as the concept of the Oedipus complex) may seem strange to us today, however, it is important to remember when reading his work (which is often quite a hard read) that there is a symbolic element to some of his writings; also that these ideas have been developed and better understood by subsequent generations. At his time, however, these ideas were revolutionary, as those experiencing mental distress were dismissed as mad, bad or possessed. If you’re interested in learning more about Freud, his writings can sometimes feel inaccessible and challenging to understand (one must also consistently remind oneself that they were written around a century ago in Vienna). I would instead recommend starting with the excellent ‘Knowledge in a Nutshell’ series of books (which I think are fab) - Sigmund Freud: The Complete Guide to the Great Psychologist, Including Dreams, Hypnosis and Psychoanalysis (Ad).
G for Gestalt Therapy.
Gestalt therapy, developed by Fritz Pearls is a type of therapy that focuses on the present moment and the connection between psychological and physical sensations and the way in which we relate to others. Gestalt therapy encourages us to put distance between ourselves and the past and anxieties about the future, and focus our attention and awareness on ourselves and our current circumstances and relationships. The therapist may use the client-therapist relationship as a tool to help the client explore how they relate to others or use techniques such as the ‘empty chair technique’ where elements of roleplay are used to help the client express their true feelings and thoughts about key figures in their lives. Gestalt therapy can be quite creative and also challenging, but a good gestalt therapist should always foster a profound sense of respect for the client and their experiences.
H for Humanistic Therapy.
While technically the term humanistic refers to a group of therapies (including Gestalt mentioned above), the term is most commonly used to refer to humanistic person-centred therapy, based on the work of Carl Rogers starting in the 1940s. Rogers believed that all humans possess a tendency toward growth and development (which he called self-actualising) and can achieve this if the right conditions are present (which for many of us, they historically haven’t been). Humanistic therapy seeks to create these conditions in the therapeutic setting in order to provide the client with the optimal environment to tap into our intrinsic ability and desire to improve. According to Rogers, this can be achieved if certain conditions are present in the therapeutic setting, namely the unconditional acceptance of the client (termed unconditional positive regard or UPR), empathy and congruence (genuineness). Person-centred therapy is much more exploratory than the cognitive types mentioned here (DBT, CBT and ACT); the therapist will not have prepared a plan and will take the client’s lead, facilitating the careful explorations of whatever they want to bring to the session. As ever, some will find this approach a safe and helpful approach, while others will prefer a more structured approach.
Post image attributed to vecteezy.com and licenced under creative commons.
Call out for research participants.
A study on social media and the formation of gay male sexual identity
This morning I was contacted and asked to share a research project on social media and the formation of gay male sexual identity. I think this is such an interesting topic in need of research and having done some due diligence on the researcher, have agreed to publicise the study here. Please see the details below and share to your social media if you want to help publicise the study. Details below:
Does social media influence sexual identity?
Do you…
· Identify as non-heterosexual
· Identify as a man or trans man?
· Use social media apps?
· Want to take part in research?
If your answers were ‘yes’ and would like to take part in this research project to understand how social media influences your sexual identity, we would love to hear from you.
Please follow the link:
https://bit.ly/SMaSIR
Or contact: n.i.sisson-curbishley1@edu.salford.ac.uk
How to find a therapist (in the UK).
Exploring the options of how to find a counsellor or psychotherapist in the UK.
One of the things I’m hoping to do with this blog is to help demystify the world of counselling and psychotherapy and to make it easier to understand and eventually access. There is so much technical and psychological language to navigate when someone starts researching about therapy, so many acronyms and abbreviations! It can feel like there is no clear path to starting the process of finding a skilled and well-matched therapist.
To make things more tricky, there are lots of differences between the lingo of the USA and the UK, with different definitions and standards in each region further complicating the task of understanding the information online.
I hope to write a series of these articles but today I’ll be starting with my attempt to simplify and collate the main ways in which people can access therapy in the UK. This won’t be an exhaustive list, but I will provide a brief overview of how to access therapy via the three main routes (NHS, community/charity and private) and the pros and cons of each route.
Therapy via the NHS.
The first stop for most of us here in the UK when we have a health problem is the NHS, and this can be the same for mental health as well. Mental health is a very active part of our national conversation at the moment with seemingly endless pledges of intent to increase funding and improve the accessibility of services. Alongside this, there is a constant stream of criticism that the provisions aren’t where they need to be. Whilst this may give the impression that the NHS isn’t a viable option, this most certainly isn’t the case, and many people are successful in receiving suitable and effective support. Horror stories about never-ending waiting lists certainly do exist, but these vary wildly based on factors such as location and time of year that you refer. When things go well, you can expect to be seen quickly by a suitably qualified therapist, with good knowledge of local specialist services to involve should that be necessary.
