Relationship Counselling – My Practice
Rebuilding Trust, Communication, and Connection Article written by Cathy Stones Healing Together: A Compassionate Guide to Relationship Counselling Relationships are one of life’s greatest sources of joy—and sometimes, of deep pain. Whether you’ve been together for decades or are navigating the early stages of a new partnership, every couple faces challenges that test their connection. […]
Cost of Living, Mental Health, and Accessible Therapy in the UK
Navigating the Storm: The UK has been wrestling with a tempest of rising costs and economic uncertainty in recent years. While inflation rates may have dipped from their 2022 peak, the cumulative impact of these pressures continues to reverberate through households across the nation. This constant strain on finances is not simply an economic concern; […]
Supporting Parents and Carers
Beyond the blueprint: What a counsellor sees when supporting parents and carers. In the world of parenting, we are often presented with a polished blueprint for success. Social media overflows with images of flawless family life, and parenting books promise step-by-step instructions for raising well-adjusted children. But in my counselling room, the reality is far […]
Body Image and Body Acceptance
Body image problems affect lots of different people. It’s not about vanity or being shallow. Body image issues aren’t something “silly” experienced only by teenage girls, nor are they something we can just “get over”. I could share lots of statistics about how many people don’t like their bodies but I think we all know… […]
Costs vs Counselling
The cost of living keeps rising and negotiable counselling fees. Energy bills, food bills, rent, petrol. Everything is going up, yet wages are staying the same, which I feel put’s counsellors in a little bit of a dilemma. We of course want to try and support all people and deserve to be paid a good […]
Are They Listening to You?
Is your smart device listening to your counselling conversations? Let me take you back to last weekend. Myself and my husband were sat in the kitchen, he was waffling on about buying some big umbrella thing for the decking I was not really listening and continued to wrestle my daughter to put sun cream on […]
Finding Self-Acceptance
A Personal Account of Acceptance What does acceptance even look like? For someone who has had to mask, suppress and hide who they really are for their whole life, feeling accepted can bring up a whole host of emotions. A whirlwind of conflict and confusion beyond words. Because truth is, they were. It felt amazing, […]
An Injured Soul
Addiction Everyone has different reasons and stories about who, what, where and why they have taken drugs. I often look back at my time using through rose tinted glasses. You see, no one can tell me, the feeling, the rush, the effects, were not great. Because truth is, they were. It felt amazing, I felt […]
The Darker Side of Exercise
Exercise… What does that word mean to you? Health? Fitness? Sport? Well for me, and sadly many others too, it means fear, exhaustion, and addiction. Exercise “addiction” is something that is used in jest by some, we see posts, articles and blogs on how people have “found fitness” and apparently changed their lives for the […]
My Eating Disorder and PTSD
My experience of misconceptions with Eating Disorders and PTSD… You’re not slim enough to have an eating disorder? You have never been to war, how can you have PTSD? You are too bubbly to be suicidal! Hmmmm All of these misconceptions have one deadly thing in common. They have all nearly cost me my life. […]
Researchers study COVID’s effect on relationships
The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting the daily lives of people all around the world. But what about the ways they stay connected with loved ones? Richard Slatcher, the Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, is working with two international colleagues to determine the psychological effects of a decrease in […]
Lockdown: Suicide fears soar in LGBT community
There has been a significant rise during lockdown in the UK in the number of LGBT people seeking suicide-prevention support. Support group LGBT Hero reports 11,000 people have accessed its suicide-prevention web pages – up over 44% on the first three months of the year. And other LGBT charities have service users who have killed […]