Latest resource : Swingers (2026) radio programme detailing the potential psychological complexity of swinging as a sexual practise. Trigger warning discusses sexual abuse. #sex #swinging bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0nqy…

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. G.K. Chesterton

Sometimes, its a lot of work in order to do the work.

Latest free resource : Freud's Helplessness (2026) by Adam Phillips talk. Suggests helplessness is a foundational, inescapable condition of our lives and a necessary precursor to experiencing connection, satisfaction, and moral growth. #helplessness youtu.be/j3tKiWaapOM?si=5dCc…

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. E.E. Cummings

My personal truths as a clinical psychologist: #291 The more precisely you name your feelings, the better you can manage them. *Many people struggle because every uncomfortable feeling gets labeled the same way: stress, anger, anxiety, or sadness. But there is a big difference between feeling disappointed, rejected, embarrassed, overwhelmed, lonely, guilty, or afraid. Each feeling points to a different problem and often calls for a different response. A husband who says he’s angry may actually be feeling hurt. A teenager who seems lazy may actually feel discouraged. An employee who wants to quit may not be burned out at all—he may feel unappreciated. A person scrolling social media late at night may think they’re anxious when they’re really lonely. The more specific you are about what you’re feeling, the more options you have. When you can name the feeling accurately, you’re much less likely to react blindly to it. Clarity creates choices. And choices are what make self-control possible.

How shock French Open finalist's tiny tattoo gives meaning to big run - bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/artic…

One of the potential problems with a therapist being too restricted in their interpersonal behavior is that this will encourage the same interpersonally during therapy. Being too expressive carries other risks. It also highlights that what appear to be theory-based elements of clinical process may actually be related to the personality or culture of the therapist rather than relate to what would be most useful for the patient.

Konate reveals depression after deaths of Jota & father - bbc.co.uk/sport/football/art…

One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very often. Erich Fromm

My personal truths as a clinical psychologist: #285 Disappointment Is Inevitable; Contempt Is Optional Everyone will disappoint you eventually. Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. Your coworkers. Even the people you admire most. Disappointment is the price of loving imperfect human beings. Contempt is something different. It's when disappointment turns into eye rolls, sarcasm, superiority, or the belief that a mistake defines the whole person. You can be disappointed without looking down on someone. That's the choice. Disappointment says, "You let me down." Contempt says, "You're beneath me." One keeps relationships alive. The other slowly kills them.

Love isn't something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn't a feeling, it is a practice. Erich Fromm

The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook. William James

My personal truths as a clinical psychologist: #282 People reenact what they have not metabolized. *A lot of people think the past stays in the past. Psychologically, it usually doesn’t. Experiences we never fully processed often keep showing up in our lives in disguised forms. We replay them, react from them, and sometimes rebuild them around us without realizing it. That is what this credo means. “Metabolized” is a psychology word for emotionally digesting something. Understanding it. Feeling it. Making sense of it. Learning from it instead of simply carrying it around. What we do not metabolize, we tend to reenact. A man who grew up with a critical father may keep finding himself drawn to bosses who are impossible to please. Part of him is still trying to win the approval he never fully received. A woman who grew up around unpredictability may say she wants peace and stability, but repeatedly finds herself in chaotic relationships because chaos feels emotionally familiar, even when it hurts. Someone who was betrayed may become controlling in future relationships, checking phones, doubting reassurance, and constantly scanning for signs of abandonment. The old wound keeps entering the room before the new person even has a chance to be themselves. A person who never processed humiliation from childhood may become unusually reactive to small criticism as an adult. A simple disagreement at work can suddenly feel emotionally enormous because it touches something older and deeper. You also see it in parenting. Parents often swear they will never act like their own mother or father, yet under stress they hear the same tone come out of their mouth. Not because they are bad people, but because unexamined patterns tend to repeat themselves automatically. People reenact grief too. Some stay endlessly busy after a painful loss because slowing down would force them to feel what they never allowed themselves to feel. Others keep recreating disappointment because disappointment has become emotionally familiar and strangely predictable. The mind is always trying to finish unfinished emotional business. This is one reason insight matters in therapy. The goal is not just to “talk about feelings.” The goal is to recognize patterns that keep repeating themselves so people gain more freedom inside their own lives. When people begin to metabolize old experiences instead of reenacting them, something important happens. They stop confusing familiarity with destiny. They work at making more promising choices.

We live to the extent we love.

Whatever role we are loved for in our family, we will continue to enact it, despite the toll it takes. Catherine Gildiner

Human beings are messy and complex. Psychotherapists are no different. Although we have professional training and can hold space for others, we are still human. We make personal and emotional investments in the therapeutic process and relationship daily.