How we long for deeper connection
28 June 2020
We may often find ourselves staying on the surface in our conversations with people and particularly in the fast-paced word of social media.
But research by the University of Arizona found that more meaningful conversations were linked to greater happiness. They found that people who had more conversations where there was “real, meaningful information exchanged”, were likely to report higher satisfaction levels whether or not they were introverts or extraverts.
This confirms my belief that one of the benefits of being in therapy is having the chance to talk at depth about your experience. It is in this place that new insights of perspectives can become visible.
Dealing with your inner critic
14 June 2020
All of us, I would guess, have an inner critic - a part of us that judges or criticises us. To some degree the inner critic can help us, for example in maintaining high standards at work.
But for some of us the inner critic is pretty vicious. It may say things like:
“You’re stupid - you never understand things.”
The challenges of child-to-parent violence
7 June 2020
Often a taboo area for the families that experience it, and one that has become worse during the confinement of lockdown, is that of child-to-parent violence. Many parents feel some shame in disclosing what is going on or seeking support, which means the young person is not held to account and the violence and aggression can grow.
It is a particular problem for many parents of children with special needs, adopters or someone bringing up the child of a family member of friend.
