Ending counselling sessions

Ending counselling sessions with many clients can be a bit strange. When working with organisations, it is often the case that we have come to the end of the allotted sessions, and we have no choice but to finish the...

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Small things matter.

The photo above is of our puppy, Margot, who is a small Border Terrier who has exploded with the force of a whirlwind into our lives recently; living proof that small things matter! I was walking Margot back from town...

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Anxiety – The Jealous Lover

In recent weeks, it has been interesting to see how much of a jealous lover anxiety can be. Let me explain. In the early days of any relationship, we tend to accept there is a bit of give and take...

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Good counsellors walk with you—they don’t carry you!

I often get asked about the difference between counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists. At the risk of raising the ire of each group, I would suggest that when each is highly qualified, grounded in research, and experienced, the answer is...

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Counselling: Challenging unfairness

There is something central about counselling that is often missed. For many people, counselling has become a place to go to complain about the unfairness of life. I agree life is unfair. The socio-political structures that surround us are...

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Slow Counselling meets Solution-Focused Counselling

The grounded counselling approach, although blending solution-focused counselling and coaching, is part of a wider slow counselling drive. Rather than using the now 'accepted' approach of forcing data, usually through surveys or questionnaires -- most of which information leads...

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On Perfectionism

One of the difficulties that many counsellors face is trying to help clients balance different aspects of their life; perfectionism reflects a lack of balance e in life. Finding that balance is important. For example, we can argue that...

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Fun is a ‘wicked problem’

In this post, I will introduce an argument that fun is a wicked problem. For much of the discussion on fun in the posts so far, I have written about fun as an object to be desired, manufactured or weaponised....

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Counselling should be fun

With so many counsellors sitting in the room straight-laced and distant, it might sound like heresy to suggest counselling should be fun, but in this post, that is precisely what I will argue. Although ‘counselling’ and ‘fun’ may not be...

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TAKE BACK CONTROL: MANAGING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

One issue seems to crop up repeatedly in discussions with clients; how to take back control and challenge negative thoughts. These thoughts could be about us or someone else; the connection is that the thoughts are negative and seem...

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