Blog

For many clients who are trapped in the past by trauma, December is the most triggering time of the year. Sensory stimuli seem to be everywhere, relational pressures mount and anniversary reactions abound, while the contrast between the idealised picture of Christmas and the trauma survivor’s internal reality only compounds the sense of isolation. Andy Cottom, a psychodynamic psychotherapist who specialises in working with the impact of war and violent crime, contemplates the timelessness of PTSD – and reminds us of the true meaning of trauma.

Chemsex is not systematically problematic – but when clients are struggling to manage the risks, balance their lives, or to give up a practice they no longer enjoy, all therapists need to know how to respond. In the second of two blog posts aimed at general practitioners, psychosexual and relationship therapist Silva Neves shares the most common difficulties reported by clients who engage in chemsex – and emphasises the role of sex-positivity, harm minimisation and cultural competency in supporting clients when they are struggling.

What do therapists need to know about chemsex? In the first of two blog posts aimed at general practitioners, psychosexual and relationship therapist Silva Neves provides a helpful introduction to the practice and culture of chemsex – including why it is popular, where it may intersect with experiences of minority stress and homophobia, and which important skills can help to keep chemsex non-problematic.

Why group analysis? And why now? With interest on the rise amongst clients and referrers, Group Analyst and Arts Psychotherapist Anthea Benjamin offers the first of several blog posts on this powerful mode of therapy – reflecting on the role of group analysis in healing relational wounding, addressing issues related to power, privilege and oppression, emphasising the formative nature of community and bringing us back into connection.

How can we better support young people through the complex processing of grieving? Shelley Gilbert is a consultant psychotherapist and child and adolescent grief specialist whose work is informed by her own experience of being orphaned at the age of nine. To mark Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2023, she guides us through the Upward Spiral of Grief – a trauma-informed model that speaks to young peoples’ lived experience of loss.

Deb Dana on befriending our own nervous systems, what to do if we arrive for a session feeling dysregulated – and the real reason she believes some clients suddenly leave therapy.

What are the keys to maintaining self-care while working as a therapist? How can supervision practice centre a commitment to practitioner wellbeing? Sarah Worley-James is a supervisor, trainer and manager of a university counselling service. She marks Self-Care Week 2023 with a look at three key elements that can support supervisees to consider their own needs as well as their clients’ – context, variety, and valuing ourselves.

While much contemporary therapy emphasises the importance of establishing a sense of safety, depth psychological traditions spoke instead of containment. Informed by their experience of gender transition and of kink/BDSM practices, as well as Winnicott, Bion and Jung, therapist and Trans Sex author Lucie Fielding discusses fear, risk, play and states of therapeutic chaos – and suggests clinicians should aim instead to offer clients an experience of ‘boundedness’.

Susie Orbach, leading psychoanalyst and women’s therapy pioneer, discusses the huge structural forces attacking contemporary women and their bodies – and reflects on how therapists might help to fight back.

When working with self-harm and suicide in the black community, we need to understand the impact of minority stress and the self-othering involved in adaptation to white spaces. Ahead of PESI UK’s live and online Working with Suicide, Self-Harm and Trauma summit next week, psychotherapist, author and activist Dr Dwight Turner shares how he uses sandplay to help clients explore the unconscious landscape of internalised systemic oppression.