Counselling & Psychotherapy - Latest Blog Entries

Stress

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:39:00 +0100

Stress is an emotion which can often be accepted as a 'given' in a person's life and many endure it because they feel they have to and it is somehow part of their existence. This need not be the case.

It is important to understand the different types of stress and the way in which they are affecting you. A healthy adrenalin rush? or paralysed with fear and despair?. Understanding your stress limitations is crucial to preventing you from being consumed by it.

Perhaps you are encountering problems in your work, health, relationships, sex life or are struggling financially; whatever the reason, addressing it and owning it is the first step to beating it.

Many struggle alone with stress which very often serves to exacerbate it. Sharing your concerns and learning ways in which to manage your problems can help you to gain persepective and think beyond the feelings that overwhelm you.

Gambling addiction

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:01:00 +0100

When we consider the term 'addiction', gambling addiction is perhaps the last addiction that may come to mind.

Whilst the impact of a gambling addiction may not always be as rapid or obvious as other better known addictions, the scars it can leave behind may be equally devastating.

In today's society, with the accessibility to online gambling increasing all the time, the problem is escalating and it is not only the gambler who is suffering. I work not only with the gamblers themselves but with the 'affected others'; the friends, the family of the gambling client who are living with the daily consequences of the destructive behaviour. Often these people are the forgotten ones but this doesn't need to be the case.

Gambling affects not only the gambler, the ripples can extend much further.

Counselling and sexuality

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:41:00 +0100

How we define ourselves sexually can have a major impact on our lives in lots of different ways and for some, to deny who we feel we really are, can have distressing consequences.

Whatever your sexual orientation may be, it is important that it is met with acceptance and tolerance; be it by ourselves or others. Very often we find this is not always achievable.

I will work with you in a non-judgmental and safe way to explore your feelings towards your sexuality and what it means for you. My aim is to help you to arrive at a place where self-acceptance and confidence can enable you to embrace the person you are and the person you want to be.

Relationships

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:03:00 +0100

Relationships play a crucial and fundamental part in determining our happiness and fulfillment.

Perhaps the role you assume in relationships is influenced too strongly by negative experiences from the past which you find you are unable to move on from. Maybe you feel you cannot function in a healthy and mututally loving relationship due to mistrust or fear.

For most, our relationships define who we are and an unhealthy relationship can leave us feeling negative about ourselves and powerless to change.

Together we can work to identify what brings you to hold onto particular unhelpful feelings and subsequently allow them to infiltrate your relationships.

Depression

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:31:00 +0100

Depression comes in many guises. It may by characterised by an all-encompassing low mood, low self-steem or a loss of interest in activities or day to day living which would normally give you pleasure. There will be varying degrees to which you may find yourself impacted by depression and the extent to which it is impinging upon different areas of your everyday funtioning.

You may experience problematic changes in your sleeping and eating habits, work or school life functioning, sexual functioning, relationships and general health. Depression can become a vicious circle. It may be extremely difficult to find motivation to do anything and this can in itself lead you back to feeling more depressed or seeking to withdraw. One of the keys to beating depression is to take steps to break this cycle.

Therapy can help to free you from the overwhelming sense of feeling 'stuck' and hopeless. Feeling heard, understood and supported can provide you with a framework in which you can begin to face up to what is happening to you and give you the impetus to challenge your depression.

Counselling and low self-esteem

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:13:00 +0000

When I first became a therapist, I was struck by the large numbers of clients who were coming to me with issues around poor self-esteem. It seemed to pervade so many people's lives in some form or another and had left people dealing with much deeper issues further down the line because they had not confronted it.

For many, low self-esteem or what is often dismissed as a lack of confidence, can be viewed as something most people suffer from at some point or other or just tend to live with; and often it can be dealt with at this level and there may be no further problems. For a lot of people however, the problem can present itself in a far greater form and crop up in an area of their lives where and when they least expect it to.

Facing up to the crippling fears and emotions that hold you back in a positive and healthy way, can alter your entire way of being and prevent what may be a minor issue with self-preception, turning into an all consuming, negative personal and world view

Counselling and infertility/subfertility

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:29:00 +0000

For many men and women, discovering they are unable to conceive naturally can be a devastating realisation. Common emotional responses to infertility are a sense of loss, worthlessness, anger, grief, hopelessness and depression.

Couples may find their relationship comes under strain as a result of having to undergo fertility treatment which, can feel invasive and disheartening. The physical side effects of treatment may also be extremely tough and can present those undergoing treatment with additional challenges.

- Catherine (Counselling in London)

Counselling for physical, sexual or mental abuse

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:17:00 +0000

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:51:00 +0000

Often referred to as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), is a disorder typified by intrusive thoughts which induce anxiety. This anxiety may then cause you to engage in behaviour intended to reduce or combat the anxiety, which can result in often more heightened and intense anxiety.

OCD or phobias can be very debilitating physically and emotionally and can often result in social alienation. Significant time-consumption and extreme distress can also be consequences.

Implementing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) when working with people living with OCD or behavioural issues, can be helpful in managing the day to day symptoms of this disorder. Applying these techniques whilst simultaneously seeking to understand the root causes of the behaviour, can help to reduce or eradicate the cycles of erroneous behaviour.

For more information on CBT and its application, please refer to the page entitled CBT.

Counselling and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:38:00 +0000

PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder which tends to occur following exposure to or experience of a traumatic event/s, which can result in a severe psychological trauma.

Often a person's response to such an event or events can feel utterly overwhelming and we may not understand why we are feeling the way we do. PTSD can manifest itself in a reliving of experiences through flashbacks, nightmares or hypervigilance amongst other affected areas of functioning. You may find you are experiencing impairment with your relationships, forming attachments, memory or the meaning of life.

The key to beating PTSD is to confront it and relive it in order to be able to discard it from your life. CBT is highly successful in the treatment of PTSD and helps clients to live with what terrorises them and perceive it in a less harmful and debilitating way.

Counselling and eating disorders

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:58:00 +0000

- Catherine Repton (Counselling in London)

Counselling for bereavement and loss

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:59:00 +0000

Bereavement is our emotional and often multi-layered response to the loss of someone or something we have formed an attachment with.

Personal responses to loss can be overwhelming and all consuming, impacting us physically, socially, and behaviourally, leaving us feeling unable to cope with what has happened to us.

By sharing with me your experience of pain and loss, I will work with you and alongside you, to help you come to terms with what has happened to you. I will support you in your journey of grief to come to a place of acceptance which, allows you to move on with your life and let go of the painful emotions which are holding you back and preventing you from living.

Counselling for social anxiety and panic attacks/disorder

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:14:00 +0000

Panic attacks in whatever form they present, can be terrifying and devastating to a person's life. They can hit us out of the blue when we least expect it and paralyse us. Social anxiety is equally as harrowing for the sufferer and can rob us of a healthy functioning existence.

Panic disorder and social anxiety disorder exist along the same spectrum and share a common denominator, fear. Avoidance of these conditions only serves to feed and enable them, confronting them head on is key to freeing ourselves of the hold they have over us.

I work directively with these disorders and will help you to identify the source and triggers for your attacks/anxiety whilst also working with you to manage the anxiety on a daily basis. Our aim will be to gradually reduce the frequency and intensity of your attacks until they play no part in your life whatsoever.

Counselling for substance abuse and addiction

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:10:00 +0000