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1. Diagnosing Trump 2. The 5 stages of Brexit 3. What can we learn from Donald Trump? 4. What is a psychopath? 5. Top-10 self-help books 6. The worst self-help book ever 7. The 6 relationship types: What colour is yours? 8. In praise of uncertainty 9. On loneliness 10. Perfect love 11. On sex and sexuality 12. The great CBT debate 13. Does your government make you happy? 14. Multiple personalities revisited 15. Psychedelics revisited Topics All Animals Anxiety Art Bipolar Case Studies CBT Children Death Depression Gender Happiness Loneliness Love Mental Health Motivation News People Places Politics Psychograms Self Help Sex Suicide Therapy Trauma Archives January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 Author John Barton is a counsellor, psychotherapist, blogger and writer with a private practice in Marylebone, Central London. To contact, click here. |

Weekly news round-up #37
31/7/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: BIPOLAR TIMES: A triumph of marketing • U.K. NEWS: Cuts to UK mental health services are destroying lives • Independent report calls for more 'balanced' and 'truthful' reporting • U.S.A. NEWS: Juvenile detention centers “actually suck” for kids with mental health issues • US schools introduce mental health programs to address teen cutting • WORLD NEWS: Preventing long-term mental health issues in Nepal • Qatar: counselling centres urged for expats • New Zealand: Kiwis crave advice to support young people • VIEWPOINTS: Should I stay or should I go? • 7 signs your therapist is good at their job (because some of us are weirdos). Read more
31/7/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: BIPOLAR TIMES: A triumph of marketing • U.K. NEWS: Cuts to UK mental health services are destroying lives • Independent report calls for more 'balanced' and 'truthful' reporting • U.S.A. NEWS: Juvenile detention centers “actually suck” for kids with mental health issues • US schools introduce mental health programs to address teen cutting • WORLD NEWS: Preventing long-term mental health issues in Nepal • Qatar: counselling centres urged for expats • New Zealand: Kiwis crave advice to support young people • VIEWPOINTS: Should I stay or should I go? • 7 signs your therapist is good at their job (because some of us are weirdos). Read more

Weekly news round-up #35
17/7/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: TRUE NATURE: The oxygen of a healthy environment • U.K. NEWS: • Large UK trial to ask if mindfulness boosts teenage mental health • U.S.A. NEWS: • Even mild mental health problems in children can cause trouble later • Judge orders counseling for Obama critic Dinesh D'Souza • WORLD NEWS: • Global health workforce, finances remain low for mental health • Professionals demand cancelation of Israel conference • Iran changes law to make divorce harder • Time to tackle Australia's mental health crisis • VIEWPOINTS: • I came out of a teenage mental health unit worse than when I went in • Psychiatry's identity crisis • Timing is everything when it comes to marriage counseling. Read more
17/7/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: TRUE NATURE: The oxygen of a healthy environment • U.K. NEWS: • Large UK trial to ask if mindfulness boosts teenage mental health • U.S.A. NEWS: • Even mild mental health problems in children can cause trouble later • Judge orders counseling for Obama critic Dinesh D'Souza • WORLD NEWS: • Global health workforce, finances remain low for mental health • Professionals demand cancelation of Israel conference • Iran changes law to make divorce harder • Time to tackle Australia's mental health crisis • VIEWPOINTS: • I came out of a teenage mental health unit worse than when I went in • Psychiatry's identity crisis • Timing is everything when it comes to marriage counseling. Read more
![]() Weekly news round-up #32
26/6/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: “A victory for love” • U.K. NEWS: Black and minority ethnic people shortchanged • Male matters: 'Psychologists should lead the way on male mental health issues' • Problems rise among teenagers • U.S.A. NEWS: Could brain scans help guide treatment for OCD? • Schwarzenegger: marriage counselling the ‘biggest mistake I’ve ever made’ • Horses that heal: how equine therapy is helping people find peace of mind • WORLD NEWS: South Africa: Counselling on wheels in Khayelitsha • Yoga can cure India's rising mental health issues • VIEWPOINT: Do I need therapy? How do I find a good therapist? Read more |
Weekly news round-up #31
19/6/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: CHARLESTON KILLINGS: O say, can’t you see? • It's not about mental illness: The big lie • U.K. NEWS: Mental health patients forced to go to A&E • Mental health nurses to join beat bobbies • Two in five new dads concerned about mental health • Revolution growing in Birmingham • Project shines a light on darkness • U.S.A. NEWS: Huge racial divide in depression, anxiety • Suffering in silence: The battle of pregnant women • WORLD NEWS: India: Devotees of all faiths go for counselling at Mumbai church • Nepal: post-earthquake counselling • VIEWPOINTS: 10 tips to make therapy work for you • Working in mental health is not like fixing broken legs • A proactive approach to wellness. Read more |

