When we can be sympathetic, that is, appreciate how hard it is for someone without being swamped by maladaptive empathy, then we’re freed to be more effective in actually helping. Here are a few thoughts on how we can care less to help (ourselves and our clients) more.
Articles on: Personal Skills
Here you’ll find a diverse collection of articles from why you should feel confident in yourself as a therapist to strengthening the therapeutic alliance. As practitioners we all need to keep our skills sharp and up to date. We also need to look after ourselves and maximise our own effectiveness.
How to Become a More Flexible Therapist
Reality has a way of interfering with our carefully laid plans and theories. We’ve learned our methods and gained all our suppositions as to how clients are supposed to be and act… but then, lo and behold! The client reacts contrary to what we’ve learned. Most inconvenient! Here are some pointers to help you adapt […]
Why You Should Have Faith in Yourself as a Therapist (Even if You Feel Insecure Sometimes)
It’s not just how you’re trained that counts, but who you are and how you’ve lived. Even if you can’t put those qualities in a tight box.
Five of My Favourite Quotes
We can all be trained to nod wisely at pseudo-profundity, or to spot diamonds in the dirt but miss their value. Here I present some quotes and explore whether they might actually have practical value for us beyond some mechanical buzz of “Oh, that’s so true!”
3 Supportive Strategies for Strengthening the Therapeutic Alliance
The therapeutic alliance is a base from which therapy can happen. And in order for that base to develop, we need to be a certain way for our clients.
My 5 Favourite TED Talks
I learn best by watching, and these five Ted Talks are my personal favourites.
Why I Hope We Can All Be Poor Farmers in 2017
Are we constantly wanting more and more and more without even stopping to use what we already have? Here’s what a children’s story taught me about resourcefulness.
Coaches Versus Therapists
The differences and similarities between life coaching and therapy, and what practitioners in each discipline can learn from the other.
My 10 Favourite Therapy Books
Books are indispensable for developing a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of psychology and even some neurology – and here are my top ten therapy books that have inspired me.
3 Confidence Tips For Therapists and Counsellors Wrestling With Self Doubt
Confidence isn’t just about certainty. We may be the professionals, but we are not all-knowing seers.
