Thoughts from a therapist...on life, connection and exploration...
Blog Posts
One thing I love about therapy, is the way it shows me, time and again, that the human experience can be both profoundly universal, and also utterly diverse, unique and nuanced. In these articles, I name and explore aspects of my work and life, as a somatically-informed integrative therapist, during these interesting, challenging, yet often healing, times of change.
Making Mistakes
Over the last few days, I've been reminded once again that, as a human, there will be moments when I feel overwhelmed, make mistakes, and have to apologise or create repair. I have noticed that there can be a moment, within this experience, when I become self-critical, or even lean into catastrophizing. Putting myself down,…
Addiction and coping strategies...unshaming the ways we soothe ourselves
In some of the settings where I work, I support those who need help around their recovery from addiction, using a trauma-informed approach. I believe that most people have experienced some type of trauma, whether through a particularly difficult event, or perhaps simply from not getting their needs met, time and again, for too long.…
Creativity as a therapeutic tool
As a somatically-informed therapist, my go-to tools for resourcing my clients often centre around calming and soothing the nervous system, through body-centred strategies like grounding, breathwork, sensation-tracking, self-contact, tapping and movement. However, visualization is also an important and powerful part of somatic work, as the body and the imagination are intrinsically-linked, when working with unconscious…
Working therapeutically with difference and diversity
As a non-white woman with a mixed-heritage, I have some small personal insight into the way intersectionality, the various social factors which combine and overlap, can be felt in our lives and relationships, I try to work in a way that promotes self-awareness around my own nuanced privileges and biases, so that when I am…
The process of relational therapy...showing up as a person first.
In my work across a variety of sectors, I often come across those who feel disconnected, misunderstood and unseen. I try to hold in mind that, as a fellow human, it is far more connecting and healing, before inviting opportunities for learning or toolkit-building, to show up and deeply listen to the human in front…