Counselling, Psychotherapy and Psychology Blog
Trends in Men's Psychological Wellbeing
In this article UKCP Psychotherapist Nicholas Rose considers the concerns facing men when research has shown huge increases in mental health issues. Nicholas talks about the impact of the pandemic, lockdowns, cost of living crisis and other current factors such as gender expectations, social media, relationships and suicide rates before sharing his experience of what men bring to therapy and then what can be done to protect and improve men's mental health.
Feeling fine or feeling F.I.N.E?
So how are you and your loved ones doing?
A great place to start is with this very question. We are really used to asking this question, the problem is that it is often used as a greeting as opposed to an actual enquiry and then we are not always ready or equipped for the answer the question might bring. I’m sure we all have experience of answering or hearing ‘fine’ to this question where rather than the adverb meaning of ‘very well’ it might be more easily understood as an abbreviation such as Frustrated, Insecure, Neurotic, Exhausted.
Understanding and Managing Anger
The experience of having anger is naturally unpleasant, and yet it is alerting us that something is not right for us and needs our attention. When we can understand the message contained in our anger, we can make changes so that the angry feelings will either lessen or disappear.
Nature versus nurture? The ongoing search for understanding.
As psychotherapists our role is to facilitate someone getting to the most helpful understanding of their concerns so that they can make skilful decisions about how to live life. Therapy exists at the point current medical knowledge ends with a view to helping someone live better with “what is”. Sometimes that might mean learning to live with a medical diagnosis and at other times a difficulty for which there is currently no known medical understanding.
Friendship as a Theme in Therapy
Friendship so often appears as a theme in therapy. Sometimes people come for therapy talking about loneliness and isolation specifically in relation to friendship whilst at other times people are experiencing isolation and loneliness, struggling with a concern in life alone, not because of a lack of friendship but because they choose not to talk about worries with their friends. Meanwhile sometimes friends, determined not to lose a friendship come to therapy to try and work through a concern they cannot resolve alone.
Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders and Therapy
If you are struggling, does your experience include not being able to remember things, feeling uncertain, noticing that you have a reduced response to things that ought to feel more painful? Does your experience make sense through the words disconnected, removed or outside of yourself, others or the wider world? Do you think of yourself as though you are or could be a different person or people depending upon the situation or do you experience another presence or presense? Maybe you experience life as if through a haze or mist and or can find yourself somewhere not knowing why you are there or how you got there? And thinking back to before you had this experience were you stressed?
Agoraphobia - Counselling and Therapy
In therapy we seek to explore the way in which the sufferer experiences agoraphobia through a detailed exploration, then with a greater understanding comes the possibility for new ways of thinking about and approaching the situations which are connected with the symptoms. Whilst there are tools and techniques available it is often the case that a full understanding enables a sufferer to find their own way of making effective change.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) Signs, Treatments, Therapy
It is through our relationships that the term Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) can be meaningful.
You may be feeling disappointed or angry with others for not recognising, appreciating or understanding you. You may find yourself feeling hurt, thinking you are out of place, or have the wrong people around you.
How To Recognise and Reduce Prejudice and Bias
It is natural for us to make judgements in the current moment based in part upon old experiences and information and this means we never enter into a new situation or interaction without the potential for unhelpful bias and prejudice.
The word prejudice means pre-judging, and happens when we judge, form opinions about a person and assess a stimulus as positive or negative, without a strong foundation or valid reasoning for those judgements. Prejudice can have a strong influence on how people behave and interact with others. It can happen unconsciously, without the person realising they are under the influence of their own prejudices or biases. Bias is an inclination tendency, or particular perspective towards something, which can be either favourable or unfavourable. When bias occurs outside of the perceiver’s awareness, it is classified as implicit bias.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Research shows that as many as one in twenty in the UK may fit the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD, but why and how to recognise it and what to do about it?
The lived experience of ADHD
Everyone’s ADHD will be different but the lived experience can include finding it hard to arrive to places on time, to be organised, finish tasks, focus and remember things as required. You may find the way people speak and the way in which they want you to do things may not always make sense or be interesting for you.
It is likely that the experience of trying to be with others in the way they seem at ease will not always feel comfortable for you. Probably the most difficult situations for you will be where you get a sense that others have expectations of you and the fear of getting things wrong may well create such stress and anxiety that you may find it difficult to feel at ease, think clearly and get things done.
Conversely, when left to your own devices you will be able to put intense focus and energy into things that you find interesting. This can lead to your being able to achieve things which leads to others expressing admiration, however it is likely that these exchanges may also feel uncomfortable for you as you sense their inability to fully understand what you are talking to them about.
