Citi Consulting & Psychotherapy

26/03/2026

Myths of psychotherapy, with an evidence-based debunking:

It is important to help you understand that despite the existence of these myths, psychotherapy is a diverse, evidence-based field dedicated to improving mental health, building resilience, and fostering personal growth. It is a collaborative, skill-building process designed for anyone seeking to live a more fulfilling and self-aware life.
Below are common myths of psychotherapy with each evidence-based debunking:

Myth 1: "Psychotherapy is just paying someone to talk to about your problems. I could do that with a friend."
• Debunking: While supportive friends are invaluable, psychotherapy is a structured, evidence-based process guided by a trained professional. Therapists use scientific principles, specific techniques (like CBT, DBT, EMDR), and professional boundaries to create a safe space for deep, transformative work. They are objective, non-judgmental, and trained to guide you through patterns and core issues a friend cannot. It’s not just talking, it’s how you talk and to whom.

Myth 2: "You have to be 'crazy' or extremely ill to see a therapist."
• Debunking: This is a harmful stigma rooted in the history of only treating severe mental illness. Today, people seek therapy for a wide range of reasons: life transitions (job change, becoming a parent), relationship issues, grief, stress management, personal growth, and developing coping skills. Therapy is for anyone wanting to understand themselves better and improve their mental and emotional well-being, preventative care for the mind.

Myth 3: "Therapy takes forever and creates dependency."
• Debunking: Therapy timelines vary greatly. Many evidence-based therapies (like CBT for anxiety) are designed to be short-term (8-20 sessions). Ethical therapists have a clear goal: to help you develop your own internal tools and independence. The ultimate aim is for you to not need them anymore. Talk of dependency is disempowering and contrary to professional ethics.

Myth 4: "The therapist will just sit there silently and nod."
• Debunking: While some modalities (like traditional psychoanalysis) involve more silence for reflection, most modern therapies are highly interactive, relational and collaborative. Therapists ask probing questions, teach skills, provide feedback, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and assign "homework" for real-world practice. They are active participants in your growth.

Myth 5: "All therapists are the same."
• Debunking: Therapists differ significantly in their training (PhD, PsyD, MSc, Dip), therapeutic approaches (CBT, psychodynamic, humanistic, integrative), specialties (trauma, eating disorders, couples), and personality. Finding a therapist, you feel comfortable with and whose approach aligns with your goals is a crucial part of the process, the "therapeutic alliance" is a key predictor of success.

01/03/2026

The Quiet Weight and Reality of Moral Injury
Moral injury is not always loud. It does not always announce itself the way burnout or stress does. Instead, it often sits quietly beneath the surface, an internal conflict born when someone is forced to act against their deeply held values, or when they witness things that feel profoundly wrong yet are powerless to change.
Moral injury is increasingly recognized in healthcare, social care, emergency services, and other professions where people carry heavy responsibilities. It is not just about what someone has done, but also what they could not do, often due to systemic pressure, inadequate resources, or situations that offer no good options.
The reality of moral injury shows up in many ways: a lingering sense of guilt, frustration with systems that fail people, emotional exhaustion that feels different from routine stress, or a quiet questioning of one’s own goodness. Unlike burnout, moral injury is not solved by rest or holidays. It is rooted in the heart, not the schedule.
But acknowledging moral injury is the first step toward healing. Creating spaces where people can talk openly, without judgement, allows those burdens to be shared rather than carried alone. Compassionate leadership, supportive peers, and systems that prioritise ethical practice can help ease the weight.
Most importantly, moral injury does not mean someone is weak. It means they cared, deeply and bravely, in circumstances that tested their humanity. And that in itself is a sign of strength.
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injury

well-bing

07/02/2026

Decolonisation: Journey Toward Inclusive and Accessible Practice
Psychotherapy is increasingly being asked to look inward, not only at how we support clients, but at the cultural stories and worldviews that have shaped the therapeutic models we rely on. Decolonising therapy isn’t about rejecting established approaches; it’s an invitation to expand our understanding of healing and make our work more inclusive, respectful, and culturally grounded.
Many traditional therapeutic frameworks were developed in Western, Eurocentric contexts. While valuable, they do not represent the full spectrum of human experience. Decolonising therapy means recognising these limits and intentionally creating space for diverse cultural knowledge, community-based healing traditions, and a broader understanding of distress.
A key part of this work is ongoing reflective practice. Therapists are encouraged to ask themselves:
• How do my cultural lenses shape what I see as “healthy” or “unhealthy”?
• Whose voices and theories were centred in my training, and whose were missing?
• How do I respond when issues of race, power, or identity enter the room?
Without this reflection, therapists risk unintentionally reinforcing marginalisation or misattunement that clients may already be navigating.
Decolonised practice is also deeply relational. Healing happens in connection, where culture, identity, and power meet. Working relationally means honouring the client's lived experience as expertise, naming power dynamics when appropriate, and co creating meaning rather than imposing interpretations.
Ultimately, decolonising therapy benefits both clients and clinicians. It fosters safety, empowers clients to reclaim their narratives, and strengthens authentic connection. For therapists, it enhances cultural competence, emotional insight, and ethical practice.
Decolonisation is not a destination, it’s an ongoing commitment to learning, unlearning, and staying open.
“Join the conversation and Add your voice, what does inclusive, culturally attuned therapy look like in your world?”
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competency

