"One shouldn’t complicate things for the pleasure of complicating, but one should also never simplify or pretend to be sure of such simplicity where there is none. If things were simple, word would have gotten around. "


Posts tagged with 'personal'

Peer groups, Cumbria spring group: third full day - boundary issues, friendships and singing round a bonfire under the stars

13th May 2012

And it's the final early morning of this four day residential group. I wrote yesterday about sunshine along the wall outside - and it's here again today, bright & fresh. Sunday morning. I can be a very organized person - lovely though to let my hair down at times here …

Peer groups, Cumbria spring group: second full day - couple's work, interpersonal challenge, fathers and banquets

12th May 2012

The start of the third full day here. In yesterday's post I wrote about the first full day and today I'll write about our second full day together. We've had so much rain over the last couple of days, it's a blessing to see the bright early sunlight splashed along …

Peer groups, Cumbria spring group: first full day - feeling our way in, revisiting the Skye experience and dancing

11th May 2012

Still before breakfast - at the start of the second full day now. Yesterday I wrote about "arriving". The noise of the mill stream just outside provides a constant back drop while we're here. When we arrived on Wednesday evening it was flowing so quietly, the water level almost as …

Peer groups, Cumbria spring group: first morning - "arriving"

10th May 2012

First morning of the "Mixed Group". We have been meeting like this - in an old converted watermill in Cumbria - nearly every year since the start of the 90's. This year's residential is a bit different. For many it's a 20 year reunion (or thereabouts). Sixteen old friends! Sounds …

Walking in Skye & Kintail: lessons, self-compassion & posttraumatic growth

29th April 2012

Still less than three days since the most intense, prolonged, potentially catastrophic experience of my life. What have I learned ... both personally and as a therapist? Gratitude ... of course. Gratitude to the mountain rescue service, gratitude to my wife & family & friends, gratitude for my health, for …

Walking in Skye & Kintail: mountain rescue, helicopter winches, and avoiding death & PTSD

27th April 2012

It's really early, and paradoxically I should be sleeping beautifully because I'm in a comfortable room at the Sligachan Hotel on the Isle of Skye. However I'm not too fussed - acute sleep deprivation may well affect memory consolidation and reduce the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma. …

Update on website traffic: my own favourite top 15 (6-10) - therapist feedback, relationships, conflict, group work, & walking

5th April 2012

Last month I used Google Analytics to identify the most read pages on this website and I wrote the post "Update on website traffic: the ten most popular blog posts". This got me thinking - "What are my own personal favourites?" I quickly realised that the posts that I've written …

Commitment contracts: a personal example

23rd March 2012

(This post is downloadable as a Word doc or a PDF file). I've already written a couple of posts about commitment contracts - "Commitment contracts: another good way of helping us reach our goals" and "Orientation, practicalities & use as therapeutic tools". I'd like to illustrate some points about setting …

My brand new "two-seven-two" model of integrative psychotherapy! (second post)

23rd January 2012

I began thinking yesterday about what I actually do as a psychotherapist. This lead to a light-hearted first post describing a "two-seven-two" model of integrative psychotherapy. The initial "two" acknowledges the importance of an overview of what has been going on for the client and a good working alliance. The …

My brand new "two-seven-two" model of integrative psychotherapy! (first post)

22nd January 2012

Here's my brand new "two-seven-two" model of integrative psychotherapy. How do I know it's so fresh off the press? Well I just came up with it lying warmly in bed an hour or so ago. It's "serious" in the sense that I have been mulling over what I actually do …