Welcome to my Blog
Setting your intentions for a fulfilling New Year
In a previous career, I often used to write articles for women's magazines entitled; "New Year, New you!" at this time of year. These always made me sigh (inwardly), but I always tried my best to put a bit of a spin on them and ended up with lots of things to give up...
Explore Your Own Potential This Year
I decided to call my practice Grow Your Own Potential, because I believe we all have an incredible inner drive to grow and develop ourselves and that this is the fundamental function of our work together in therapy. As a Transpersonal Psychotherapist, I am...
Protecting Your Precious Energy
Most of us have felt at some time that we are tired of giving all our energy away to others, leaving us feeling exhausted and depleted, especially at the moment. I have noticed, as have many of my clients, that this constant background anxiety from the holiday season...
Being connected and why it matters to mental health
One of the first things I notice about clients who suffer from depression or anxiety is that they often avoid being around other people. Some find others needs exhausting and some feel they might bring people down with their low mood. Overall there is a feeling that...
Growing inner resource and resilience in stormy times
Some people seem to be able to bounce back from difficult situations with no trouble at all. For most of us though, it is a much more challenging undertaking and we have all taken some emotional knocks over the last few years. Growing inner emotional resilience is a...
Learning to embrace the seasons
As the days get shorter and the nights draw in, we start to feel the Winter approaching. As someone who loves the sun, as soon as it starts to loose its warmth, I start to feel such loss, wishing it had been a longer more productive Summer (it is never long enough for...
Learning to love your inner child
"Why do I need to talk about my childhood?" This is a question I often get asked by clients first entering counselling. "I survived" a client once said to me with a big shrug, "why does it matter, let's move on". The reason therapists are so interested in childhood is...
Why Hope helps
During my Summer travels I came accross a project to leave stones around a local village with messages of hope and love written on them. I found it so inspiring that you could just pick up the stone and hold on to it, taking in the message, then placing it somewhere...
The signs of emotional overwhelm
Being aware of our emotional load and knowing when it's becoming too much is a careful balancing act. Physical overwhelm is probably easier to recognise for most of us; back pain or a headache which means we have to stop and take notice, even go to bed. Emotional...
Is your anxiety holding you back from travelling?
Travelling and holidays are mostly seen as great ways to relax and recuperate. However as the Summer holiday time arrives, I have clients who are finding it all incredibly stressful and very triggering for their anxiety. So how can something we all seem to long for...
The art of idling; learning to fully rest
When we are in recovery from mental or physical illness, we need to learn to fully rest and let go in order to start to feel well. I often work with clients who find this a challenge, they busy themselves with to do lists and appointments. In many ways they are too...
The ebb and flow of our mental health
I am often asked by clients when they will be better, when they will recover and be fully themselves again after struggles with their mental illness. This question is a deeply complex one and very relevant indeed in Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental health for me...