By nature, counsellors, play therapists and psychotherapists are caring and compassionate people. We enter the field to help others. But sometimes caring can be over-done. We focus on other people’s well-being and spend hours giving, often leaving ourselves outside of the circle of care. Nutrition and stress management is an important part of re-balancing that.…
Sandplay therapy is an excellent non-verbal way to help a person with a diagnosis of dementia express themselves. To mark Dementia Action Week, Emilia who is a recently qualified Sandplay Therapist (who trained with Jill) describes working in sandplay and dementia counselling … Sandplay offers a safe place to support for people living with…
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves”. Buddhism psychology and psychotherapy often go hand in hand. But who is the man who became Buddha and how is his life relevant to counselling today? In many parts…
Unite and unite and let us all unite For summer is a-come unto day And wither we are going, we will all unite In the merry morning of May Jung’s archetypes appear in The Cornish May Carol, which is one of hundreds of songs and poems celebrating May Day. Traditionally, it is a holiday…
It seems as if the Star Wars films have been around forever. If the person that the films’ director George Lucas called “My Yoda” is right, then they have been. Lucas had read the book “Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey” when he was a student and returned to his books whilst completing the original Star Wars films in…
Saint George is most associated with football, patriotism and of course (sorry) Brexit. George is England’s Patron Saint. He is also one of the most common Jungian archetypes or symbols. We don’t however know much about him. Various writers place him in the Middle East, Persia or Russia. He could have lived in the…
What comes to mind when you think about working creatively? Painting? Sandplay? Interpretative dance? Do you have to have artistic skills in order to find art therapeutic? If you are a counsellor or psychotherapist, do you think you need to be able to paint or draw to be an expressive arts therapist? One of the…
Contrary to popular belief, trauma is not just a psychological issue; it can have a profound effect on our physical health too. This is because the mind and body are inseparably linked. Indeed, the mind influences the body through many biological mechanisms, including the nervous system, the immune system and hormones. In the case of…
Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to boost physical and mental wellbeing. Science proved the power of yoga for healing trauma to help with a wide range of health conditions, from anxiety & stress to inflammation and chronic pain. Indeed, a growing body of evidence suggests…
Dance has played an important role in human culture for centuries. Before the evolution of the written language, it was one of the methods people used to recount traumatic events and pass the stories down from generation to generation. It’s an ancient and powerful way for people to express themselves and deal with painful feelings…