A Norman Counselling and Mentoring Services

16/12/2025

Happy christmas everyone. It has been a long hard year, but we are nearly there. For those of us who can, let's take the time to enjoy the festive season surrounded by the ones we love and remembering those who cant be with us to celebrate.

02/12/2025

My latest short blog post. This time on the need for invisible scaffolding around people with brain injuries:

In neurorehabilitation, practitioners often talk about “scaffolding”. This is a process of creating a supportive framework around a person…

20/11/2025

So please to report that my chapter 'Disability and Vulnerability' was published in 'understanding and preventing cuckooing' by Laura Bainbridge, Rosemary Broad & Amy Loughery and published by Routledge
https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-and-Preventing-Cuckooing-Victimisation-County-Lines-and-Beyond/Bainbridge-Broad-Loughery/p/book/9781032766447

06/11/2025

Growing up with a narcissistic mother often means learning that love has strings attached. That your worth depends on what you give, not who you are. But healing is about unlearning that lie. You are allowed to have needs. You are allowed to take up space. You were never too much, you were just unseen: https://medium.com//the-mirror-that-never-reflected-you-growing-up-with-a-narcissistic-mother-fedf80c6fb4c

Aly Norman

30/10/2025

If you are a family member of someone with a brain injury or a professional working in brain injury, we would love you to take part in a focus group to discuss how to improve practice in the UK.

23/10/2025

Neglect doesn’t always look like abuse. Sometimes it’s the silence, the absence, the love that never came. Children who grow up unseen often learn to meet their own needs too soon.
As adults, they may struggle to believe they’re worthy of care, even when it’s offered. Healing begins when they finally realise that is was never their job to earn love. 💛

When we think of childhood harm, we often picture visible forms of abuse such as raised voices, bruises, or clear signs of distress. But…

15/10/2025

Today the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published their guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury (NG252). The headlines point to the need for a single point of contact or case manager in brain injury care and greater education for the health and social care workforce. I am excited to announce that two of my papers were used in the evidence gathering process. To find out more, read my blog:

A major advance has just been published by NICE (15 October 2025). Their guidelines on Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders…

13/10/2025

So pleased to announce our paper on safeguarding after brain injury was published by Journal of adult protection last week: “His brain injury was missed, it led to his death”: brain injury case managers’ experience of safeguarding

06/10/2025

A new book called Disfigurement:Understanding Visible Difference by Lise Deguire and Miri Jaffe was published in September 2025 through Routledge outlining experiences of visible differences and features FaceIT

01/10/2025

It was such a pleasure to speak about working with people with visible difference to the ACPNL - The Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists in North London. The is such an important topic for therapists around the country. I hope that the session made a positive difference to the professionals present.

25/09/2025

📅 Excited to be speaking this Sunday, 28th September, at the ACPNL - The Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists in North London

I'll be exploring the psychosocial impact of visible difference and sharing practical insights to help therapists better support individuals navigating these challenges.

The session will include:
🔹 An overview of visible difference
🔹 Practical tips for therapeutic practice
🔹 A spotlight on FaceIT as a valuable self-help resource alongside therapy

Looking forward to connecting with fellow professionals committed to inclusive and empathetic care.