Tag: Person Centred Counselling London Bridge

How do you know your counsellor is qualified?

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The BBC news website published an interesting article about counsellors this week. The titles, counsellor, therapist, psychotherapist are not protected. This means that anyone can advertising themselves as one regardless of their qualifications.

This is why therapists like myself who have studied on courses that meet the requirements of a membership body usually mention this on their website. To give clients more confidence in our experience and professionalism.

I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). If you wanted to check that, you can search for my name on their register.

It is voluntary to be a member of one of these bodies. However, the majority of counsellors choose to join one. The governments Professional Standards Register recommends you choose a counsellor who is a member of one of a number of bodies and the list can be found here.

Support after bereavement by murder

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There are so many terrible headlines at the moment about violence and murder, not just in London but across the country.

What they don’t really show is the impact of these crimes on extended families and friends. Loosing someone you know by a murder is devastating, even if it’s an acquaintance. It is so much worse for the families and loved ones.

How do you explain it to children and young people. How do you support them through the ongoing process of trying to make sense of something so senseless? How do you support them when you need support yourself?

There is a fantastic organisation, Winstons Wish which supports bereaved children and their families. They also have a whole section dedicated to resources when the bereavement is due to murder or manslaughter.

One in Four

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I came across this very interesting article about the frequently used statistic that one on four of us have issues with mental health.

We get so caught up in categorising mental health issues that we sometimes forget that we all have mental health. At times for some of us it it robust and resilient and for others it isn’t and needs support.

We are all impacted by the human condition and events that can cause us distress. There shouldn’t be stigma in needing support at such times.

Loneliness Awareness Week

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I have clients of all ages bringing issues connected to loneliness. Loneliness isn’t about being alone, it’s about being disconnected from others.

This week is loneliness awareness week, explore some of the events here and see if trying something different might help you.

Easter

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Whether Easter is a deeply spiritual time of hope and resurrection, bunnies and chocolate, a four day weekend, time with family or just another day I wish you a happy Easter.

Grieving on Mothers day

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Whether you have lost your Mother or you are a Mother who has lost her Child, Mother’s Day can be very difficult.
Its hard remembering the times you were together for Mother’s Day in previous years and the absence now.
If you know someone in this situation, please be mindful of how poignant their pain may be this weekend.
For more details on supporting a bereaved parent of an adult child, please check out my article.

Childhood PTSD

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I’m relieved that the findings in this article on childhood PTSD are being publicised while being desperately sad at the scale of children and young people whose mental health needs are not even being recognised.

I work with may young people who have been through traumatic experiences and also adults who are still suffering from the impact of their childhood trauma.

All of us who work in the field are aware of that cuts in funding to Child and Adolescent Mental Health services and how hard it is for those in need to access services. It’s ironic that this is happening at the same time as more and more research is being done to highlight how many more children and young people need support.

Not dealing with it doesn’t mean the issues go away. They carry on and I have written about this before here. The ACE studies show the life long impact of adverse childhood experiences and many adults are still living with the effects.

These multiple adverse experience are more likely to lead to a form of PTSD called Complex PTSD. When definitions of PTSD were first developed it was for those suffering single event traumas like an accident or war injury. It’s taken a long time for recognition of PTSD in childhood to be caused by abusive situations. For more info on what cPTSD is like I highly recommend this author, Pete Walker.

LGBTQ+ and religion

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I have been really moved by this Ted Talk by a woman who had to choose between her daughter and her Church because of her daughters sexuality.

While it brought up sadness and anger that people are still being treated this way by organised religions, the hope and love she demonstrates brought me to tears. There are good people out there, there is an enormous capacity for love. When we connect to it, when we connect to others the power of that is incredible. That makes me hopeful.

New Years reflections

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The New Year always seems to be a time of reflection and hope to me. I reflect on the year past and hope and dream what the future year will bring, sadly it doesn’t always work out the way we want to.

For me on a personal level events in this last couple of years have meant I found myself reflecting a great deal on the past including things I thought I had dealt with and closed the door on.

The lesson for me is that doors don’t always stay closed and sometimes we have to revisit again and again painful memories.

The most profound thing for me though in that is that each time I process stuff anew, it is a very healing experience. By viewing the past from where I am now – with the support networks and self awareness I have allows me to put events into a different context. While my past will always be a part of me it doesn’t define me, but I also won’t deny it and sometimes it needs some attention and work.

That’s one of the side events of opening up yourself to therapy, once you begin processing, you never really stop. It becomes part of your being. I believe that’s a very powerful part to have.

It means that when the unexpected happens, as it surely will it is a resource we can call on to find a way through. To come out the other side with who we are still intact, even if we have been changed by new experiences.

I hope that whatever 2019 brings you, joys and sadness, fun and challenges that you have the resources to cope, inner resources and the support that comes from honest and loving relationships with friends and/or family.