Light Psychotherapy

25/03/2026

What a wonderful poet description of CBT!

21/12/2021

As we reach the tipping point of winter, where the days finally start to lengthen again, I look forward to more light both literally and metaphorically. May we all look towards light and hope in the future, be it in the unpredictable world around us or within ourselves. Spring awaits and dawn always comes after the darkness.

“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
Albert Camus.

For appointments and information www.lightpsychotherapy.com

I will be taking a bit of a break now, until 2022, so here’s wishing you all a happy and healthy festive period.

17/09/2021

NEW APPOINTMENT AVAILABILITY

Daytime appointments now available on Thursdays, with some other evening availability likely to open up in a few weeks.

Please make contact to discuss how I may be able to help.

09/06/2021

M O T I V A T I O N
Such a brilliant description of something I often talk about with people. Waiting for motivation to come before starting something that’s going to help can mean you may never get going. Sometimes we have to trust that things will feel better once we start!

We often wait until we feel motivated before we do tasks. "I will go for a walk when I feel like it' or "I don’t have time right now" The problem is that if you wait until you FEEL like doing something, then it might never happen, this lack of activity can make us feel worse. ⁠
⁠
Actually, what we know is that motivation comes AFTER we start doing an activity. ⁠
⁠
If we plan in an activity, something small and achievable, and do it regardless of how we feel, we know that we often feel motivated or a sense of achievement afterwards and we often end up doing that activity longer than we had planned. ⁠
⁠
So when we plan in activities, and follow this plan rather than waiting to feel like doing something, this jump starts an activity and helps us to discover that we need not be at the mercy of their thoughts or lack of motivation⁠
⁠
Start by scheduling in what you need to do by writing it down in your calendar, this helps you to honor commitments to yourself . Learning to commit to your plans just as you would with a friend will supercharge your productivity . ⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠

01/02/2021

What a fabulous theme for this years Children’s Mental Health Week!

Self-expression involves any activity where we can transfer the energy from our thoughts and feelings into another form. And, usually, this makes us feel better. When we express our feelings honestly, we are better equipped to deal with them because we actually know what we are feeling instead of denying it.

What are you doing this week to express yourself?

12/01/2021

"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh.

There was a pause.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.

"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."

"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.

"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.

"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.

"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
A.A. Milne

It's a challenging time for us all right now. Let’s be there for each other, let’s be kind. And I hope that you have your own Piglet you can call upon to sit beside you (or at least phone) ❤️

20/12/2020

As I bring this years private practice to a close I would love to thank everyone for their support in what has been an extraordinary year.

With so much uncertainty and challenge both behind us and perhaps ahead, personally I am trying to hold in mind the spirit of giving and gratitude, and the joy this gives me at Christmas and the positive impact this has on how I feel about things.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2018/11/17/the-gift-of-giving-thanks/amp/

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2021!

28/11/2020

Such an important message and couldn’t agree more!

I have had four separate conversations with women this week. All were weary. All were run down. All were at the end of themselves. As was I.
But rather than taking it easy we were all also berating ourselves for not coping better.
We have normalised the abnormal level of stress living in 2020 has created.
Back in spring we were having to adjust and adapt to this new reality. We could see and feel how different life in a pandemic was to the life we were used to. Where we could we made allowances. We cut ourselves some slack, we remembered these were exceptional circumstances and lowered our expectations of ourselves. This was good, healthy.
But when exceptional circumstances go on for nearly 9 months, we normalise them. We forget that life right now is not easy, that living with uncertainty and isolation is difficult in so many ways. We normalise the level of stress because we have forgotten what it is like to live without this background hum, this tension in our shoulders, this low mood.
Consequently we expect more of ourselves.
This week I have struggled to sleep. I decided today it made more sense to say: isn’t it amazing it has taken 9 months of pandemic life for my sleep to suffer? Rather than being angry with my body for not coping better.
When exposed to unrelenting levels of stress for long periods is it any wonder my sleep is affected?
Have you normalised the stress of this year? Have you started criticising yourself for not doing more/coping better/being more upbeat or productive?
It’s time to acknowledge we are still in the tough part. We are still living under abnormal levels of stress all day everyday. I don’t write this to bring you down but to expose the truth, and in that truth I hope you find compassion for yourself, I hope you offer yourself some grace, some slack, some kindness.
And please know even if you don’t feel it right now, you are doing great.
Much love.

25/10/2020

As the nights draw in and the weather turns more miserable, it’s easy to see why winter can feel so much harder, but it’s important to remember sometimes it’s not what is, but the way we look at things that can make the biggest difference to how we feel.

10/10/2020

IT’S WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY...

Today is .

What an exceptionally tough year it has been for us all. Even those who have perhaps never experienced mental health issues before could well have found themselves struggling emotionally and mentally this year. Months of lockdown, loss, redundancy, not seeing loved ones, losing loved ones and heightened anxiety for what the future will look like, will most definitely do that.

According to research by the charity Mind of over 16,000 people, “we know that more than half of adults (60%) and over two-thirds of young people (68%) said their mental health got worse during lockdown.”

If you are struggling - understand that it is ok to not be ok, reach out to someone and look for ways to help improve how you are feeling.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy could be one way. At the heart of CBT, it is believed that changes towards thoughts and behaviours can greatly enhance and influence our feelings. This can empower us to feel better within ourselves and improve our mental wellbeing. Working collaboratively with a qualified and accredited Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapist is shown to help us become more aware of how unhelpful thinking can have an adverse effect on how we feel and act. CBT can help us to address these issues in a more positive way.

28/09/2020

Something a little lighthearted for a Monday evening!