Beyond Barriers CIC

22/01/2026

Glimmers! The route to regulation. If more of us understood how accessible our nervous system can be our ideas our mental health could be so different …Thanks for raising awareness of this The Chris Evans Breakfast Show !

22/01/2026

Glimmers!
Really interesting conversation about Glimmers right now or catch up on Virgin radio Chris Evans breakfast show. We talk a lot about glimmers and triggers in our work at Beyond Barriers whether it’s in our trauma group, 1:1 therapy or Women in business circles. And so far this is offering a really accessible way to understand how your sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous system can help us manage our mood and stress levels so that we can find glimmers of peace, joy and regulation in our everyday lives Thank you

19/01/2026

An Important Update About Therapy Records and Your Privacy

From 12 January 2026, new guidance came into effect in England and Wales that significantly strengthens how therapy notes and counselling records are protected from police access.

We want to share this because it matters deeply to the people we work with at Beyond Barriers CIC, and to anyone thinking about starting therapy—especially those who have lived through abuse, exploitation, or other harmful and criminal acts committed against them.

Whilst we always support our clients and criminal justice agencies to seek justice, we have been aware of the consequences that disclosure of therapy notes as evidence can have on clients ability to trust in their therapy process. But things are changing…

What has changed?
Under the updated guidance, police and other authorities can no longer routinely request access to therapy records as part of an investigation. Requests are now limited to exceptional circumstances only, where disclosure is genuinely necessary, proportionate, and directly relevant. Importantly, these requests must now be approved at a senior level, rather than being treated as a standard step.

This represents a clear move away from previous practices where highly personal therapeutic material was sometimes sought as a matter of course.

Why this matters for people seeking therapy:
For many survivors of trauma, therapy is one of the very few spaces where they feel safe enough to speak freely—perhaps for the first time—about what they have been through. The idea that private therapy notes could be accessed by unfamiliar systems or professionals has, in the past, felt frightening, violating, or even retraumatising.

These changes strengthen protections around what is shared in therapy, helping to preserve therapy as a space of trust, dignity, and emotional safety.

We also know that people living with complex trauma may talk about things like substance use, survival strategies, or coping behaviours within therapy. These disclosures are not admissions of wrongdoing—they are part of understanding how someone has survived. The updated guidance provides stronger safeguards so that such deeply personal material is not routinely pulled into legal processes.

What this means for you:
Raising the threshold for access helps people engage in therapy without the added fear that their most vulnerable thoughts, memories, or coping strategies could be scrutinised or misunderstood outside the therapeutic relationship.

At Beyond Barriers CIC, we believe emotional healing depends on safety, choice, and trust. This change supports those values and may feel especially important if past experiences have involved power being taken away or boundaries being violated.

If concerns about privacy have ever made you hesitant to seek therapy, we hope this update offers some reassurance.

If you would like to read the full government guidance, you can find it here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-on-police-requesting-counselling-notes-come-into-force--2

If you have questions about confidentiality, therapy records, or what this means for you personally, we are always happy to talk.

06/01/2026

Great to have Eirian back at Beyond Barriers offering her specialist 1-to-1 yoga therapy for burnout. She’s the perfect fit for anyone looking to reconnect with their body and calm their nervous system during or after a period of stress and adversity. Her gentle tailored approach is a perfect fit for all kinds of stress responses, including neurodivergent burnout. And some of our most effective work comes with combining psychological and yoga therapy as we work together around an individuals needs. Feel free to get in touch to learn a bit more about how 1:1 Yoga therapy could support you - either is a standalone therapy or combined with psychological work

06/01/2026

We’re back - what a gorgeous sunny start to our first day back open. Happy New Year folks! After a very restorative festive break we are topped up and hopeful about the year to come. We’ll be launching new digital burnout programs this year as well as our face-to-face therapy, staff well-being, trauma groups and room hire.

