Symmetry Therapy - Darlington

21/10/2025

10/10/2025

World Mental Health Day
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Mental health is a combination of mental, emotional, and social well-being that impacts how you think, feels, and act. These factors impact your ability to cope with life's ups and downs, to see your potential and to take part in the community.

Mental health is influenced by self, family, and others.

Look after yourself and your mental health. Read more….

World Mental Health Day is on 10 October 2025. Find out how to take part and raise awareness of mental health.

02/10/2025

💖 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 💖

Carl R. Rogers, in his reflective piece "Rogers, Kohut, and Erickson: A personal perspective on some similarities and differences" (Person-Centered Review, 1986, 1(2), p.129), shares a powerful insight into the essence of empathy: "To my mind, empathy is in itself a healing agent. It is one of the most potent aspects of therapy, because it releases, it confirms, it brings even the most frightened client into the human race. If a person is understood, he or she belongs."

This profound observation underscores the transformative power of empathy in therapeutic settings and beyond. Rogers highlights that empathy— the deep, nonjudgmental understanding of another's experience—can have a profound healing effect, affirming one's sense of belonging and humanity.

💡 Empathy as a Universal Healer: This quote reminds us that at the core of our need for healing and growth lies the desire to be truly seen and understood. Empathy bridges the gap between isolation and connection, affirming our shared humanity.

🌍 Cultivating a Culture of Empathy: Let's take Rogers' wisdom to heart and strive to foster empathy in our interactions. By seeking to understand the experiences and feelings of others without judgment, we contribute to a more compassionate, inclusive world where everyone feels they belong.

Share this post to inspire the spread of empathy as a tool for healing and connection. Together, we can create a supportive community that uplifts and understands, reminding each of us that we are not alone. 🌟

29/09/2025

The value of high quality therapy in a safe, confidential space is becoming more and more accepted and recommended. Research shows that more than a third of UK adults have had therapy sessions.

Our Public Perceptions Survey found 35% of UK adults have sought help from a therapist

05/09/2025

What really matters?
✅ Great leadership
✅ Fair pay
✅ Recognition
✅ Growth opportunities
✅ Flexibility
✅ Work-life balance
✅ Empowerment

05/09/2025

It’s disheartening to see the increasing number of articles pushing the narrative of “overdiagnosis” in mental health and special educational needs (SEN). Many of these pieces are rooted in misleading assumptions and misinformation.

They often imply that diagnoses are exaggerated, fabricated, or somehow less valid — which is both bizarre and deeply damaging. Rather than questioning the legitimacy of someone's diagnosis or lived experience, shouldn't we be focusing on how to create a society where everyone feels supported, accepted, safe, and included?

Yes, more people are being diagnosed today than 10 or 20 years ago. But that doesn’t mean we’re inventing problems — it means we’re finally recognising them. Increased awareness, reduced stigma, and better access to information have empowered more individuals to seek help. This is progress.

If we invested as much energy into improving support systems as we do into debating who “really” needs help, we might see fewer of these so-called “overdiagnosis” concerns altogether.

Over the past 20 years working with children, young people, and adults, I’ve witnessed firsthand how society has changed. Life is faster, more connected, and increasingly overwhelming. Opportunities to truly switch off are rare — rest has become something we have to plan for. Naturally, this leads to higher levels of anxiety, emotional overload, and mental fatigue. Most of us are running with multiple tabs open at all times.

Young people today are growing up in a world full of complexity and pressure. Instead of minimising their struggles or casting doubt on their diagnoses, let’s ask a better question: how can we adapt our systems and support networks to meet the needs of the world we live in now?

BACP Response...

News from BACP | Child mental health ‘over diagnosis’ is tired and misleading narrative

30/08/2025

27/08/2025

Listening to music boosts wellbeing in many ways…

25/08/2025

Senses - Bring colour into your life. Do you have a colour that helps you feel relaxed / confident / calm? Carry about an object that colour, or place an item on your deck or wear it. Looking at the colour will increase that particular feeling.

21/08/2025

5 Senses Exercise - Mindfullness Tools

21/08/2025

Good luck everyone with GCSE’s today…. but remember if your young person doesn’t receice the grade they hoped for……

I know, as I post this, that for at least a third of 16-year-olds today will not be a day of celebration.

That’s not because this year group are particularly predictable, or because I have secret information about the GCSE results.

It’s because GCSE results are highly predictable, even though there is always some fuss made each year about how girls are doing better than boys (or vice versa).

GCSE results are graded by comparing the marks with those from previous years, and making sure that the number of people who get each grade remains more or less the same. There’s some variation, but not a lot.

This means that around a third of each cohort are always going to fail their GCSEs. By fail, I mean that they won’t get the grades they need to go onto college without having to do retakes or do another course at the same level as GCSEs.

This is how GCSEs are designed. If everyone does exceptionally well one year, they’ll just shift the goal posts so that some of them still fail. It’s not possible for everyone to pass. If a school does exceptionally well and everyone passes, that just means that more people in some other school failed.

This is different to a test like the driving test. The driving test is an assessment of how good you are at driving, regardless of how good everyone else is.

I know this isn’t much consolation if you have a teenager who has just had disappointing exam results. It’s not a happy way to end your time at school.

But what it means is that they are not alone. Failure is built into the GCSE system. A third of young people have to fail each year.

They all have a future regardless. Let’s help them to feel hopeful about that.

19/08/2025

***Multifaceted Fulfilment - Self-Determination Theory ***
by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan says that for humans to thrive, three psychological needs must be met:

+Autonomy - in control of your choices.

+Competence - feel capable, effective, and making progress.

+Relatedness - connection, belonging, and meaningful relationships.

When these needs are met in balance, we experience satisfaction and well-being. When one is neglected, we feel unfulfilled — no matter how much we’ve done in other areas.

This might explain why some people can’t just “work all day” or “relax all day.” If you only rest, your sense of competence suffers. If you only achieve, your need for rest and autonomy might be ignored. If you only socialise, you may lack the space to recharge.

***Multifaceted Day***
Think of your day as a plate. Some people are fine loading it up with one big portion — say, work. But others feel best when the plate has variety: a little social connection, a dash of productivity, a slice of organisation, and a serving of rest.

Everyone’s recipe for fulfilment is different. Some need more social time, others more solitude. The key is to notice when you feel “off” and trace it back to what’s missing. If you feel restless or incomplete after a day that “should” feel satisfying you might be wired to thrive on multifaceted fulfilment — touching different parts of your humanity each day.

Work, rest, connect, and create. When the mix is right, that’s when life feels balanced.