Re-certification is mandatory is many professions. As I have shown in Part 1, airline pilots are required to continually undergo and pass stringent tests to demonstrate their ongoing fitness for the role. In this piece, I propose that addressing the …
Part 1: Is there a case for re-certifying for therapists?
Professional fields and trades require members to be certified to verify that they have reached a certain standard of skill, competence, knowledge, and experience. In psychotherapy, once we have a basic degree or two, perhaps more in-depth training in a few …
The Inner Critic vs the Inner Adult
A piece I address with almost every client I meet in my work as a psychotherapist is the existence, intensity and impact of their inner critic. By that, I mean a critical internal voice that constantly finds fault with …
Here one moment, gone the next – reflections on good health privilege and its loss
Why I’m grateful for good health when I’m healthy Once again, I find myself dealing with (what I fervently hope will be) the temporary loss of what I’ve come to think of as robust good health privilege. Here, I use …
On heresy
When I started my private practice in the late 1980s, I found myself in the odd position of suddenly having an influx of referrals from two very unexpected sources. I started seeing former Catholic nuns – older women who had …
Why marriages don’t last anymore
In 2019, the divorce rate stood at 43%. That’s just official marriages. If we were able to take into account committed de facto relationships, which constitute a significant proportion of relationships today, that figure would rise substantially. So, the people …
Exceptions and exemptions in a pandemic
Or – how Karen is fighting to run the COVID-19 show. Every year, in the lead up to Christmas, I hear people talk, obsess, and incessantly grumble about Christmas. For a supposedly joyful time, Christmas, for many people, seems to …
About Sibling Abuse
Sibling abuse isn’t sibling rivalry or jealousy. Sibling abuse is emotional, physical or sexual abuse by a sibling. Often parents don’t see it for what it is – abuse. As a rule, parents and society expect fights and aggression between siblings. …
The Power to Heal – Apologies in Relationship Conflict
Relationships invariably involve peaks and troughs. No matter how close two people might be, disagreements, misunderstandings and hurt feelings will happen. Such mis-attunements, while common, can mean the difference between a relationship that deepens and strengthens, and one that founders …
The Relationship Blueprint
I think of relationship as an invitation between two people to build a structure together, a building of sorts, which will become their relationship home. For this building to be a sound home for both people, it needs to feel …