However, the number of sessions you may be offered is likely to be low as the NHS struggles to meet the challenges of high demand. The type of therapy you will be offered may also be restricted to specific techniques, with CBT being the most commonly offered therapy, and often people are offered group therapy rather than one to one.
You will also be required to go through an assessment process and many people find that they are assessed as too severe or not severe enough to be eligible. It is also unlikely that you will have much say on which therapist you are paired with (although you should vocalise a preference if you have one, just in case). If you are unhappy with your therapist, you may find that the process of being re-allocated is time-consuming and complicated.
To access therapy via the NHS, you could either speak to your GP, or if you are uncomfortable doing this, you can visit the NHS find a therapy website (your GP won’t be informed that you are accessing therapy via this route).
Pros: Available nationwide, free, no need to check your therapist credentials, can be quick (but depends).
Cons: Often long waiting lists, a limited number of sessions offered, limited/no choice over the type of therapy or therapist, may only be offered group therapy.
How to access: Via your GP or NHS website
Therapy via the community charity sector.
There is a thriving network of charitable and community organisations in the UK offering therapy at either low or no cost. These organisations offer a vital contribution to mental health support in the UK and often find themselves filling in the gaps when other state-funded mental health services are affected by budget cuts. You may find you are able to access services specifically designed for either a demographic you belong to (race, age, sexuality etc.) or for a specific type of situation you may have experienced (such as domestic violence or abuse).
Like the NHS, you can be confident that the organisation has vetted the therapists they work with for both a required standard of training and to ensure there are no safeguarding concerns present (known as a DBS check). There may also be a greater variety in the type of therapy available and the number of sessions offered. However charities in the UK are also under a lot of pressure and will also be limited in what they are able to offer. Waiting times can also be very long (but as above can vary wildly).
Charities are usually funded by grants from corporate or local authority sources, and these often specify the demographic and location of the people who are eligible. This can add additional frustration in accessing services via this route. For instance, finding an ideal service for you but then discovering that you live a couple of streets away from the area served. There is also not a centralised referral route, so you will have to spend time researching your local services and completing the referral documents for each one - although often your local council will provide a list/directory of the services available locally.
Pros: A large number of available organisations with specialised services available, sometimes greater flexibility than NHS, either free or reduced cost.
Cons: As with NHS, long waiting times and limited sessions are common, restrictions on who can access, and lengthy process of applying to each organisation.
How to access: Researching local services and applying individually to each - often local authority can provide a list of available services locally.
Accessing therapy privately.
The first thing to do in this section is to acknowledge my obvious bias, i.e. this website and blog are for my own private therapy practice, and I am therefore likely to paint this route in a positive light! To address this I shall start by talking about the downsides of this option.
The most obvious is the cost involved. Whereas the NHS is free and the charity sector either free or low cost, the private option most certainly isn’t. I’m writing from London where the average cost for private therapy ranges from about £50-£80 per hour, depending on where in the city you are. Prices are lower outside the capital but finding a therapist who will charge less than £40 may still be challenging. This, unfortunately, poses a significant obstacle for many people hoping to start therapy - although it should be noted that some therapists (including me) offer a limited number of appointment slots at a reduced rate.
The other significant challenge of finding a private therapist is that counselling and psychotherapy are unregulated in the UK - and this means that anyone can legally claim to be a therapist, whether they are suitably qualified or not. Whereas in the NHS/charity sectors, the organisation will have ensured you are working with a trained professional, in the private sector this responsibility unfortunately falls to each individual client. The most important thing to do is to check that your therapist is registered with a recognised professional body, such as the BACP, UKCP or NCS - this information is usually displayed prominently on therapists’ websites. Another option is to search via a professional database that vets members before they can advertise there. Two brilliant options are the BACP directory and Psychology Today.
`If for you, the financial cost is not prohibitive, private therapy can be a great option, providing greater choice and flexibility than the low or no-cost options. You will be able to choose the therapist you feel comfortable working with and who practices the type of therapy that you want. You will also be able to agree both the length of therapy with your therapist based on your individual needs. Finding therapy outside of office hours will also be easier - whereas many organisations will usually only offer session times between 9-5.
Pros: Choosing your therapist and type of therapy, more flexibility in scheduling sessions around your life, not limited in the number of sessions offered.
Cons: Expensive (sometimes prohibitively so), and you will want to check your therapist’s credentials.
