Hear the words, ‘single parent’ and what does it conjure up for you? Struggles with money, a frantic woman failing to cope with feral children, or the loss of a fairy tale future? Such negative views of single motherhood can play their part in keeping us stuck in relationships that aren’t working. The conscious or … Read more
“No man ever threw away life while it was worth keeping.” said philosopher David Hume. Although he was talking about suicide, he could just as easily have been referring to staying in an unhappy relationship. Home working throughout the pandemic has proven to be a real relationship wrecker. Research from law firm Stewarts, showed a … Read more
My very first counselling placement was within bereavement. Where I listened as clients explored their grief. Often they spoke of shock, sometimes abandonment and occasionally a sense of overwhelm. Reflecting on this work, I’m struck by how inept words are to express the raw, desperate, profound feelings that death can deliver to those left behind. … Read more
It was Freud who first suggested that dad’s can have a big influence on their daughter’s romantic relationships. His Oedipus complex theory stated that girls are attracted to their father, and view their mother as a rival for that affection. Of course, Freud published his work over a hundred years ago, so it’s not the … Read more
Forgiveness, we’re told, is a wonderful thing. It sets us free and supports good health. All spiritual texts agree, forgiveness is the way forward. Yet quite frankly, forgiveness can sometimes feel impossible. And the effort expended in attempting to forgive can be mentally exhausting. And often futile. So, what to do when you can’t forgive? … Read more
Hollywood star, Sharon Stone, writes a good biography. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, as I once read that she has an IQ of 150. And yet it does. Within Sharon Stone’s autobiography The Beauty of Living Twice, she writes conversationally, authentically and with surprising sensitivity about sexual abuse, a brutal childhood and … Read more
In the Summer of 2017, seemingly before friendship counselling existed, I wrote an article called Forever Friends? Within it I explored ending a friendship, and suggested an attitude of peaceful acceptance. After all, I wrote “Not all friendships are meant to last forever.” Four years on, and now I’m aware that friendship counselling exists, I disagree … Read more
Many people will instantly know when a relationship doesn’t feel healthy. But when does a less-than-perfect relationship turn toxic? The simplest explanation is from Psych Alive, “A toxic relationship is often characterised by repeated, mutually destructive modes of relating between a couple. These patterns can involve jealousy, possessiveness, dominance, manipulation, desperation, selfishness or rejection.” In … Read more