The past is never really gone in some ways, at least not all of it. It lingers on, influencing our decisions and reactions. Faulty pattern matching can produce what may seem to be baffling responses within us. With this in mind, whenever we’re confounded by a client’s emotional responses, we can do what I did […]
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If you are a therapist or coach of any persuasion; counsellor, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, life coach, bodyworker, in fact anyone who works in the helping professions, you will glean valuable, actionable ideas, tips and techniques from Clear Thinking, my free therapy techniques newsletter.
In it you'll find a wide range of topics including solution focused therapy approaches, cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques, ideas from DBT, hypnotherapy, counselling and even the occasional philosophical piece. I've been treating people with psychotherapy for more than 30 years and I've drawn what I find useful from many fields. I hope you find it helps you in your practice too, whatever flavour of helper you are.
How Brainwashing Works (and is Working on You)
We are, many of us, prone to shame, guilt, and the need to please others and fit in. These needs were exploited by the Chinese Communists, and they continue to be exploited today. An online climate of fear, guilt harnessing, revenge, collective shaming, and enforced grovelling apologies produces super fertile ground for brainwashing.
How to Help Your Client Deal with Unkind Critics
Being on the receiving end of someone’s negative carping is demoralizing and downright depressing. Here I want to address how we can help clients become more resilient in the face of negative criticism.
How Therapy Delivery Has Been Affected by Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdowns
Online therapy has taken off in a big way. And talking of size, we were surprised at the huge numbers of practitioners who took our survey on online therapy. So what, broadly, were the results?
What Have I Done?!!!
The morally injured person feels shame, guilt, anger, profound betrayal, and also maybe a kind of moral disorientation, as though they no longer know the difference between right and wrong. And the effects can be devastating.
Research Roundup 14
Our world is now flooded with data. We’re deluged with snippets that might be vital, but more often mean little. Our brains aren’t really set up to sift, filter, and prioritize the blizzards of info bits we struggle through.
Four Vital Principles for Addiction Therapy
There are many and varied reasons why someone might become addicted. But the reasons always come back to missing needs. It’s easy to see one thing as many things, but all addictions share a common root or set of principles.
Hidden Secrets from the Past
We assume knowledge progresses in straight lines, that we know more now than 10, 20, 30, or 3,000 years ago. But the history of knowledge tells us otherwise. Assuming we must be more ‘advanced’ than those who went before is a mistake.
How to Help a Client Stop Cutting
You may never have seen a self-harming client, or perhaps self-harm is something you’ve seen clients do only occasionally. But one thing’s for sure. Self-harming behaviours are common – and getting more so.
How to Help Clients with Crippling Shame and Guilt
The terms guilt and shame are often used interchangeably. But these feelings, though they commonly overlap, are distinct. Unlike guilt, which focuses on a sense of having done wrong to others, shame is more of a self-focused emotion.