How to access: Contacting individual therapists directly, using directories such as BACP or Psychology Today is a great place to start.
Some final thoughts.
I hope this article has been helpful but it’s worth saying that this is by no means an exhaustive list of the options available - although it does cover the main routes. There are, for instance, several specialist services available in the NHS not covered here, several companies and educational institutions may offer counselling services that are also worth exploring. There is also something of a blurring of the boundaries between the NHS and charity sectors, with many charities running contracts NHS services, this shouldn’t however affect the ways in which you access the service.
The featured image is copyright of Nick Younson and licensed under creative commons.
The Rainbow Room: Online group for LGBTQ+ young people.
The Rainbow Room online mental health group for LGBTQ+ young people.
In the spirit of keeping this little blog updated……..I thought I’d share some of the brilliant work that’s going on at Rainbow Mind, where I work as the project coordinator alongside my private practice. This week I’ll be focusing on the Rainbow Room - our online mental health drop-in group for LGBTQ+ young people.
The Rainbow Room is free to join and open to anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ who is between the ages of 17-24. It’s completely free to access and the groups are held every fortnight on a Thursday between 6 and 7.30 pm. They have been running for about a year now and is usually a mixture of people who are joining for the first time, and people that like to attend regularly. The most important thing to remember is that you’re very welcome, whether you’re a newbie or an old-timer!
The groups are more interactive than your run-of-the-mill mental health group, more colourful and interactive. We always make space for people to bring whatever they want to bring to the session. This may be something that you’re struggling with, or perhaps it’s an achievement that you’re proud of or even a talent that you’re keen to show off!
The facilitators (Bindie, Bex and Omikemi) ensure that everyone has time and space to contribute, but also work really hard in designing sessions that include music and videos that celebrate or mirror the experiences of growing up as LGBTQ+, as well as teaching techniques drawn from mindfulness and self-compassion, focused therapy that can help us in managing common mental health problems.
One of the best elements of these sessions is that they are co-created between the facilitators and participants. This means that each session, the group members decide what they would like from the following session, which topics feel relevant at that particular time. The team then go away and design the following session around the needs of the group (rather than just assuming what people want from the sessions).
Rainbow Mind offers a variety of mental health support services including Radical Self Care courses and 121 therapy. The Rainbow Room is a great place to experience what it is like to access their services or to indicate to the team that you’re interested in finding out more.
If you’re interested in joining a Rainbow Room session, it’s super easy to get involved. You just need to either register via the EventBrite page, or join the Rainbow Room group on Meetup.
Reviving my blog: School of life
Resolving to bring my blog back to life!
So whilst recognising that it is now mid-February and I am over a month late for making resolutions (read: it’s never too late); I am making one - to pay some attention to this tired and underloved blog, having let it lie fallow for the past year or so. I’m not a natural writer so this is not my comfort space, but I’m going to try and share in an interesting way the things I’m finding interesting, books, videos, events and the like. The wild and rambling musings of a psychotherapist in London is my aim, for anyone that may find that interesting; warts, type-os and all.
I’m going to start by sharing one of my favourite YouTube channels: The School of Life by Alain de Botton. I find that it is often rare to find informative, helpful, engaging and beautiful content on the subjects of psychology and psychotherapy. Too often they are stuffy, overly complex, even elitist in their feel and delivery; weighed down by endless technical terms and abbreviations that even the most scholarly would need to cross-reference.
Where other’s fail, the School of Life succeded in providing digestible and thoughtful content on subjects such as art, philosophy, psychology and psychotherapy. I often recommend them to the clients I work with as ways to further explore and understand the concepts and ideas we are exploring in the counselling room together. I hope you may find them as helpful as I have over the years, I’ve included a taster down below (if it works properly!) on their introduction and explainer of how and why psychotherapy works. Enjoy!
New Project Klaxon: LGBT Young People Project with Rainbow Mind.
Thinking back to when I started this counselling and psychotherapy blog – all but two posts (but many more months) ago, I remember my primary anxiety was that I wouldn’t know what to say and that I would hardly post at all. Well….it does now seem that this has been exactly how things have turned out!
In the spirit of being kind to myself, I’m trying not to be too self-critical about my lack of blogosphere prowess, nor using it a reason to give up entirely! Today however, feels like a great day to break my blogging dry spell as I have some news about a new project I am working on:
I have recently started working on the Rainbow Mind Young People Project, focusing on mental health and psychological support for young LGBT people. We’re launching he service next week with our first workshop on self-care and managing anxiety – its free to join and open to LGBT people aged 17-24. All you need to do is click here or on the the image below and sign up – we will send the joining information ahead of the workshop.
