Thought Pieces & Videos

The idea of meeting a complete stranger and sharing your innermost concerns and troubles with them is - undoubtedly - an uncomfortable one. For many people, this discomfort might even keep them from seeking professional help when they need it. Here, we speak with our Doctors to work through some of the common concerns and queries.

Becoming a parent is likely to be the biggest life change to date for both members of a couple. Although postpartum depression is typically associated with women, increasing numbers of new fathers have reported feelings of low mood and anxiety while adjusting to life with a newborn.

In March 2020, everything changed. The way we work, live and access help was transformed overnight. Initially, there was concern - clinicians and patients alike were worried about the efficacy of therapy, if conducted remotely via video. Will patients feel as contained? Will clinicians be able to give the same depth of insight and support? Will the sessions have the same value?

Throughout evolution, being part of a group has always been in our best interest. Belonging to a group increased our chances of survival, providing greater access to resources and protection from danger compared to being alone. It is no surprise, then, that no one enjoys feeling left out. Here we explore some of the reasons why we are so averse to exclusion and offers suggestions for coping when you find yourself feeling left out. 

When getting through each day is feeling like a struggle, or when you’ve been managing an issue for a very long time, it’s completely normal to want to see a specialist and have the whole matter solved instantly. We talk through how to approach expectations of the timescales involved, as well as examples that can be worked on in a shorter programme of therapy.

The relationship between you and your therapist is one of the strongest factors on how impactful your therapy will be. But how do you who how to choose? Would you get on better with a male or female therapist? Does it matter which approach to therapy they take? What if you don’t feel like you like the first person you meet with?

All too often we hear that people feel that they are a lost cause; that no amount of intervention will change anything, and that they are beyond help. The moments of extreme darkness that can give rise to these thoughts are frightening, there’s no denying that - but here Dr Veronica Ranieri, clinical psychologist, gives her perspective on these feelings, and how perhaps the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can instead be taken as a sign for action.

It is sometimes easy to forget mental wellness when we consider mental health, where mental illness might draw the focus. We also might often forget that if we’re feeling generally well, we should still consider how we can support our holistic wellbeing, and look after ourselves more now, so we can better weather any storms that lie ahead.

Have you ever found yourself amid conflict and wondered how it ever started? If so, you are not alone!   In 1968, Dr Steven Karpman proposed the Drama Triangle to describe three unhelpful roles people can unconsciously adopt in social interactions that often lead to conflict. The three roles are the Victim, the Rescuer, and the Persecutor.