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Counselling, Coaching and Support for Mums

 

Feel Happy Whatever the Weather

Feel Happy Whatever the Weather

The UK is in the midst of a cold snap called "The Beast from the East".  There's a lot of snow and I suspected my neighbours might be laughing at the futility of me clearing the drive with a snow shovel when an hour later it needed the same treatment again.  I was...

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Mindfulness: What’s it all About?

Mindfulness: What’s it all About?

I vividly remember the first time I understood what mindfulness was about.  It was a dark night and I was having trouble sleeping.  My mind was flitting from subject to subject but suddenly I took notice of where I was and what was happening.  I noticed the quiet...

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Time to Talk – or Time to Listen?

Time to Talk – or Time to Listen?

On Monday the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 interviewed the mother of a young boy who is suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).  Emily described how receiving the diagnosis when her son was three was like a cluster bomb going off in her life.  Not only...

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How to Feel Positive in Demanding Circumstances

How to Feel Positive in Demanding Circumstances

I’m one of those people who loves inspirational quotes and I bought myself a “page-a-day” tear off calendar this year for my office.  It’s funny how, when you’re aware of a particular train of thought, you notice reminders of it occurring around you.  My live feed...

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Three Steps to Handle Pessimism

Three Steps to Handle Pessimism

I have the British weather to thank for my first memory of disappointment.  When I was at primary school a trip to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regents Park was organized.  The children looked forward to it for weeks.  However, the trip was not to be.  In that...

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How to Identify and Soothe our Inner Critic

How to Identify and Soothe our Inner Critic

When I’m working with clients, one of the things we often talk about is what has caused an uncomfortable thought or feeling.  As clients become aware of their internal critical voice they are more able to notice its insidious messages.  Sometimes a feeling of...

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Five Top Tips for Well-Being at Christmas

Five Top Tips for Well-Being at Christmas

After a busy weekend making preparations for Christmas, Monday’s first appointment was the dog groomer for our little Shih Tzu, Boo.  The groomer lives within walking distance of the beach and it was a beautiful day.  There are geese wintering on the Thames Estuary,...

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How to Help Anxious Brains Relax

How to Help Anxious Brains Relax

When I’m worrying about something it can be very difficult to think about anything else.  My mind keeps coming back to whatever it is, and if I dare to relax for any time, I experience a sinking feeling as soon as I remember.  If I’m worrying most of my mental energy...

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Five Ways to Make Christmas Easier

Five Ways to Make Christmas Easier

Do you ever dread that question: “what are you doing for Christmas?” Sometimes it’s a hard question to answer when you’re aware of expectations around Christmas.  It “should” be a happy time.  It “should” be family time.  It “should” be fun.  For many people Christmas...

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Two Thoughts To Tackle Self-Criticism

Two Thoughts To Tackle Self-Criticism

Carl Rogers, one of the founding fathers of modern counselling, said: “the curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then change happens” Many of us struggle to accept ourselves as we are.  We think we should be different.  We often think we should be...

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Coping with Change

Coping with Change

Last weekend was a busy one for me.  We celebrated two family birthdays and entertained the extended family.  One of the gifts of children is the recurring joy of birthdays but it is also a time that marks the passing of the years.  To notice how quickly a quarter of...

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Setting Our Children Free

Setting Our Children Free

“The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them”. Thomas Merton In our parenting one of the most difficult things is to let our...

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It’s not fair!

It’s not fair!

Like any young child I eagerly awaited the arrival of my birthday and the attendant party.  This was the era when birthday parties were held at home and long suffering mothers organised party games and birthday teas.  After my older brother’s seventh birthday when the...

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Halloween and Handling Painful Mistakes

Halloween and Handling Painful Mistakes

Have you ever been in that situation where you’ve made a mistake and you can’t stop thinking about it? You replay it in your mind and there is a hot or cold sweaty feeling between your shoulder blades and your stomach churns.  You wonder what you could possibly do to...

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Never Give Up: The Value of Making Mistakes

Never Give Up: The Value of Making Mistakes

Many years ago when I was embarking on training to be an antenatal teacher, I studied a module about listening skills.  I read Pete Sanders’ book First Steps in Counselling and came across an explanation of learning that I have used ever since.  It is the four stage...

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Five Ways to Beat the Blues

Five Ways to Beat the Blues

Monday morning blues. I think we all know the feeling, especially now that autumn is well under way – waking up to darkness, the press of the week weighing us down, the thought that our weekend freedom is lost, an internal “to-do” list perhaps accompanied by a vague,...

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