Weekly news round-up #29
5/6/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: CAITLYN JENNER: Kim Kardashian may have broken the internet, but Caitlyn Jenner united it • PICKS OF THE WEEK: What is Impostor Syndrome? • How does psychotherapy really work? • U.K. NEWS: Government’s mental health funding pledge • Frequently bullied kids 'twice as likely' to be depressed at 18 • Glan Clwyd Hospital: Mental health care ‘horrific’ • Big White Wall: support goes digital • U.S.A. NEWS: Hillary Clinton's campaign and mental health • Group sues to close Jewish gay counselling service • Former NY Giant Kareem McKenzie to be a counsellor • WORLD NEWS: Canada: How to fix the mental health system. Read more
5/6/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: CAITLYN JENNER: Kim Kardashian may have broken the internet, but Caitlyn Jenner united it • PICKS OF THE WEEK: What is Impostor Syndrome? • How does psychotherapy really work? • U.K. NEWS: Government’s mental health funding pledge • Frequently bullied kids 'twice as likely' to be depressed at 18 • Glan Clwyd Hospital: Mental health care ‘horrific’ • Big White Wall: support goes digital • U.S.A. NEWS: Hillary Clinton's campaign and mental health • Group sues to close Jewish gay counselling service • Former NY Giant Kareem McKenzie to be a counsellor • WORLD NEWS: Canada: How to fix the mental health system. Read more

Psychedelics revisited
4/6/15
After decades of just-say-no prohibition, psychedelic drugs suddenly seem to be making something of a comeback: An increasing chorus of experts claims that magic mushrooms, LSD and Ecstasy aren’t particularly dangerous and could play an important role in treating mental health problems. We have explored, mapped and catalogued every inch of our planet. We have walked on the moon, sent spaceships to far-away stars and studied ever-distant galaxies. Perhaps, however, the final frontiers are within—what Aldous Huxley calls the “antipodes of the mind.” With exploration—whether through self-reflection, therapy, meditation, religious practice or hallucinogenic drugs—it’s possible that we can discover new realms, expand our consciousness and become ever-richer, fuller, truer versions of ourselves. Read more
4/6/15
After decades of just-say-no prohibition, psychedelic drugs suddenly seem to be making something of a comeback: An increasing chorus of experts claims that magic mushrooms, LSD and Ecstasy aren’t particularly dangerous and could play an important role in treating mental health problems. We have explored, mapped and catalogued every inch of our planet. We have walked on the moon, sent spaceships to far-away stars and studied ever-distant galaxies. Perhaps, however, the final frontiers are within—what Aldous Huxley calls the “antipodes of the mind.” With exploration—whether through self-reflection, therapy, meditation, religious practice or hallucinogenic drugs—it’s possible that we can discover new realms, expand our consciousness and become ever-richer, fuller, truer versions of ourselves. Read more

