Blog

Babette Rothschild on controlling empathic imagery, tracking our autonomic arousal in-session, the dangers of facial feedback – and the simple body awareness practices that can help us stay on ‘terra firma’ in the midst of client trauma.

Taking a proactive stance against racism means engaging our minds, bodies and interpersonal selves. How can we develop the capacities we need for this essential and often deeply challenging work? Psychotherapist Eugene Ellis, founder of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network, author of The Race Conversation and co-editor of the new book Therapy in Colour, outlines three core resources to help therapists stay on – or come to – the path of anti-racist practice.

Making mental health a priority is something we therapists commit ourselves to on a daily basis… except, perhaps, when it comes to our own. To mark World Mental Health Day 2022, we recommend posts from fellow therapists that inspire us to focus on our own wellbeing – whether we’re rebalancing our nervous systems, getting playful, integrating mindfulness, movement and self-compassion, or addressing our shame and embracing our failures.

How can we help clients to get into relationship with their loneliness? What happens when we are able to lean into an experience of being alone? As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, psychoanalytic psychotherapist and Buddhist Nigel Wellings recalls an intense personal encounter with this often difficult emotion, and explains when and how we might bring mindful presence to experiences of loneliness.

What does ‘being present’ mean when applied to the imaginative sphere? And how might this help our clients in their everyday lives? In the fourth part of her series about harnessing the power of clients’ imaginations, psychotherapist, author and transformational imagery pioneer Dr. Dina Glouberman explains why practising mindfulness can also mean engaging consciously and creatively with the image world.

Our bodies are often way ahead when it comes to attuning with clients. How can we use mindfulness practice within sessions to consult our somatic awareness and connect with clients’ unspoken feelings? Margaret Landale, a specialist in stress-related and psychosomatic disorders, shares a moment of mindful attention as it unfolds…

How can taking photos of nature help clients to process grief? Following a sudden bereavement, professional photographer and transpersonal arts counsellor Sisi Burn started taking walks with her camera. The result was a powerful and transformative dialogue with herself – an approach that could be accessible to any client with a cameraphone.