mental health, politics, and pluralism
I have referred to myself as a pluralistic therapist for a while now. But what does that mean? And how does that apply to therapy, to politics, and to mental and general…
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Therapeutic Bypassing
You may be familiar with the concept of spiritual bypassing. If you are not, it can be summarised as using spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with emotional wounds or psychological issues in one’s life. In addition to this well-known way of coping with or avoiding emotional pain, I am also seeing a different…
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Are friends electric? Online disinhibition and NRE
Most of what you read about online safety is, understandably, about protecting your personal data and not getting scammed. But what about your mental and emotional safety? People from some atomised minority…
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The importance of gender, sex, and relationship diversity in counselling training
I’ve recently had a piece published in Counselling Matters, the journal of my professional membership body the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. It’s a reflection on my training to become a therapist and how important it’s been for me to get advanced specialist training in working with people who are gender-expansive, have a range of…
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Trans healthcare, Britishness, and the NHS
It is pretty much compulsory to love the NHS. Not to love having healthcare free at the point of access. Not to love or respect the people who work in the hospitals and clinics we use. We must love the actual institution itself. It is akin to how it feels almost compulsory to love the…
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Trans Awareness Week 2022
It will not come as a surprise to many that being trans is, now apparently more than ever, a battleground. The UK and US appear to be in the grips of a full-blown moral panic about trans people, and this relatively small and remarkably vulnerable group is experiencing reactionary violations of their rights because they…
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Understanding Ace
Asexuality is one of the least well-known and understood identities. Many people can’t even comprehend a life where sexual attraction and activity isn’t a feature. Unfortunately, as with other sexual identities that fall outside of the culturally expected norm, asexuality has been pathologised for many years.
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Not homosexual as in Charlie & Ben, but gay as in Charlie ❤ Nick
Somewhat late to the party, I’ve recently caught up with Heartstopper, the Netflix queer teen drama based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels and original Tumblr comic series. Rather than focusing on reviewing the show, critiquing its plot and examining the themes, I am instead going to talk about why it is so vitally, searingly important…
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World Mental Health Day 2022
Much of what you will see about mental health today will focus on anxiety and depression, and the importance of talking to others if you are having a hard time. This is important, as anxiety and depression are some of the most common ways in which people find their mental health gets in the way…
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Minority stress: major impact
Being a member of a minority group – whether that is sexuality, gender, relationship style, neurotype, disability, body size, race or ethnicity – can sometimes feel like living beneath a cloud. Even for those of us proud to live under the rainbow banner, it can feel like a storm is brewing, ready to rain on…