We’re hoping to reach as many young LGBT people as possible and would really appreciate anyone that could support the endeavour by sharing the event with anyone you feel may benefit from the workshop. Thanks in advance to anyone that can lend a hand in spreading the word!
Managing Anxiety Workship with Rainbow Mind: LGBTQ+ Young People
Thank you so much for reading. C
Rallying the troops for Positive East.
This post is on behalf of Positive East, a charity in east London with whom I have been involved for over five years. Positive East provides vital support services to people living with or affected by the HIV virus, and also provides community sexual health services in order to further limit the spread of the virus. Along with other organisations, Positive East has helped suppress the spread of HIV in London in recent years whilst continuing to support those affected by the virus. Positive East provide services including support groups, information and advice, specialised services for HIV+ women, peer support, health and wellbeing services, sexual health testing and outreach and counselling and psychotherapy (which includes my modest contribution). I have really enjoyed my work with Positive East over the years, and as such, will take the opportunity to share my favourite photo of me with some of the team, before this post gets too serious…..
Me with Resty, Yan, Alix and Antonio at the Red Run in East London
Communities affected by high levels of the HIV virus, such as the black African community, gay men, and transwomen, are too familiar with the devastating affects a pandemic. can have, when not properly mitigated, on both individual lives and wider communities The HIV pandemic has taken the lives of over 30 million people. For me, this number is still too large to comprehend, even against the backdrop of daily bulletins detailing the ever increasing cases of covid-19………30 Million People since HIV emerged in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, as we battle our society’s most recent pandemic, the charity has suffered financially as the effects of the lockdown restrictions have caused the cancellation of many of the charity’s fundraising activities in dealing with the HIV pandemic - which never went away.
Not least. the annual World Aids Day Red Run in Hackney - a wonderful community event that usually enjoys wide ranging support, including from the likes of Sadiq Khan, mayor of London and Sir Ian McKellen. Anyone that has attended in the past will understand the hole it leaves in the calendar for anyone associated with Positive East or the wider community. More concerning is the money…..
Despite having an army of loyal volunteers, the provision of Positive East’s services cost money; there is sadly no way to avoid this uncomfortable truth. Without their premier fundraising event, a potential shortfall on the charity’s balance sheet puts its essential services in danger; for this reason, they have launched the I Stand With Positive East campaign: a call to arms to those that are able to support the organisation in this way.
If anyone reading this is about to lend some support to the campaign, please click the button at the end of this post. Alternatively if you are living with HIV and are registered at an East London clinic you can get in touch with the fabulous team at Positive East by clicking here.
Thank you so much for reading. C
New Beginnings.
Hi everyone, welcome to the newest part of my new website - my blog! As you will probably be able to tell, from what will likely read as quite novice level blogging - this is new to me…. and I am finding it a bit scary. For now, I am planning to use this blog to keep track of the various psychotherapy and counselling professional development work I do over the coming years. as well as updates regarding my private therapy practice. Of course, I would be being disingenuous to deny that my motivation is, in part, due to Google’s algorithm favouring websites that regularly publish new written content - such is the world we live in!
For now, I can update you on my summer - and what a summer it has been for all of us…. Having been planning to launch my private therapy practice this September, the Covid-19 pandemic certainly proved to be an unwelcome and unexpected bump in the road. Those that know me understand that I’m often determined (and/or stubborn) and as such, decided not to change my plans - time will tell as to the wisdom of this!
Reflecting on the process now, having a project has been like a sort of protective armour for me when dealing with the wider pandemic situation, I’ve been busy - and I like to be busy, this has really helped me to stay resilient in the face of so much uncertainty and chaos, a much needed distraction to fill my days and my racing mind, a project, something to achieve. I’ve been busying away securing a beautiful therapy space to practice from in Bethnal Green in East London, developing a website and formalising my therapeutic procedures and policies. Less thrilling were registering with the information commissioner’s office and familiarising myself with the GDPR regulations. Alas, it had to be done, and now it is done!
And so now I am enjoying the sense of achievement I feel when I complete a project and looking forward to building up my own little business. Currently, I am only seeing clients online but planning to start providing counselling in a face-to-face setting (in East London) from the beginning of September, albeit with limited capacity.
I’m thinking now that wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be about 300 words ago - I think I have now officially completed my first blog post. Thank you for reading to those that have, I do commit to making these more vibrant, illustrated and with as interesting content as I can provide. Until then,
C