We’ve been thinking a lot about Rest over the past two weeks and having lots of conversations about how so many of us might need to relearn how to rest after being in stressful working environments for so long. Sound relevant? Feel free to get in touch here or at enquiries@beyondbarriers.uk and we can put you on our mailing list for what’s coming up in 2026 💜

06/01/2026

We’re back - what a gorgeous sunny start to our first day back open. Happy New Year folks! After a very restorative festive break we are topped up and hopeful about the year to come. We’ll be launching new digital burnout programs this year as well as our face-to-face therapy, staff well-being, trauma groups and room hire.

We’ve been thinking a lot about Rest over the past two weeks and having lots of conversations about how so many of us might need to relearn how to rest after being in stressful working environments for so long. Sound relevant? Feel free to get in touch here or at enquiries@beyondbarriers.uk and we can put you on our mailing list for what’s coming up in 2026 💜

24/12/2025

🎄Day 24 💜 - so we’ve reached Christmas Eve— and if you’re pausing tonight with a long list, tired body, or a sense that you should have done more, this is your reminder:

You are not behind. You are not failing. You are enough.

From many of us, Christmas Eve can ironically activate our threat system - if we gsperfectionism, comparison, and the belief that we must “get it right.” But wellbeing doesn’t come from perfect preparation. It comes from regulation, presence, and permission.

If you can, try one or two of these gentle shifts tonight:
✨ Let “good enough” be good enough
✨ Choose rest over one more task
✨ Bring your attention to something simple and real — your breath, a warm drink, soft music
✨ Ask yourself: What kind of Christmas Day do I actually want to feel? Calm, connected, gentle, meaningful?

Christmas doesn’t ask for perfection.
It asks for you, as you are.

However tomorrow looks — joyful, quiet, tender, complex — may it be guided by kindness rather than pressure.

24/12/2025

🎄Day 24 💜 - so we’ve reached Christmas Eve— and if you’re pausing tonight with a long list, tired body, or a sense that you should have done more, this is your reminder:

You are not behind. You are not failing. You are enough.

From many of us, Christmas Eve can ironically activate our threat system - if we gsperfectionism, comparison, and the belief that we must “get it right.” But wellbeing doesn’t come from perfect preparation. It comes from regulation, presence, and permission.

If you can, try one or two of these gentle shifts tonight:
✨ Let “good enough” be good enough
✨ Choose rest over one more task
✨ Bring your attention to something simple and real — your breath, a warm drink, soft music
✨ Ask yourself: What kind of Christmas Day do I actually want to feel? Calm, connected, gentle, meaningful?

Christmas doesn’t ask for perfection.
It asks for you, as you are.

However tomorrow looks — joyful, quiet, tender, complex — may it be guided by kindness rather than pressure.

24/12/2025

24/12/2025

🎄Day 23💜 Courage at Christmas doesn’t usually look dramatic.
It’s often quiet, internal, and deeply relational.

Every time you choose alignment over expectation,
boundaries over burnout,
or authenticity over approval,
you are returning to yourself.

From a psychological perspective, these moments matter because our nervous systems are especially sensitive around family, history, and long-held roles. Old patterns can pull us toward people-pleasing, over-explaining, or staying silent to keep the peace — even when it costs us.

Courage might look like:
✨ Pausing before responding, rather than reacting
✨ Saying “I’ll think about that” instead of an automatic yes
✨ Allowing some emotional distance where closeness doesn’t feel safe
✨ Letting relationships be imperfect, rather than forcing them to feel “right”

These choices may feel small, but they reshape how safe, grounded, and connected you feel — not just this Christmas, but over time.

Today, ask yourself gently:
What choice would bring me closer to myself in my relationships?

That’s where courage lives 💪🏻💜

23/12/2025

We’re asking you to trust us when we say ‘You’re allowed to reach out — even if a voice inside says you shouldn’t’.

At this time of year, many people struggle silently. Not because they don’t need support — but because an old inner message says:
“Don’t be a burden.”
“Other people have it worse.”
“You should be coping by now.”

That voice isn’t the truth.
It’s often an echo of past experiences where your needs weren’t met — not a reflection of what you deserve now.

Reaching out is not weakness.
It’s a healthy human response to being overwhelmed.

✨ Support is allowed.
💪🏻 Needing help is normal.
💜 You don’t have to earn care.

If something feels heavy this Christmas, you don’t have to hold it alone.