Tag: Therapy Southwark

Protecting your mental health

siobhantoner

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the current health crisis is affecting or will impact all our mental health.

I’ve found myself thinking about it more and more and worrying about what I should or shouldn’t do. I’ve also notice I’ve been having dreams that I am a lot more anxious during and after when I wake up.

It is bound to have an impact but we can all do things to help support our mental wellbeing. This article has some useful tips.

Putting some of these into practice will take time and persistence, however, the benefits may be very valuable.

Self care may not always be easy, but I wish you well with it.

How do you know your counsellor is qualified?

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner
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

siobhantoner

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

siobhantoner

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.