“If you are depressed you are living in the past.If you are anxious you are living in the future.If you are at peace you are living in the present.” ―Lao Tzu You may have heard that mindfulness meditation can be beneficial for our mental health. But how does it actually work? Let’s break it down. Our minds play a central role in our mental health The word mental comes from the Latin mentalis, meaning “of the mind”. Our minds—and particularly the way we relate to our thoughts,

Pre-warning: This article involves discussions of trauma and mental health conditions. Most people have heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is a mental health condition that individuals can develop as a consequence of experiencing a traumatic life event. Veterans of war or individuals who have experienced a life-threatening event such as a car crash or violence are examples of individuals at risk of developing PTSD. Symptoms can include anxiety, depression, d

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) might sound like a mouthful, but it's EMDR is an effective treatment for a range of...

Trigger warning: Discussions of the consequences of childhood abuse and neglect. One of the most heartbreaking — and consistently observed — truths in mental health is this: when children are neglected, abused, or grow up with their emotional needs unmet, they rarely blame the adults responsible. Instead, they blame themselves. Even though it's the job of caregivers — usually parents, but sometimes other adults or older siblings — to provide love, safety, and support, childre

One thing that surprised me when I started working as a psychologist was how much our communication skills contribute to our mental...

You're probably aware that when we experience a threat or danger, our body goes into a state of "fight, flight or freeze (or fawn)". You...

Last week I introduced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This week I wanted to explore in a bit more detail the thinking aspects of...

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) was first founded in the 1960’s by Dr. Aaron Beck when he noticed that depressed clients often...

Last week I wrote about the importance of values, one of the central aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This week I...

Value oriented action is just a fancy way of saying taking steps in the direction of the things that really matter to you. You know, like...

Writing can be an extremely useful tool to help you continue your therapeutic work between sessions. With most clients I will often...

In the 1990's, Jeffrey Young developed Schema Therapy in an attempt to address what was missing in traditional Cognitive Behavioural...