Time alone is necessary for our mental well being. When we spend time by ourselves we are able to rest from the stresses and strains of everyday life. We give ourselves the mental space to process our thoughts and then re engage with others in a more relaxed way...

Many of us are thrown out of kilter for a day or two when the clocks fall back. However, for some of us the loss of daylight hours can throw us off balance for a substantial amount of time. This can have a powerful effect on our mood. What is Seasonal Affective...

During Autumn, in between the rainy spells, it's good to get outside and appreciate the changing foliage around us. Autumnal colours are warm and earthy. The burgundy of a conker. The bright orange of pumpkin flesh. The rich browns and reds of falling leaves. Colours...

  Moving home is generally acknowledged to be a majorly stressful life event. Whether you’re moving into a rented house or buying your own home, moving house is always more involved than we first envisage. Moving house and /or area can happen for many reasons: A...

  Loss occurs when we lose something that is precious to us. It usually refers to a person, for example – the death of a loved one, but it can also denote many other circumstances such as:   Grown up children leaving home Being made redundant or leaving a...

Resilience: a metaphor from my experiences. Whilst on holiday in Greece I was struck by the importance of the Olive Tree. Primarily by its beauty. The ancient dark gnarly trunk in contrast with the silvery sage and bright green leaves almost translucent in the sun....

trompe l'oeil On a trip to Italy I saw many works of art and was struck by the amount of trompe l'oeil (a ‘trick of the eye’ style where objects are painted to look real) in the interior design of buildings. Looking closely I could see how important the shading...

This is the time of year to have a good old spring clean or a declutter. Traditionally the home was aired and cleaned after a long winter of smoke and dust from open fires. These days, with central heating, our homes are in less need of an overhaul. Although this...

A reflective metaphor The life guard huts are reinstated on the beach, a sure sign of summer's arrival. As I ran past the sea this morning I noticed how still the beach was. Except for the waves. I watched them, mesmerised as ever by the movement in them. The rolling...

What exactly is mindfulness? And how can it help us? In essence, mindfulness means being in the moment. Being aware of where we are and what is going on for us right now. The origins of mindfulness go back a long way... Eastern cultures have been meditating for...

What Is Postnatal Depression? Most parents rank having a baby as the most life-changing event they experience and many find parenthood rewarding. However postnatal depression is more common than we think. 1 in 7 mothers suffer from it. At a time in their lives when...

My first time walking a labyrinth (a path designed in a sequential pattern leading into the centre and back out again) was high up on a mountain in New Zealand. Traditionally you think of a question or meditate on an idea as you walk. However it is also interesting to...

I often find myself telling clients that things may feel worse before they feel better Therapy isn't easy to describe. Therapy can get challenging. It's not like a manicure where the results are immediate. It's more like a workout: requires effort to get there, hard...

In these digital times, we can create our own online identities. This may be different to our identity in person. We become the perfect tweeter, entrepreneur, online date or blogger. The internet is the perfect platform to try out our perfect online persona. I'm sure...

Any transition is the beginning of a process of change. It involves the ending of one phase and the beginning of another. We all have times in our lives when circumstances change: redundancy break up of a relationship new job career change parenthood new relationship...

Attachment is a popular word. We talk about children who have “attachment issues” - but what does this actually mean? John Bowlby: attachment theory John Bowlby, created attachment theory in the 1960s. After studying infants and their mothers he found it useful to...

Why is it a good idea to think about working smart? Well, working smart is the healthiest way to work. It's vital for our mind and body to rest and play as well as work. Working so many long hours that we don't have time to recover is not a good long term situation....

The term Mother means different things to different people. Maybe our stereotypical view of a mother is an ideal one: a maternal figure who is kind, caring, understanding, fun and helpful, “my rock”? However, our own experience of our mother may be far from the above...

What Is It? The menopause is when a woman's oestrogen levels have lowered to the extent that she can no longer release eggs from her ovaries and become pregnant. The UK average age of a woman finishing her last period is 51. The perimenopause is the phase leading up...

Mid-Life Crisis? Or something else? What is a mid-life crisis? We all know someone who has bought a sports car in their 40s or 50s or taken up an extreme sport or had an attraction to someone much younger than themselves. Why do we want that fast car or are flattered...