Weekly news round-up
29/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: BATTLE OF THE SEXES: Are women really more likely to have “serious mental health problems” than men? • U.K. NEWS: Mental health services in Scotland get £85m funding boost • Heart failure patients with depression are five times more likely to die • U.S.A. NEWS: Anxiety more prevalent than all forms of cancer combined • Serious mental health problems declining among America's youth • Demi Lovato is the face of mental health in new campaign • WORLD NEWS: Saudi Arabia: helping drug addicts through the phone • Australia: Online chat rooms could be the future of rural mental health. Read more
29/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: BATTLE OF THE SEXES: Are women really more likely to have “serious mental health problems” than men? • U.K. NEWS: Mental health services in Scotland get £85m funding boost • Heart failure patients with depression are five times more likely to die • U.S.A. NEWS: Anxiety more prevalent than all forms of cancer combined • Serious mental health problems declining among America's youth • Demi Lovato is the face of mental health in new campaign • WORLD NEWS: Saudi Arabia: helping drug addicts through the phone • Australia: Online chat rooms could be the future of rural mental health. Read more

Weekly news round-up
15/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: Med alert: Anti-depressants and other psychiatric drugs do more harm than good, says expert • Time to wean ourselves off the drugs • Mindfulness: an effective mental health treatment • U.K. news: Surge in young people seeking help for exam stress • Cuts are 'driving people to the edge' • Mental health awareness week 2015 • “I work in mental health but colleagues don't understand my depression” • Call for international LGBT psychology and counselling standards • Mental health mission for Leicestershire officer • U.S.A. news: Man who shot Ronald Reagan seeks release • A prescription for mental health in America • New York’s first lady ties mental health to income inequality • World news: Canada: ‘Sad but rad' fashion brand • Australia: $200 voucher for troubled couples to use for relationship counselling dumped. Read more
15/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: Med alert: Anti-depressants and other psychiatric drugs do more harm than good, says expert • Time to wean ourselves off the drugs • Mindfulness: an effective mental health treatment • U.K. news: Surge in young people seeking help for exam stress • Cuts are 'driving people to the edge' • Mental health awareness week 2015 • “I work in mental health but colleagues don't understand my depression” • Call for international LGBT psychology and counselling standards • Mental health mission for Leicestershire officer • U.S.A. news: Man who shot Ronald Reagan seeks release • A prescription for mental health in America • New York’s first lady ties mental health to income inequality • World news: Canada: ‘Sad but rad' fashion brand • Australia: $200 voucher for troubled couples to use for relationship counselling dumped. Read more
B.B. King 1925-2015
15/5/15 There Must Be A Better World Somewhere Sometimes I wonder Just what am I fighting for? I win some battles But I always lose the war I keep right on stumblin' In this no-man's land out here But I know Mmmmm yes, I know There must be a better world somewhere |
![]() Weekly news round-up
8/5/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: General Election blues: A psychotherapist's recovery guide • Cameron: ensure our NHS is safe • Only less austerity will improve our mental health • Post-election playlists to suit every mood • Elections are bad for your health • U.K. news: The crisis in children's mental health: an NHS insider speaks • Pressure on A&E • U.S.A. news: May Is Mental Health Month • Millenials tearing down the stigma • The troubling link between the economy and mental health • Reviews: 'Welcome To Me' shows humor, heartbreak • 'Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy' by Irvin D. Yalom • World news: Earthquake-devastated Nepal struggles to heal its emotional scars • Nigeria: Hundreds freed from Boko Haram require counselling • Turkey: Obligatory counseling for domestic violence perpetrators • Saudi Arabia: Using art therapy to open the minds of jihadists. Read more |
Weekly news round-up
1/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: General Election: Where parties stand on issues relating to counselling and psychotherapy • U.K. news: Mental health charities can help people where the NHS cannot • U.S.A. news: Crunch on campus • Majority of Texans affected by mental health issues • Effects of bullying even worse than effects of abuse by adults • A stroll in Ikea: The ultimate test of a relationship • World news: United Arab Emirates: Employees fear disclosing mental health issues to bosses • India: Early counselling key in helping youth combat stress: Read more
