Blog

How should we approach contracting and safeguarding when working remotely with clients experiencing domestic violence? Dr Jeannette Roddy is a counsellor, author and academic specialising in this area. In the conclusion to her five-part blog series responding to the surge of domestic violence during lockdown, she outlines practical measures to keep client and therapist safe – including what to do when the abuser may be present during a session.

Meaningful attainment doesn’t come without soul-wrenching effort – despite what our modern, consumer-led, advert-seduced society would have us believe. At a time when therapists are practicing under unprecedented strain, Sarah Van Gogh, of the Re-Vision Centre, speaks up for the ‘grottier’ aspects of the therapy profession, with its pursuit of gradual change and for honouring the importance of working away at our craft

The current crisis is triggering many clients with eating and weight issues, due to the combination of increased stress, disrupted shopping and eating habits, and the increased cultural focus on food. Judith Matz, a therapist and author specialising in disordered eating, suggests how therapists can help clients avoid self-judgment at this time, and move towards making the choices that best support their physical and emotional wellbeing.

What are the qualities needed to engage effectively with victims of domestic violence? Dr Jeannette Roddy is a counsellor, author and academic specialising in this area. In the fourth of a five-part weekly blog about working with victims of domestic violence during the Covid-19 crisis, she also reflects on the role of therapist self-care in guarding against emotional withdrawal from painful material.

Avoidant personalities come in many different shapes and sizes, and may even be reacting to the coronavirus crisis in quite contrasting ways. In her fifth blog about working with highly defended clients, Attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist Linda Cundy considers the contribution of a person’s sensitivity to their relational environment, and the role of secondary defences.

Mental Health Awareness Week has the revised theme of ‘Kindness’, emphasising its power to strengthen relationships, develop community and deepen solidarity at a time of global crisis. What therapists often struggle with, however, is being kind to ourselves. Dr Chris Irons, a clinical psychologist and specialist in Compassion Focused Therapy, explains why it is as important for therapists to practice self-compassion before and after their client sessions as it is for athletes to warm up and warm down.

During the pandemic, we have all become time travellers. Not only do we find our time perception altered in the moment, but we notice our minds returning to shocks and losses from the past. Observing how the theme of time is emerging in his own client sessions during the coronavirus crisis, psychologist and author Brad E. Sachs suggests some ways of promoting thoughtful exploration.

Domestic abuse has surged during the coronavirus lockdown. Dr Jeannette Roddy is a counsellor, author and academic specialising in this area. In the third of a five-part weekly blog about working with victims of domestic violence during the Covid-19 crisis, she shares essential models while reflecting on the importance of context.

What impact is the Covid-19 crisis having on our brains and our bodies, our relationships and our children? What can neuroscience, attachment theory, mindfulness and trauma work contribute to an effective response? This week, PESI UK will be asking some of the world’s top clinicians as part of a free, five-day Mental Health Awareness Summit. Join Dan Siegel, Janina Fisher, Dan Hughes, Sue Johnson and Caroline Welch for a world-class week of resourcing and reflecting.

Mental Health scarcely gets a mention in the government’s roadmap for ending the UK coronavirus lockdown. So, in addition to presenting top international clinicians, next week’s free PESI UK Mental Health Awareness Summit will be inviting some of the UK’s thought leaders in mental health to assess the societal impact of Covid-19 – and, vitally, to talk strategy.