Incorporating existential thinking into an integrative approach to psychotherapeutic practice has always been a huge influence for me. An existential approach may have its limitations but there are a number of ideas within the approach, not that the approach is always coherent and uniform, that can be of enormous benefit when seeking to view the whole person […]
I recall a lecturer from my psychotherapy training saying during a lecture that experiencing anxiety when about to give a presentation was due to incompetence and a failure to prepare. I remember thinking at the time that this view seemed a bit harsh. What about people suffering the symptoms of GAD, I thought, when physical
Do you regularly find yourself blaming others for your plot in life? Do you often feel helpless and powerless in your dealings with other people? Do you struggle to make decisions and enjoy pleasurable experiences in life? If these questions resonate with you then you may be triggering the victim mentality when dealing with other people.
The term bad boy could be seen as a cultural archetype and in the movies James Dean’s 17-year-old character Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause would be a bad boy archetype. A modern Jungian perspective would view an archetype as a primitive mental image inherited from our earliest human ancestors, and is present in the collective unconscious.
Our ability to engage with imagination is what distinguishes us from all other species. But it is something we have rarely been taught how to work with. Our ability to compute and to analyse (the typical left side of the brain functions) have been well developed in our education systems, but not our capacity for imagination. If
When dealing with toxic work colleagues it is important to try to stay focused on keeping your heart space open. Stressful work environments, particularly when they are toxic, have the potential to negatively impact on your worldwide. It can be tempting to see the world through cynical eyes when operating in a toxic organisation, that
Are you worried about your ability to cope with a demanding workload? Do you believe that you are suffering symptoms of anxiety as a result of your ability to cope with deadlines and organisational objectives? Do you feel in need of support to devise a self care plan to maintain a healthy emotional state? If
Some people can find it difficult to say ‘no’. They may assume that it is impolite to refuse a request, whether that is an invitation to a social event or to be asked for information. Saying ‘yes’ is fine, so long as you are happy in complying with the request. The problem comes when you say
Toxic behaviour usually emanates from someone with deep wounding from their personal history. The person is not able to take responsibility for their feelings, attitude, their needs and their consequent emotional problems. Their interactions with others, particularly within organisations, is characterised at times by tense and hostile communication. You know you are around a person
We are living through an era of massive social change as technology continues to advance and we struggle to adjust ourselves with the pace of change. The so-called information age, or digital age, was supposed to make us all feel more connected. However, more and more of us are feeling lonelier and lonelier. The writer