1/5/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: General Election: Where parties stand on issues relating to counselling and psychotherapy • U.K. news: Mental health charities can help people where the NHS cannot • U.S.A. news: Crunch on campus • Majority of Texans affected by mental health issues • Effects of bullying even worse than effects of abuse by adults • A stroll in Ikea: The ultimate test of a relationship • World news: United Arab Emirates: Employees fear disclosing mental health issues to bosses • India: Early counselling key in helping youth combat stress: Read more
![]() Weekly news round-up
10/4/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: Kurt Cobain remembered • U.K. news: Myths and realities of mental health • Jump in counselling for UK transgender children • Protecting mental health must begin in Britain's schools • Education doesn't guarantee happiness • U.S.A. news: Will the Germanwings crash affect how employers approach mental health? • 9% of Americans are angry, impulsive...and have a gun • California to provide counseling to mentally ill inmates • Children of undocumented immigrants face crisis • Michelle Obama, Kerry Washington and Sarah Jessica Parker talk mental health • World news: Saudi Arabia: Treating jihadists with art therapy • Jamaica: Signs you need to get divorced now • Read more |
On sex and sexuality:
Are you “normal"? 24/3/15 Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. This famous dictum, variously attributed to Laurie Anderson, Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello and Thelonius Monk, to name a few, could also be applied to museum exhibits about sex: They are destined to dissatisfy, to miss the point, to prove hopelessly inadequate compared to the experience of the thing itself. Nevertheless, undeterred, notebook in hand, world of therapy went to investigate the Wellcome Collection’s Institute of Sexology exhibition, where you are invited to “undress your mind.” You may, if you wish, do the same. Where do you stand, for example, on BDSM, kink, 50 shades? What are your "rules" of sex? Are you “normal”? Read more |
Weekly news round-up
27/3/15 Notable news from the world of therapy The plane crash: Andreas Lubitz's mental health • U.K. news: Deputy Prime Minister launches mental health in sport initiative • Mental health service budgets 'cut by 8%’—patients detained in a police cell • Children's mental-health funding boost • Male victims of sexual abuse • Psychotherapy practice uses animal magic • Blur: “We Went For Counselling” • Bogus psychology doctor exposed • Danny Dyer’s secret counselling • Coronation Street star training to be a psychotherapist • Trauma for One Direction fans • U.S.A. news: Measuring empathy • Popular club drug for the terminally ill • World news: Chad: refugees receive counseling • Ghana: mainstreaming mental health • India: prisoners to enjoy 'magical' counselling • Singapore: 24-hour help for problem gamblers • China: mental health issues triggering insomnia • Read more |
Weekly news round-up
20/3/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: International Day of Happiness • Children's mental health to get £1.25 billion boost • Mind matters: the politics of mental health • Wales: older men action call by Mind Cymru • USA: “President Obama has elevated the conversation about mental health to the national stage” • Mental health: A new priority in Corporate America • India: call for better focus on mental health in Kerala • Australia: mental health services spending on the rise • Other stuff: The computer will see you now • Run from your problems: why counselling during a workout is an effective form of therapy • Happiness is a needle and thread away: new data on benefits of knitting • Read more |
![]() The colour of love
10/3/15 You've read the story on The 6 relationship types. Now we'd really like to know: what colour is yours? Here are the 6 types: • Yellow: When “avoidant” meets “avoidant” (cold+cold), eg. Terry & June • Red: When “preoccupied” meets “preoccupied” (hot+hot), eg. Burton & Taylor • Blue: When “avoidant” meets “preoccupied” (cold+hot), eg. Charles & Diana • Purple: When “avoidant” meets “secure” (cold+warm), eg. Bogie & Bacall • Green: When “preoccupied” meets “secure” (hot+warm), eg. Bill & Hillary • Black and White: When “secure” meets “secure” (warm+warm), eg. John & Yoko VOTE NOW! |
Weekly news round-up
6/3/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: Facebook’s bid to help prevent suicides • Julie Andrews (above): Counselling led me to love • The future of mental health in the UK: an election manifesto • Children's services hit rock bottom – so what's next? • Scotland: child wait increases 'are horrifying' • “The Troubles” linked to half mental health cases in Northern Ireland • USA: Michelle Obama promotes awareness of mental health care • Kenya: How one woman is “fighting the funk” by helping others • Israel: 350 soldiers received psychiatric counseling after Gaza War • Saudi Arabia: counseling helps 2,950 extremists mend ways • Australia: Large gap between rich and poor areas in use of services revealed • The developing world: When mental health is the best investment • Therapy: Two opposing viewpoints • Read more |