01/02/2026

The Quiet Challenge of the Grieving Clinician:

Clinicians are trained to sit with pain, to listen deeply, regulate emotions, and hold space for others without collapsing under the weight of their stories. Yet when a clinician experiences the loss of a loved one, these skills are tested in ways no training can fully prepare them for.

Grief does not pause for professional responsibility. While clients arrive with their own anxieties, losses, and crisis, the clinician must navigate their own shattered world. This creates an unspoken pressure to “manage” grief well, to appear resilient, emotionally intelligent, and composed. But grief is not a clinical concept when it becomes personal. It is raw, disorienting, and deeply human. No expertise protects against the visceral impact of losing someone you love.

Therapeutic work requires presence, empathy, and emotional availability, these capacities may feel depleted during grief. Many clinicians wrestle with guilt for needing time off or struggling to stay focused, and shame for feeling less emotionally steady in a profession that values composure. They may fear appearing less competent or too vulnerable, yet clinicians are human first. Loss deepens empathy, but it can also blur boundaries.

Boundaries, therefore, become essential. Ethical practice includes recognising when support is needed. Seeking therapy or grief counselling is not weakness but integrity. Despite the pain, grief can enrich a clinician’s work, bringing slower pacing, deeper compassion, and a more embodied understanding of loss. Still, grieving while supporting others is lonely work. Naming this reality is a step toward healing.
Clinicians are allowed to rest, to be supported, and to be human. Even the strongest containers need care.

24/01/2026

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Frankie offers tailored, trauma-informed psychotherapy and clinical supervision in a safe, confidential space. Book a free 15-minute call today.

24/01/2026

Why High Functioning Professionals Can Experience Suicidal Thoughts
Suicidal thinking in high functioning professionals is rarely about weakness. From a therapeutic perspective, it more often reflects the collision of sustained pressure, identity, and emotional isolation.
Many professionals build their sense of self around performance, responsibility, and being the person others rely on. Over time, identity can become fused with functioning. When this happens, success can feel synonymous with worth, struggle can feel like failure, and asking for help can feel like a threat to one’s professional identity.
When stress, illness, mistakes, or burnout occur, the impact is not only challenging, it can feel existential: “If I can’t perform, who am I?” This internal conflict often gives rise to shame and despair, both of which are strongly linked to suicidal ideation.
Understanding this helps shift workplace conversations away from stigma and toward compassion, early intervention, and psychological safety, particularly for those who carry responsibility quietly.
If this resonates and you’d like to talk or seek support, spaces for confidential conversations do exist:
👉 https://fpcstalk.com or email at frankie@fpcstalk.com

Frankie offers tailored, trauma-informed psychotherapy and clinical supervision in a safe, confidential space. Book a free 15-minute call today.

22/05/2025

Qualifying as a Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA)

We’re delighted to celebrate the success of Noelle Britton, William Midlane, Claire Ingram, Caroline Bowden, Uloma Hafstad, and Frankie Mgbadike, who have all passed their viva exams!

These outstanding graduates have achieved their Metanoia Diploma in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy, leading to UKCP registration, and are now Certified Transactional Analysts (CTA). They are also awaiting ratification of their MSc in TA Psychotherapy from Middlesex University.

Their hard work and dedication have truly paid off, what an incredible milestone 🎉

24/05/2024

On this special day, Lord I pray for Your divine peace to envelop me. May this year and years ahead be marked by moments of serenity, where I find deep rest in your loving embrace.
Help me, Lord God, to cultivate a quiet strength and a serene mind, guiding me through each day with grace and poise.
Thank you for the gift of life and grant me strength and courage to face any challenges life throws at me.
My heart is fill with gratitude and contentment, appreciating your loving kindness in my life.
Lord, I want to remain a source of inspiration and hope to those who are in need of encouragement. Continue to present opportunities where I can serve others and make a positive impact.