Growing Seeds Counselling

08/04/2025

The good weather can lift our spirits and even our mental health.

There is increasing interest in outdoor therapy, especially in this good weather.

What to Expect:

• Confidential one-to-one sessions in local green spaces
• A calm, non-judgmental space to explore your thoughts and feelings
• A blend of talking therapy and the natural rhythm of the outdoors
• An inclusive approach that meets you where you are.

Sessions conducted around Strathaven and surrounding green spaces. If you need a more contained space then my counselling room at Climate Action Strathaven Upper Hub is available

lewis@growingseedscounselling.co.uk
07854901066

www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk

04/02/2025

After the storm Eowyn I had to go and check on favourite tree. It still stands despite standing on its own. Yet it’s not easy to weather these storms without support around us.

This one of many trees along the route I take on my walk and talk therapy route. If it’s a bit too wet and windy then I have the warmth of my private room in the upper hub at Climate Action Strathaven.

Get in touch for a free 15 min call to discuss your needs.

07854901066

www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk

06/01/2025

Happy New Year to all of you. Endings and new beginnings can be difficult to navigate. There are so many expectations we can place on ourselves, and expectations placed on us.

We are supposed to be happy at this time of year and sometimes we might not feel all that happy, which can bring more feelings of shame.

Growing Seeds Counselling is back after a break, to see existing clients and to welcome new clients.

I look forward to seeing you.

Lewis

27/11/2024

Unlock the Power of Your Mind with Psychodynamic Therapy

Are you struggling with unresolved emotions or patterns that hold you back? Psychodynamic therapy helps you explore the deeper, often unconscious roots of your feelings, behaviors, and relationships.

By working with me, a trained therapist, you’ll:
• Gain insight into past experiences shaping your present
• Break free from self-defeating patterns
• Build healthier relationships and emotional resilience
• Understand the unconscious forces driving your behaviors

At Growing Seeds Counselling, we create a safe, supportive environment for you to explore your inner world and achieve lasting change. Start your journey toward greater self-awareness and emotional well-being today.

Contact us now for a free consultation!

Discover your inner strength. Heal. Grow. Transform.

19/11/2024

Today is International Men’s day. Why do we need it? ‘Don’t men have every day being men’s day?’

Males were 75% of the deaths caused by su***de last year. We have a tendency to not talk, to bottle things up.

We were sometimes brought up to think that this might make us weak, to speak about our mental health, or anything that is around feelings.

Just a reminder to all the men that it’s good to talk… don’t be become a statistic.

www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk
07854901066

11/11/2024

This evening’s outdoor time. This is along the route that I use for my walk and talk/outdoor therapy. When we look at the spaces around us they make us feel small, and in turn, our problems feel smaller too. Get in touch to connect with yourself on a deeper level.


www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk
07854901066

16/10/2024

Attachment theory is often a helpful way to understand yourself and how we might behave in relationships.

Clients have found it revealing and also comforting to understand that we aren’t alone in how we feel, that others might have similar feelings.

This is one of the ways in which I work with clients in my room in Strathaven, Coatbridge or outdoors in nature in walk and talk therapy.

Around 80% of you will relate to one category more than the others. Those who don’t will probably be either closer to the secure category and thus have more flexible responses to relationship stress, or will be closer to the disorganized category and have more unpredictable responses to relationship stress. Also, keep in mind that attachment theory is meant to be applied to relationships with the strongest attachment bonds. Yes, attachment styles will show up in other relationships outside of your closest ones, but it’s not the same intensity or context. If you try to apply the theory to anyone and everyone in your life, things can start to get murky. Most people will have a similar attachment style in all of their romantic relationships throughout life (without working on it), but some can vary. What causes the variation goes beyond the scope of this post, but it can happen.
As with all categorizations and labels, the goal is to help you use the label to have a better understanding of yourself and what you can work on, not to put you in a box. Use this information to grow. If you don’t relate to any of it, that’s okay too…work on what you see as a problem. It’s more important to know that you have an insecure attachment at all than it is to know what exact style you are.
All of this stuff is workable. If that weren’t the case I wouldn’t be here telling people what is wrong for no good reason. This post is meant to provide understanding, but this entire account has info on HOW to heal, as well as my upcoming book Secure Love which is available for pre-order everywhere.
Lastly, we have relationships with ourselves and our own emotions which can be secure or insecure, and we have relationships with our partners which can be secure or insecure. Both matter and they work together. Work on both….how you help yourself in times of need, how you help your partner in times of need, how you communicate with yourself, and how you communicate with your partner. 🪴

08/10/2024

🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶
We are delighted to announce our next COLD WATER THERAPY (CWT) Group,
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CWT12

Course starts Monday 28th October. Runs for 7 x weeks. 7 to 9pm.