Trauma: the aftershocks of human inhumanity
4/3/15
A sad story last week about the suicide of a British soldier who suffered terrible injuries from a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. For Private Bradley Paul, the psychological wounds became impossible to live with. The government sends people like Paul off to the dark places of the earth, often for highly questionable purposes. They witness death, destruction, massacres, unspeakable acts of barbarism. They suffer great injuries. They see friends killed right in front of them. They kill. Then they’re supposed to come home, keep calm and carry on as normal. “As you were, soldier.” Thanks a lot for your years of service, your courage, your sacrifices—now go away.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) doesn’t just happen in war zones, far away. It is an unbearable, horrific fact of life. It is among us. How many deeply traumatised people are walking on the earth today, right now, in pain, having received no treatment at all? Read more
4/3/15
A sad story last week about the suicide of a British soldier who suffered terrible injuries from a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. For Private Bradley Paul, the psychological wounds became impossible to live with. The government sends people like Paul off to the dark places of the earth, often for highly questionable purposes. They witness death, destruction, massacres, unspeakable acts of barbarism. They suffer great injuries. They see friends killed right in front of them. They kill. Then they’re supposed to come home, keep calm and carry on as normal. “As you were, soldier.” Thanks a lot for your years of service, your courage, your sacrifices—now go away.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) doesn’t just happen in war zones, far away. It is an unbearable, horrific fact of life. It is among us. How many deeply traumatised people are walking on the earth today, right now, in pain, having received no treatment at all? Read more
![]() Weekly news round-up
20/2/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: Alastair Campbell: I urged couples counselling for Blair and Brown • Service provision in the UK: time to think again • Armed forces suffering crisis as 28,000 are diagnosed with problems since 2007 • Suicide in Wales • USA: Where are the mental-health providers? • Funding for mental health services in Australia to quadruple • Mental health care in Nepal • Headline of the week: “Non-married couples on motorcycles will not be arrested, but given counselling” • Read more |
![]() Valentine's Day: The demand for romance
14/2/15 It’s Valentine’s Day. The day when there is some kind of Big Brother (or Big Sister) command from on high that today you must be romantic, offer cards and pink fluffy things to the person of your dreams, make grand gestures intended to demonstrate the extent of your commitment, and perhaps go out for an evening meal in a red rose-strewn restaurant offering a “special” (ie. monumentally overpriced) menu. Valentine’s Day can be great of course, a celebration, a renewal. But love, romance and sexual arousal don’t tend to respond to command. Perhaps overall, on the balance sheet of human joy versus human misery, Valentine’s Day is a net contributor to the latter rather than the former. Read more |
The end of “conversion therapy"
10/2/15 “My death needs to mean something” wrote 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn in her suicide note in December. Well, it does: It further highlights the plight of transgendered people, and has dramatically accelerated the demise of the ludicrous “pray the gay away” practice known as conversion therapy, which has long been inexorably heading for retirement in the therapy curio cabinet, along with skull drilling, lobotomies, leeches, and various treatments for “female hysteria.” Therapy (and life) isn’t about trying to make yourself become someone you’re fundamentally not. It’s not about trying to change other people, either. Whether we’re part of the mainstream or we live more towards the margins of one bell curve or another, don't we all want acceptance and freedom? Isn't a fair, inclusive and peaceful society better than a prejudiced, oppressive and violent one? Read more |
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The 6 relationship types: What colour is yours?
10/1/15 Our early attachment experiences as babies and infants direct all our relationships in later life. The way we learned to relate—hot, warm or cold—is the backdrop to every romantic entanglement and disentanglement, to every Machiavellian workplace manoeuvre, to how we operate as parents. Attachment, too, provides an X-ray vision into relationship patterns, which as a result can be broadly broken down into 6 different types. What colour is your love? Read more |
![]() Asylums revisited
1/2/15 Politically, economically and emotionally, there’s probably little appetite for the return of lots of asylums, but a new paper in America argues there is something appealing about the possibility of refuge in “safe, modern, and humane” patient-centred facilities, where the original meaning of the term asylum—a place of sanctuary, support and treatment—is honoured. And where the staff aren’t like Nurse Ratched. Read more ![]() Weekly news round-up
30/1/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: R.I.P. Fido: Grief groups grow as American society views pets as family members • Children: mental health in the U.K.; child adversity and psychological troubles may speed up aging; the needs of gang-affiliated young people • Scottish ministers under fire over huge drop in mental health research • Los Creativamente Inadaptados: The alternatives to psychiatry movement in Chile/Argentina • Read more |