Therapy and Counselling for Bullying
Bullying is abuse and the initial focus must always be about stopping the bullying from occurring or continuing. The very nature of bullying, namely the use and abuse of power, means that action is needed to address the power dynamic. Whether you are being bullied, have been bullied or think you might be bulling then get others involved and if you witness or suspect bullying then there is always something you can do. Ultimately bullying is never good for the bullied, or the bully and to have a society that does not stop bullying is not good for anyone.
Bullying often brings short-term and long-term negative effects on the victim, no one experience of bullying is ever the same and as such the affects vary. It is not unusual for bullying to have devastating longer term impacts. Research looking at the long-term psychological effects of bullying showed that the people who were bullied as children had a greater risk of depression, anxiety, suicide, low-self-esteem, panic disorder and agoraphobia as adults. It is important to remember that the psychological damage caused by bullying doesn’t end only because a victim has become an adult and now has a different life in which they are no longer bullied. Bullying commonly causes long-term issues, therefore the sooner the problems are addressed, the sooner they can be prevented from creating deeper problems.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - Signs, Treatments, Therapy
Seasonal Affective Disorder is also known as winter depression and is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern and is related to changes in seasons. SAD begins and ends at about the same time every year. Although some people who struggle with SAD may have symptoms during the summer, it is far more common for the symptoms to show and be severe during the winter months.
The symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder can include low mood and increased irritability, daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, lack of interest in social activities, feelings of hopelessness, feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness, unhappiness, reduced sexual interest, unhealthy food cravings and weight gain. In severe cases, SAD can cause suicidal thoughts and excessive anxiety.
Organisations That Can Help You If You Are Being Bullied
Bullying can have a detrimental effect on students and adults. It affects the physical and mental health, wellbeing and learning. It can often leave long-term problems and concerns, where therapy may be needed.
In the previous articles we’ve discussed the different types of bullying that can occur in your life and the effects of Covid-19 on bullying. This article is about the organisations that can help you if you are being bullied. Some of the well-known ones include:
Bullying During Covid-19
During the Covid-19 pandemic there has been an increase in the use of online and digital platforms, as well as social media. Kids and teenagers not only use digital platforms for their personal use but also for educational purposes, particularly during lockdown and when classes are moved to online teaching. With the increased usage of online platforms and social media, students who are prone to bullying are likely to cyberbully.
Bullying and the different types of bullying
November each year sees a whole week in the mental health calendar dedicated to helping understand, stop and provide support around the issue of bullying. So many people are affected by bullying behaviours and the impact on the sufferer can be severe and long lasting. Often depression, anxiety, together with a whole range of other concerns can be traced back in part to the experiences of bullying.
Understanding bullying is an important first step in being able to recognise it and in the run up to Anti-Bullying week. For this first blog post we are writing about the different types of bullying and we will follow up with further blog posts on bullying and the law, contemporary forms of bullying and finally how to stop bullying and how to recover from being bullied.
World Mental Health Day (World Federation for Mental Health)
World Mental Health Day takes place on October 10th and its aim is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world by bringing together efforts in support of mental health. On the day, organisations and individuals who are in charge of working on mental health issues, have an opportunity to come together and discuss their work and what needs to be done in order to improve mental health care worldwide and make it easily accessible for everyone.
The WFMH responds to mental health issues by working on the mission with its members in different countries, as well as conducting research at collaborating centres and universities, public education programs (such as World Mental Health Day), consultation to the United Nations (UN) and its specialised agencies.
In 2021, the World Federation for Mental Health President Dr Ingrid Daniels has announced the theme for World Mental Health Day which is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
World Suicide Prevention Day (IASP and WHO)
World Suicide Prevention Day takes place on September 10th every year to encourage and support the worldwide commitment to suicide prevention.
Advice on how to save and improve your relationship | Relationship Counselling / Therapy
Relationship counselling (sometimes known as couples counselling or marriage therapy) is a powerful form of psychotherapy. Sessions are held in a private setting with the goal of helping partners improve communication and resolving challenges in an intimate relationship.
Meet the therapist series: Adriana Amorin
Adriana is a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist offering both in-Person and online therapy and a registered member of the BACP. She works with individuals and couples drawing from psychoanalytic and existential approaches.
Trauma, Acute Stress Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD
The word trauma is one that is being increasingly used, understood but also misunderstood. Often there is something really powerful when someone realises that the feelings they are struggling with are those of feeling traumatised. Once identified it is possible to find a way forward. In this blog post we talk about trauma, Acute Stress Disorder and Post Traumautic Stress Disorder - otherwise known as PTSD.
Meet the therapist series: Martin Weaver
Martin has over twenty years experience of working in private practice, is accredited with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). He is qualified to Master Practitioner standard in NLP is an INLPTA certified NLP trainer and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in the supervision of counsellors from the University of Birmingham. Martin offers both in-Person and online therapy.
Nicholas Rose
Nicholas Rose is a psychotherapist registered with the UKCP working with adults both individually and their relationships.