Time alone is necessary for our mental well being. When we spend time by ourselves we are able to rest from the stresses and strains of everyday life. We give ourselves the mental space to process our thoughts and then re engage with others in a more relaxed way...

Many of us are thrown out of kilter for a day or two when the clocks fall back. However, for some of us the loss of daylight hours can throw us off balance for a substantial amount of time. This can have a powerful effect on our mood. What is Seasonal Affective...

During Autumn, in between the rainy spells, it's good to get outside and appreciate the changing foliage around us. Autumnal colours are warm and earthy. The burgundy of a conker. The bright orange of pumpkin flesh. The rich browns and reds of falling leaves. Colours...

  Moving home is generally acknowledged to be a majorly stressful life event. Whether you’re moving into a rented house or buying your own home, moving house is always more involved than we first envisage. Moving house and /or area can happen for many reasons: A...

  Loss occurs when we lose something that is precious to us. It usually refers to a person, for example – the death of a loved one, but it can also denote many other circumstances such as:   Grown up children leaving home Being made redundant or leaving a...

Resilience: a metaphor from my experiences. Whilst on holiday in Greece I was struck by the importance of the Olive Tree. Primarily by its beauty. The ancient dark gnarly trunk in contrast with the silvery sage and bright green leaves almost translucent in the sun....

trompe l'oeil On a trip to Italy I saw many works of art and was struck by the amount of trompe l'oeil (a ‘trick of the eye’ style where objects are painted to look real) in the interior design of buildings. Looking closely I could see how important the shading...

This is the time of year to have a good old spring clean or a declutter. Traditionally the home was aired and cleaned after a long winter of smoke and dust from open fires. These days, with central heating, our homes are in less need of an overhaul. Although this...

A reflective metaphor The life guard huts are reinstated on the beach, a sure sign of summer's arrival. As I ran past the sea this morning I noticed how still the beach was. Except for the waves. I watched them, mesmerised as ever by the movement in them. The rolling...

What exactly is mindfulness? And how can it help us? In essence, mindfulness means being in the moment. Being aware of where we are and what is going on for us right now. The origins of mindfulness go back a long way... Eastern cultures have been meditating for...

What Is Postnatal Depression? Most parents rank having a baby as the most life-changing event they experience and many find parenthood rewarding. However postnatal depression is more common than we think. 1 in 7 mothers suffer from it. At a time in their lives when...

My first time walking a labyrinth (a path designed in a sequential pattern leading into the centre and back out again) was high up on a mountain in New Zealand. Traditionally you think of a question or meditate on an idea as you walk. However it is also interesting to...

I often find myself telling clients that things may feel worse before they feel better Therapy isn't easy to describe. Therapy can get challenging. It's not like a manicure where the results are immediate. It's more like a workout: requires effort to get there, hard...

In these digital times, we can create our own online identities. This may be different to our identity in person. We become the perfect tweeter, entrepreneur, online date or blogger. The internet is the perfect platform to try out our perfect online persona. I'm sure...

Any transition is the beginning of a process of change. It involves the ending of one phase and the beginning of another. We all have times in our lives when circumstances change: redundancy break up of a relationship new job career change parenthood new relationship...

Attachment is a popular word. We talk about children who have “attachment issues” - but what does this actually mean? John Bowlby: attachment theory John Bowlby, created attachment theory in the 1960s. After studying infants and their mothers he found it useful to...

Why is it a good idea to think about working smart? Well, working smart is the healthiest way to work. It's vital for our mind and body to rest and play as well as work. Working so many long hours that we don't have time to recover is not a good long term situation....

The term Mother means different things to different people. Maybe our stereotypical view of a mother is an ideal one: a maternal figure who is kind, caring, understanding, fun and helpful, “my rock”? However, our own experience of our mother may be far from the above...

What Is It? The menopause is when a woman's oestrogen levels have lowered to the extent that she can no longer release eggs from her ovaries and become pregnant. The UK average age of a woman finishing her last period is 51. The perimenopause is the phase leading up...

Mid-Life Crisis? Or something else? What is a mid-life crisis? We all know someone who has bought a sports car in their 40s or 50s or taken up an extreme sport or had an attraction to someone much younger than themselves. Why do we want that fast car or are flattered...