Blue Monday: How was yours?
24/1/15
How was your week? Did you survive “Blue Monday”? The third Monday of January has supposedly been “scientifically” proven to be the most depressing day of the year. The warm glow of Christmas (another myth) is now a distant memory, the credit card bills have arrived, your New Year’s resolutions have all fallen by the wayside. You’ve lost your mojo. There’s nothing on TV. It’s raining. The Blue Monday equation, however, has been debunked. There is some evidence that springtime/early summer is actually a much sadder time of year. Read more
24/1/15
How was your week? Did you survive “Blue Monday”? The third Monday of January has supposedly been “scientifically” proven to be the most depressing day of the year. The warm glow of Christmas (another myth) is now a distant memory, the credit card bills have arrived, your New Year’s resolutions have all fallen by the wayside. You’ve lost your mojo. There’s nothing on TV. It’s raining. The Blue Monday equation, however, has been debunked. There is some evidence that springtime/early summer is actually a much sadder time of year. Read more

On change: turn and face the strange
23/1/15
We’re born, we grow, we blossom into gorgeous ripeness. But sometimes our growth can be stunted, stuck or skewed. What prospects for change in these circumstances? Jung wrote: “We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.” This paradoxical idea of change says: We can only become more like the person we want to be by first fully cherishing the person we are. Acceptance arises from two factors that therapy offers: self-knowledge, and, for want of a better word, love. Read more
23/1/15
We’re born, we grow, we blossom into gorgeous ripeness. But sometimes our growth can be stunted, stuck or skewed. What prospects for change in these circumstances? Jung wrote: “We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.” This paradoxical idea of change says: We can only become more like the person we want to be by first fully cherishing the person we are. Acceptance arises from two factors that therapy offers: self-knowledge, and, for want of a better word, love. Read more

