The Fictional Therapist

17/06/2024

Short Story Long… (you might need to grab a cuppa… ☕️👀🤷‍♀️📚🎬🎥)

📣 FB Page and Work Announcement 📣

Sometimes life is just stranger than fiction…

Thank-you for continuing to follow my page. I am sorry I have been absent over the past year or so. I wanted to write a (brief 👀) chapter on why. I am not able to get back to my direct messages and I have made the difficult decision to take my website down and deactivate my email.

I’ve been dedicated to my vocation in healthcare for over 24 years and I’ve tried to be honest and work with integrity. Whilst I clearly adore fiction and there is much to be grown through this incredible modality; resisting the truth doesn’t aid agency, which I believe is key in creating happier and healthier life chapters.

As many people that have worked with me know, I split my time between Fictional Therapy and working as a Credentialed Mental Health Nurse and Trauma Therapist. To be able to do this I had to receive mandated vaccines for COVID-19. Unfortunately one of the vaccines has resulted in a disablement that has made it impossible for me to maintain my professional registrations and be able to work. That is how things currently stand and whilst I continue to keep my faith, I wanted to be open and honest with you all.

I’ve thought long and hard about sharing this next part and have decided to summarise it as best I can. It feels wrong to withhold this bit. Prior to being signed off medically, I was notified that my employer had breached privacy through misuse of their CCTV cameras. Basically cameras that were advised as only being accessed on a needs basis were live streaming therapy in areas of the facility without therapist nor client/patient consent and/or knowledge.

I made the decision to not be coerced into silence, after giving the organisation a year to investigate and hoped they would inform and issue apologies to those impacted. Sadly no such action ensued and after receiving threatening legal letters and several significant episodes of bullying and harassment, I will not be returning to this large hospital group even if my medical circumstances were to change.

Not everyone deserves your story. Your therapy is not a spectator’s sport and consent matters. If you are ever concerned about privacy please ask. If you feel unable to ask, please find an advocate to ask for you. As I let go of these chapters and my professional registrations for now, I remain committed to advocating for fairer stories and an honest narrative.

Fictional therapy remains my passion and I believe that no matter what is thrown at us in life, we can always try to uphold our own character. A big lesson that was reinforced through this is, we cannot control someone else’s actions, even if they directly impact us. We can (albeit - not easy) control our response.

Some wisdom to sign off this (not so brief..) post from one of my favourite books:

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say”

- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Thank-you for reading. I am wishing each and everyone of you a beautiful upcoming chapter or two... When I can, I will upload some quotes and book/film blogs.

To be Continued…

Lori Thom
The Fictional Therapist
🤍📚🎬🎥🤍

29/10/2023

Tragic. Friends, defied the odds and spanned generations. I watched it religiously in the late 90s and 00’s; then Niall watched it 7 years ago and Lochie earlier this year. Thanks for the gift of entertainment Matthew Perry. Thanks for bringing our family together through laughter, many, many times over the decades. A true Fictional Friend Matthew Perry. 👏🎶📺🤍✨

The show will hit differently now, knowing you have passed. May you rest in peace and your heart live on through your art. 🤍🕊️🎥 🦆

14/10/2022

Rest In Peace Robbie Coltrane.

I was responding to this sad news on my personal account and know it sits in this space too. Fictional therapy has been offered in abundance from Robbie Contrane.

I’m always intrigued by our responses to deaths of those not personally known to us. With any suffering or death, it’s human to be emotionally affected.

When I watch a movie or a tv series, I’m aware that it’s an investment of my time. Robbie Coltrane was a wonderful investment. With news of his death came memories of cosying up to my late father to watch Cracker and later bunking down with my now grown son for Harry Potter marathons.

We emotionally respond to deaths of artists such as Coltrane because despite not knowing them, their work and lives have been part of our lives; part of our relationships with those we watched on with. Gone in body, imortslised in film and memory. Thanks for the entertainment Robbie Contrane. May your family and friends be comforted by your legacy.

Sottotitoli in Italiano disponibiliCredit : Wizarding World

23/03/2022

📖 to 🎬

Delia Owens ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ was one of my favourite reads last year and it’s now a movie. If you’ve not read the book, it’s gripping and if you prefer audible, it’s beautifully narrated. 📚 🎬 🍿

11/03/2022

💛 Happy Friday Everyone 💛

📚 Songs and poems within books 📚

I ran a therapy group this morning with the themes of reflection and contemplation and used the beautiful verse ‘I Sit Beside the Fire and Think’

I Sit Beside the Fire and Think is found within the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, sung by Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell, a few days before Frodo and the Fellowship set out to Mordor. I found a beautiful rendition of it below 👇 let me know what you think and if you have found any striking poems or songs within books 📚 🎶 🥀 🌹

Hi! It's been another few months since I posted a song, and I should have done this one a long time ago since it's been on my soundcloud for a while. Just in...

23/02/2022

📚 🥀🌹

23/10/2021

“Be curious, not judgmental” – delivered by Walt Whitman, reimagined by Ted Lasso.

This series is the epitome of Fictional Therapy. In a world where not taking a firm line, picking a side or having unwavering judgements on topics, people and events is often seen as weekness; It’s truly wonderful to see the power of curiously and kindness. Also it’s bloody hilarious and let’s face it, we could all do with something to laugh about right now! 📺❤️👏

"and i knew right there and then i was never gonna let anybody get by without understanding they might be hurting inside"...

18/09/2021

A little article I wrote has been nominated as The Editors Choice for The Elephant Journal 🙏

If you find value in it, I’d really appreciate you clicking on the heart icon 🤍 under the article. I hope it’s interesting, I’m more accustomed to supporting and listening to other peoples stories than sharing my own so it feels a little vulnerable sharing 😬 but, I thought I’d practice what I preach and step out of my comfort zone… 🌱 📚 ❤️

While working as a mental health nurse, I found solace in literature. Literature facilitated beautiful, impromptu, fictitious vacations, and it prevented me from replaying the trauma, deeply rooted in my memory, during my working day.

02/09/2021

❤️ Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth ❤️

This book!!! I rarely finish a book in a single sitting but “The a happiest Man on Earth” by my ‘new friend’ 101 year old, Eddie Jaku is an exceptional exception.

Eddie Jaku has endured the worst that humanity can inflict on a person. Many atrocities, public shamings, starvation, beatings, brutal bereavements and horrific betrayals and yet, Eddie has made it his mission to live with love, kindness, and incredible compassion. He considers himself to be the happiest man on earth, and I would full heartedly agree. Here is a very small snapshot of what Eddie taught me:

“It is the duty of the fortunate to help those that are suffering”

“Happiness does not fall from the sky; it is in your hands. Happiness comes from inside yourself and from the people you love. And if you are happy and healthy, you are a millionaire”

“If you have the opportunity today, please go home and tell your mother how much you love her. Do this for your mother. And do it for your new friend, Eddie, who cannot tell it to his mother”

‘We are all part of a larger society and our work is our contribution to a free and safe life for all. If I went to a hospital and saw instruments that I had made and knew that they were being used every day to make life better, this gave me great happiness. The same is true of every job you do. Are you a teacher? You enrich the lives of young people every day. Are you a chef? Each meal you cook brings great pleasure into the world. Perhaps you do not love your job, or you work with difficult people. You are still doing important things, contributing your own small piece to the world we live in. We must never forget this. Your efforts today will affect people you will never know”

This is a life changing book that not only serves to educate generations on the horrors of the Holocaust; it is a book about friendship, hope, kindness and the incredible power of perspective.

24/08/2021

Logical move 📚 👀