🥶 Introduction to Cold Water Therapy and its benefits for Mental Health 🥶

If you have heard about the benefits of Cold Water Therapy ( CWT) and have thought you would like to try it but maybe a little afraid of where to start. This group may be for you.

The aim of the group is to introduce cold water therapy as a tool to help with mental conditions like anxiety and Depression.

There has been so much research carried out on the benefits of cold water therapy. Some of the benefits include.

Improved Mental Health.Motivation.Boost the immune system.Improve circulation.Deepen sleep.Boost energy levels.Reduce inflammation.Improve metabolic function.Improve mood.
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"This group is for the complete beginner who has not tried Cold Water Therapy before."
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The group will begin at our Centre in Coatbridge on Monday 28th October 7 to 9pm

The group is not only about CWT but mental health in general. Throughout the course, we will discuss anxiety/depression and teach you tools and coping strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) around our thinking, feelings, beliefs, and behaviours.

Cold water is an excellent teacher in regards to facing our fears and how using the correct breathing techniques can prevent us from activating the Fight, Flight response.

In between each week, we will ask you to include CWT on a daily basis or at least 3/4 times a week. Either with a short cold shower, bath, or other.

Weeks 3 and 6 plus 1 x other weekend dip in between, we will go as a group to both the Black Loch and Hillend Loch in Lanarkshire for some outdoor cold water immersion, discussion, and support.

More details will be given after the application.

Both Colin and Annie are experienced, qualified cbt therapists who regularly do cold water therapy, and both have felt massive benefits as a result of this.

This group will be conducted in an inspiring, gentle manner to help you understand yourself and guide you in a compassionate way to feel more calm and relaxed and hopefully help you to truly believe in yourself. The group will also give you an opportunity to meet others and who knows an opportunity to create a new hobby, meet new people, and make new friendships.

Please note:
Only apply for this if you believe you can commit for the full seven weeks, and you really feel this is the right time for a challenge and are ready to make the changes you deserve. We really want the very best for those who come along.

All who attend the group will also be invited on to 'The Water Wavers' group. They are an amazingly friendly group, many from our previous CWT groups. This means you can meet new friends and have plenty of safe dips in the future.

Safety note: We aim to introduce you to Cold Water Therapy in a gentle way to help you build up and deal with the initial shock of the cold. Unfortunately, if you are currently pregnant or have any heart or circulation problems, this group may not be for you without advice from your Gp. It would also be worth contacting your Gp if you have any other health conditions you may be concerned about.

To express an interest, please send an email to
Colin or
Annie Caruth
anniecaruth1@outlook.com
colincaruth@gmail.com

The cost for the seven week course is £70 paid in advance.

08/10/2024

Different perspectives can can change how we feel about something that seems familiar. We can can get stuck in the road, going over similar paths and not seeing a way to move.

Sometimes we need to change the perspective. Like seeing the Stonehouse road from a slightly different angle made me think about Strathaven’s past.

In therapy, talking to a therapist can shift your perspective. Talking about things we feel stuck in can give us a way to free ourselves from mud.

I offer in person therapy, both indoors and outdoors in walk and talk therapy.

www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk
07854901066

23/09/2024

Sometimes we can get ‘stuck’ in our internal thoughts. They go on ‘repeat’ perhaps causing us distress. In therapy we can look at these thoughts, and wonder if we deserve to put ourselves under the distress. We can share the ‘thought’ rather than get lost in it.

I offer one to one therapy, either in the safety of my counselling room at the Upper Hub at Climate Action Strathaven or, alternatively - take the thoughts outside and connect with nature in outdoor therapy.

www.growingseedscounselling.co.uk
lewis@growingseedscounselling.co.uk

16/09/2024

Connecting and grounding yourself with outdoor spaces is so important. There is also a playfulness in nature.

Diane Ackerman said “Nature is also great fun. To pretend that nature isn’t fun is to miss much of the joy of being alive.”

Outdoor therapy can bring focus to this joy. I walk with you through these spaces, to meet you where you are.