Weekly news round-up
16/1/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Art therapy for troubled kids • Headteachers: pupils are “let down” • Bisexual women more likely to suffer than lesbians • Why is America’s mental health the worst in the world? • Tears of Ishtar: women’s psychological suffering in Iraq • Study challenges notions of Australian men’s openness to counseling • Voodoo priests, doctors on frontline of Haiti’s mental healthcare • Download New Year, New You • Read more
16/1/15
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Art therapy for troubled kids • Headteachers: pupils are “let down” • Bisexual women more likely to suffer than lesbians • Why is America’s mental health the worst in the world? • Tears of Ishtar: women’s psychological suffering in Iraq • Study challenges notions of Australian men’s openness to counseling • Voodoo priests, doctors on frontline of Haiti’s mental healthcare • Download New Year, New You • Read more
![]() Weekly news round-up
9/1/15 Notable news from the world of therapy: • Did you survive “Divorce Day”? • Deputy PM launches search for “Mental Health Heroes” • Children's mental health services ’cut by £50m’ • Online counselling: easier for students to seek help • One woman's fight for mental healthcare in China • Good diet, good mind? What you need to know • Read more |

On motivation—or why resolutions don't stick
1/1/15
We emerge from 2014, unsteady and slightly hung over, blinking at the harsh light of a new year. A clean slate. A fresh start. But those new year resolutions will be forgotten by February. Human motivation is a complex business. We’re not always sure what we want, or why we do what we do. We are all perfectly capable, in a certain light, of being craven, weak, cruel—or even criminal. Perhaps we might resolve in the coming year to be more accepting of all our various imperfect selves—and of those around us, too. Happy new year. Read more
1/1/15
We emerge from 2014, unsteady and slightly hung over, blinking at the harsh light of a new year. A clean slate. A fresh start. But those new year resolutions will be forgotten by February. Human motivation is a complex business. We’re not always sure what we want, or why we do what we do. We are all perfectly capable, in a certain light, of being craven, weak, cruel—or even criminal. Perhaps we might resolve in the coming year to be more accepting of all our various imperfect selves—and of those around us, too. Happy new year. Read more

Weekly news round-up
19/12/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • First “Mental Health Taskforce” meeting • “Time to Talk Day” 2015 • Police brutality and killings in America • Expert calls for better military mental health services • Irish counselling service sees dramatic rise in abuse victims • Vulnerable mothers-to-be need more support • Doctors in Massachusetts required to offer end-of-life counseling • What is “Coyote Psychotherapy”? • Which Jung archetype best describes you? • Read more
19/12/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • First “Mental Health Taskforce” meeting • “Time to Talk Day” 2015 • Police brutality and killings in America • Expert calls for better military mental health services • Irish counselling service sees dramatic rise in abuse victims • Vulnerable mothers-to-be need more support • Doctors in Massachusetts required to offer end-of-life counseling • What is “Coyote Psychotherapy”? • Which Jung archetype best describes you? • Read more

Suicide decriminalised in India
19/12/14
In India, a failed attempt to take your own life might have landed you in jail. Now it has apparently dawned on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that some care and support for those who are suicidal might be more helpful than punishment. Anyone with suicidal feelings—a broke farmer in Kerala, a bereft celebrity in Hollywood, a relative, a friend, a colleague, a neighbour, you, me—needs support, reassurance, care and contact. What they emphatically do not need is condemnation and incarceration. Read more
19/12/14
In India, a failed attempt to take your own life might have landed you in jail. Now it has apparently dawned on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that some care and support for those who are suicidal might be more helpful than punishment. Anyone with suicidal feelings—a broke farmer in Kerala, a bereft celebrity in Hollywood, a relative, a friend, a colleague, a neighbour, you, me—needs support, reassurance, care and contact. What they emphatically do not need is condemnation and incarceration. Read more

Multiple personalities revisited
29/11/14
“Eve” had three faces. “Sybil” had 16 different personalities, each of which was unknown to the others. Was “multiple personality disorder” for real? Don’t we all have lots of “selves,” lots of disparate strands in the tapestry of our being? Our community of fragmentary selves is like a rather rubbish football team—and sometimes it falls into disarray. Read more
29/11/14
“Eve” had three faces. “Sybil” had 16 different personalities, each of which was unknown to the others. Was “multiple personality disorder” for real? Don’t we all have lots of “selves,” lots of disparate strands in the tapestry of our being? Our community of fragmentary selves is like a rather rubbish football team—and sometimes it falls into disarray. Read more

