“Managing your impulsive, emotional Chimp as an adult will be one of the biggest factors determining how successful you are in life.” Steve Peters I really love The Chimp Paradox! Following on from my previous few blogs about books and videos that I rate highly and often recommend to clients,…
Closely linked to some of the ideas in my previous blog on resilience (and the work of Rick Hanson), this article again looks at growing through adversity. I first came across Phil Stutz, psychiatrist in a Netflix series Stutz where he talked to actor Jonah Hill about his life in…
This is the second in a series of articles about my favourite psychology books, Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Risk and Forrest Hanson. I came across Rick Hanson many years ago, via his books - he was known primarily as a teacher of mindfulness from both…
People often ask me if I can recommend any books about mental health, and as the last twenty years or so has seen a positive outpouring of new books on the "personal development” and “psychology” shelves of the bookshop, it can be hard to know where to start. I would…
Mental health challenges manifest in all sorts of ways - we might feel miserable, unmotivated, or just plain stuck. Or struggle to manage anxiety, a sense of dread in the pit of our stomach when we wake up. Goals we once dreamed of (the perfect job, partner, owning a home) …
This is the second of two articles about scapegoating within the family and looks in more detail at the potentially catastrophic effects of scapegoating, and then at healing from scapegoating. To give an idea of how scapegoating (or being labelled and treated as the “black sheep of the family”) can…
What is scapegoating? This is a blog following my theme of “dysfunctional families” and looks at the phenomenon of scapegoating - where a single family member becomes the ‘scapegoat’, “black sheep” or “problem child.” Sometimes this role can be passed between family members, but more often, one person is given…
This is my second blog which looks at the topic of generational trauma - this examines how generational trauma affects us. The concept of generational trauma is still in the early days of being understood and researched - but it is widely accepted that it occurs through biological, environmental, psychological,…
Intergenerational, transgenerational or simply generational trauma refers to the transmission of trauma between generations of a family. Generational trauma occurs through biological, environmental, psychological, and social means. Individuals who experienced adverse childhood experiences growing up, or who survived historical disasters or traumas, may pass the effects of those traumas on…
How does an individual get to the stage where he or she feels that the only option open to him/her, is cutting family ties? This is part of a series of blogs about dysfunctional families. What happens when an individual simply cannot continue to have relationships with one or more…
This is the third in a series of articles about living in, surviving in and healing from the effects of a dysfunctional family. This focusses on the importance of setting boundaries in a dysfunctional family. First of all, it’s important to say that there is no such thing as a…
This is the second in a series of articles about families and focuses on the impact of a dysfunctional family. Nobody has a “perfect” childhood, but some families function in healthier ways than others. Broadly speaking, a dysfunctional family is characterised by unhealthy patterns of communication, conflict, and behaviour that…