by Josephine Hughes | Mar 8, 2018
How did you fare in the snow last week? It seems to me there’s an arc in people’s reactions to snow. At first excitement and exclamations at how pretty it is and how they’re looking forward to some enforced time off, perhaps with the children. As the days go by,...
by Josephine Hughes | Mar 1, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Feb 21, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Feb 15, 2018
Breathing comes naturally and sometimes my clients will remind me of this when I suggest they try some breathing. The wonderful thing about breathing is yes, it does come naturally, but it can also be under our conscious control. It is the most natural thing in the...
by Josephine Hughes | Feb 7, 2018
One of my fellow counselling students, looking back on the course, said to me she thought the main reason she undertook five arduous years of study and self-reflection was because she needed an excuse to receive counselling. As the course requirements included over...
by Josephine Hughes | Jan 31, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Jan 25, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Jan 17, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Jan 10, 2018
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...
by Josephine Hughes | Dec 19, 2017
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,...