Weekly news round-up
28/11/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Short-term counselling reduces suicide • Nurses warn of strain from cuts in mental health services • Clegg to establish cross-government taskforce for mental health provision • Pulling together to extend the lives of people with serious mental illness • Human rights abuses leave a third of Libyans with mental health problems • Canada: men's psychological wellbeing in the workplace—addressing an unmet need • Psychiatrist to the Taliban tells all • Counselling offered to cricketer whose bowl led to death. Read more
28/11/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Short-term counselling reduces suicide • Nurses warn of strain from cuts in mental health services • Clegg to establish cross-government taskforce for mental health provision • Pulling together to extend the lives of people with serious mental illness • Human rights abuses leave a third of Libyans with mental health problems • Canada: men's psychological wellbeing in the workplace—addressing an unmet need • Psychiatrist to the Taliban tells all • Counselling offered to cricketer whose bowl led to death. Read more

Weekly news round-up
21/11/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Pregnancy and childbirth: mental health care for parents • Free relationship counselling to rescue marriages • Deciding whether to disclose mental disorders at work • Unabomber’s brother makes plea for better mental health services • Counselling proves most effective in meaningful weight loss • Are you sitting down? Some bad news for you: sitting may harm your mental health • Opinion: Is therapy just a really expensive best friend? (Answer: no.) Read more
21/11/14
Notable news from the world of therapy: • Pregnancy and childbirth: mental health care for parents • Free relationship counselling to rescue marriages • Deciding whether to disclose mental disorders at work • Unabomber’s brother makes plea for better mental health services • Counselling proves most effective in meaningful weight loss • Are you sitting down? Some bad news for you: sitting may harm your mental health • Opinion: Is therapy just a really expensive best friend? (Answer: no.) Read more

What is a psychopath?
11/11/14
There has been a lot of talk lately about them. Society applauds the non-axe-wielding kind. They are celebrated. They are idolized. They stalk the corridors of power, finance, culture. They are our sporting heroes. The higher you climb in any field, the more of them you will encounter. Poor ones go to jail, as they say, while rich ones go to business school. But on balance, does the word “psychopath” really mean anything? Are any labels useful? Read more
11/11/14
There has been a lot of talk lately about them. Society applauds the non-axe-wielding kind. They are celebrated. They are idolized. They stalk the corridors of power, finance, culture. They are our sporting heroes. The higher you climb in any field, the more of them you will encounter. Poor ones go to jail, as they say, while rich ones go to business school. But on balance, does the word “psychopath” really mean anything? Are any labels useful? Read more

The therapeutic space
3/11/14
You go to see a therapist. What kind of environment are you hoping for? A formal office space? A doctor’s consulting room? Or perhaps a comfy, slightly messy lounge? The therapeutic environment has been subject to some research and attention, summarised in this report from Co. Design. For counseling settings, research suggests that softness, personalization, and order might affect the experience of therapy and the therapist. Read more
3/11/14
You go to see a therapist. What kind of environment are you hoping for? A formal office space? A doctor’s consulting room? Or perhaps a comfy, slightly messy lounge? The therapeutic environment has been subject to some research and attention, summarised in this report from Co. Design. For counseling settings, research suggests that softness, personalization, and order might affect the experience of therapy and the therapist. Read more

Hip hop happy
12/10/14
What's the soundtrack to your life? Is it a happy one? Given the complex, at times paradoxical nature of happiness, it's perhaps no surprise that sometimes sad songs--the blues, Miles Davis, Radiohead--can induce wild feelings of euphoria. Read more
12/10/14
What's the soundtrack to your life? Is it a happy one? Given the complex, at times paradoxical nature of happiness, it's perhaps no surprise that sometimes sad songs--the blues, Miles Davis, Radiohead--can induce wild feelings of euphoria. Read more