How Online Therapy Can Work Better for Modern Life
When some people think of a psychotherapy or counselling setting, they conjure up images of a couch in a room with soft lighting and an attentive, serious looking professional listening intently. If influenced more by the traditional psychoanalytic set up, you might even imagine yourself lying on the couch staring at the ceiling, while the therapist sits in a chair nearby, out of sight. While this could be true for the classical psychoanalytic type of therapy, with more of the world moving to online interactions, the benefits of in-person sessions are now being weighed out against online alternatives. In a […]
Intuition, meet Cognitive Bias
Cognitive biases can be described as systematic errors in thinking that affect how each individual perceives reality. Our brains, unfortunately, are not impartial processors of information. Instead, the brain takes shortcuts during the process of making judgements, drawing conclusions based on incomplete or distorted information. […]
The Intuitive Mind: A Guide or an Illusion?
One of the more persistent myths we live with is the belief that our feelings, those sudden hunches and quiet gut instincts, reliably hold the key to truth. Some of us also may have an unwavering conviction that intuition is the voice of wisdom, although they may struggle to articulate what intuition consists of, and what separates it from instinctual imperatives. Intuition may indeed be a profound guide — but it is also frequently mistaken by most, can be riddled with biases, and prone to capture by our unconscious. Instinct vs. Intuition It can be helpful to distinguish between instinct […]
Uncovering Triggers and Empowering Approaches to Calm Anxiety
In a previous blog post, we explored ways to understand anxiety and some common types. In the following, guest edited by counsellor and therapist Guy Turton, we look at some of the precedents to the experience of anxiety and some common approaches to addressing it when experienced. Precedents to Anxiety Anxiety can reflect our anticipation of a future event that we believe may go awry. It’s the mind’s way of bracing for something uncertain or potentially harmful, even when no direct threat is present. As a survival mechanism, it can motivate us to take action in the face of real danger. In today’s world, […]
Anxiety, shame, and sex
Many of us have been taught, implicitly or explicitly, to hide our most vulnerable parts. We live in a world of dualities, where love and apathy dance, and where pride and shame co-exist in tension. Sexuality, as one of our most intimate human experiences, often becomes a focal point for these emotions. In this blog […]
Dancing with Anxiety – Understanding and Overcoming Inner Turmoil
Anxiety is such a common human experience; it would be difficult to find someone who has not experienced it at some point in their lives. Whether in its subtle form of mild worry or as an overwhelming sense of dread, it seems to exist as an intrinsic part of being human. A lot of people […]
Love, Links and Leashes: Navigating the Tug-of-War Between Connection and Independence
There is a lot that can be said (and possibly a lot that can’t be easily articulated) about Love. Through the ages, people from many diverse fields - philosophers, poets, and scientists have shared perspectives on it, indicating how multifaceted and complex a topic it is. As humans, it is hoped that all of us […]
‘The Method’ in Therapy
In our previous blog post, we explored the key factors that contribute significantly to successful therapeutic outcomes. This post, our first collaborative work, reviewed by Counsellor Rohan Kenworthy, is on how person-centred psychotherapists can draw from their own experiences and emotions to establish a more effective therapeutic relationship. Therapy, especially when following a person-centred approach, […]
Unlocking Effective Therapy: The Science and Art Behind Client Change
Psychotherapy, being a vast field, encompasses many approaches, techniques, and philosophies. Despite this diversity – and sometimes because of it, someone who is considering talk therapy could face difficulties in deciding which type of practitioner and what type of therapy would be best suited for them. Research has consistently identified several key factors that contribute […]
So What if Free Will is an Illusion?
Whether we humans actually have free will or not is perhaps a hotly debated topic. I say perhaps, because it would probably depend on who you ask. While for some prone to, or interested in a certain degree of introspection, the existence of free will is a fundamental part of human existence, supporting our morality […]
A Product of its Time
I am thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new blog! My intention is for this blog to be a collaborative space, about us - embracing a collective approach, inviting opinionated guest collaborators to share their unique perspectives. From thought-provoking pieces to perspectives, it is my hope that our blog will be enriched by a […]