15 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Mental health

It’s been a long haul, this Pandemic! The one we remember forever as taking over the world in what seemed like the blink of an eye early in the year 2020. We recently celebrated the arrival of 2021 somehow thinking, or perhaps vaguely hoping, that with the coming of the new year all the horrors of 2020 would be consigned to the past. Unfortunately, Coronavirus is still with us, along with all the issues it brings. There is also another Pandemic that is travelling the world...

14 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Stress

Click Play below to listen to my thoughts on BBC Radio Nottingham [audio mp3="https://indabacounselling.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/The-Curse-of-Binge-Thinking-BBC-Interview.mp3"][/audio] We live in a pressured, competitive world, which for many leads to an elevated anxiety stemming from over overthinking and catastrophizing which often feels impossible to counter. It was this that I spoke about on BBC Radio Nottingham, trying to address how it manifests and affects individuals and relationships, and what can be done to manage debilitating results. Such thought processes that lead someone to see only the negative; to be hyper-aroused to perceived...

13 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Press

Have you been thinking about going for counselling but the thought of seeing a therapist face-to-face just feels too daunting? Perhaps you are disabled or are physically too unwell; possibly you are crippled by a social anxiety which traps you in your home and yet you long for support? The thought of finding a new place, trying to park, not sure what to expect when you get there and who might see you makes it all too much of a mountain to climb. Undeservedly, you may...

12 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Mental health

It’s an odd thing really, that if you have a physical ailment the obvious thing to do to is go and seek help from a doctor, but when something doesn’t feel right emotionally it’s often harder to reach out for support. Maybe it’s the belief that it would be somehow ‘weak’ to do so, or a concern about what others might think, almost as if we should be ashamed if we are unhappy? For this reason, although people refer to ‘mental health issues’, that term...

11 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Mental health

 I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wake up and life just feels like it’s going to suck that day. Usually I can relate it to something concrete, such as a challenge I may have at work, or I have a million crappy chores to do, or I have a bill to pay that feels a waste of my income when I’d rather spend it on something more fruitful, like...

10 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Cancer

Oh no, not again! I’m feeling somewhat punch drunk. It’s this malevolent Cancer thing which just 2 days ago descended yet another friend’s life into a living nightmare, and so the battle begins.  6 weeks ago, 3 months ago, a year ago, yet another diagnosis.  The dying of those close like my brother, a beloved childhood friend; the list goes on and on and on...

09 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Bereavement

Bereavement is a psychic amputation. Just as one might lose a limb, initially you can’t function effectively and all you can see 24/7 is that it isn’t there. Gradually, you learn to compensate and adapt and have moments when you forget. But always you have times, often unexpectedly triggered, when you are reminded that the limb is missing. So too with our sorrow. You never ‘get over’ the person having died, but you adapt to breathing without them, somehow, but not quite intact anymore. Death...

08 Mar

Posted at 12:00h in Children

OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP “Play under the control of the player gives the child his first and the most crucial opportunity to have the courage to think, to talk and perhaps even be himself.” (Bruner, 1983) This workshop is an introduction to the principles of counselling children in a person-centred way, and the role of play therapy in encouraging those under 10 years old to safely explore feelings and emotions that cannot be verbalised. In the UK alone there are around 2 million children suffering with some...