Whenever I get contacted by a new person who is thinking about whether therapy is something they want to consider, I offer them a space to meet with me to discuss the possibility – a free 30minute consultation. I do this for many reasons but what lies close to a top priority is that having […]
Therapy then, can first support you somatically by slowly and incrementally reintroducing you to your feeling body (your ‘felt sense’) and to feel safer and gain some mastery of what you are feeling and thinking.
Having worked for many years with people who struggle with emotional issues and addiction issues within the ‘mental health’ field, I am drawn to make a very important distinction. This blog is not intended as a criticism of the amazing hard work being done on a daily basis by drug workers, addiction counsellors, social workers, […]
I am prompted to write this entry about anxiety as I am noticing on a regular basis during my work as a counsellor in Cork in all aspects of the work that anxiety is mistakenly perceived as a ‘minor’ issue that ‘just’ requires ‘coping mechanisms’ to be learnt and applied for a full recovery to occur.
Time and again I hear adults, parents, teachers and kids themselves ask for ‘coping mechanisms’ to distract from their anxiety. It is understandable that we habitually frame it this way, society is full of the unconscious belief that we should encourage dealing with pain by turning away from it – distracting ourselves from fear, from the unpleasant and the sense of overwhelming control it exerts on our life.
Throughout my life the term mental health has had different meanings to me as a person. It is only now that I can argue with that term after some degree of experience of the demons I have struggled with and having the daily honour of supporting others on their journey. Should the correct expression now […]
A poem by Mary Oliver
