Psychotherapy Blog
-
PTSD in Children
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health disorder that may develop after exposure to exceptionally threatening, frightening events or traumas.
Click Here
What is a trauma?
Traumas are events that involve actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence. For example, being assaulted, witnessing domestic violence, or being involved in a natural disaster such as a fire. Young people can experience a trauma because it happens to them, they see it happen to others, or they hear about it.
How common is it to experience a trauma before adulthood?
Exposure to traumatic events is very common among young people. By the end of adolescence, around 75% of young people will have been exposed to a traumatic event.
How do children and young people react to traumatic events?
Immediately after a traumatic event all children are likely to be distressed, tearful, frightened and in shock. Most young people will recover well with family support.
The range of emotional reactions that young people can develop is very broad, but commonly includes:
Upsetting memories of the traumatic event – These are usually vivid images. Sometimes young people hear, feel or smell things that happened during th... -
Relationships, Boundaries, and Being Real: A Gen Z Survival Guide
Let’s be honest—relationships can be amazing, messy, confusing, and exhausting. Whether it’s family, dating, or friendships, figuring out how to be close to people without losing yourself is one of the biggest challenges Gen Z faces.
Click Here
If you’ve ever felt drained, stuck, or like you’re always the one giving more—this blog’s for you.
What Are Boundaries (And Why Do They Matter)?
Boundaries are the invisible lines that protect your energy, emotions, and identity. They help you say:
• “This is okay for me.”
• “This isn’t.”
• “I need space.”
• “I care, but I can’t fix everything.”
Without boundaries, relationships can feel heavy, confusing, or unsafe. With them, you get to show up as you—not a version of yourself that’s always performing or pleasing.
Family Dynamics: When Love Feels Complicated
Family can be a source of love, support, and identity—but also pressure, guilt, and emotional overload. You might feel:
• Responsible for keeping the peace
• Like you’re never “good enough”
• Stuck between loyalty and your own needs
• Afr... -
Digital Overload and Mental Health: Why Your Brain Feels Fried (And What You Can Do About It)
You wake up to notifications. You scroll through news, memes, group chats, and TikTok’s before breakfast. You answer messages while doing homework. You fall asleep with your phone in your hand.
Click Here
Sound familiar?
If your brain feels like it’s constantly buzzing, glitching, or just done, you’re not imagining it. That’s digital overload—and it’s messing with your mental health.
What Is Digital Overload?
Digital overload is what happens when your brain gets overwhelmed by too much screen time, too many notifications, and too much information. It’s like trying to run 50 apps on a phone with low battery—eventually, something crashes.
For Gen Z, this isn’t rare. It’s daily life.
You might feel:
• Tired but unable to sleep
• Anxious or restless for no clear reason
• Distracted, forgetful, or zoned out
• Numb, irritable, or emotionally flat
• Like you have to keep scrolling, even when it’s not fun anymore
Why Gen Z Is Feeling It More
You grew up online. Social media isn’t just entertainment—it’s identity, connection, expression, and sometimes survival. But it also comes with pressure:
• T... -
Feeling Lonely? You’re Not the Only One
Let’s talk about something real: loneliness. Not just being alone for a few hours—but the kind that sneaks in even when you’re surrounded by people. The kind that makes you feel invisible, disconnected, or like no one really gets you.
Click Here
If you’ve felt this way, you’re not broken. You’re human. And you’re not alone.
What Loneliness Really Feels Like
Loneliness isn’t just about being physically alone. It’s about emotional disconnection. It’s the ache of wanting to be seen, heard, and understood—and not knowing where to turn.
It can feel like:
• Scrolling for hours but feeling empty
• Being in a group and still feeling left out
• Missing someone you can talk to without pretending
• Feeling like you’re too much—or not enough
• Wondering if anyone would notice if you disappeared
These feelings are common, especially among teens and young adults. You’re not weird. You’re not dramatic. You’re just craving connection—and that’s a beautiful, human thing.
Why It Happens (And Why It’s Not Your Fault)
Loneliness can show up for all kinds of reasons:
• Moving to a new school, city, or country
• Losing a friendship or relationship... -
Body Image & Self-Esteem: You Deserve to Feel Good About You
Let’s be honest—growing up today means facing a lot of pressure. Social media, school, family, friends, fitness culture, filters, and comparison can make it hard to feel good in your own skin.
Click Here
Whether you’re a young man or woman, body image and self-esteem are real struggles. But they’re also things you can work on, gently, with support.
What Is Body Image?
Body image is how you see yourself—your shape, size, face, skin, hair, everything. It’s not just about mirrors or photos. It’s about how you feel in your body.
• Do you feel confident showing up as you?
• Do you compare yourself to others and feel “less than”?
• Do you avoid certain clothes, places, or people because of how you look?
If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Body image support for teens and young adults is one of the most searched mental health topics today.
What Is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem is how you value yourself. It’s your inner voice—the one that says “I’m enough” or “I’m not good enough.” It affects how you speak up, take risks, and care for yourself.
Low self-esteem can show up as:
• Constant self-criticism
• Fear of being judged
• Feeling lik... -
Therapy for Anxiety and Burnout: A Survival Guide for Young Women
Let’s be real: being a young woman in 2025 is no chill ride. Between school, work, relationships, social media, and the pressure to “have it all together,” it’s easy to feel like you’re running on empty. If you’ve been feeling anxious, exhausted, or just not like yourself, you’re not broken—you’re burned out. And therapy can help.
Click Here
What Is Burnout (And Why Does It Feel Like You’re Drowning)?
Burnout isn’t just being tired. It’s emotional exhaustion, brain fog, and the sense that even small tasks feel huge. It can show up as:
• Feeling constantly overwhelmed or irritable
• Trouble sleeping or waking up tired
• Losing interest in things you used to enjoy
• Feeling disconnected from yourself or others
• Crying easily or feeling numb
Burnout in young women is rising fast, especially among students, carers, creatives, and anyone juggling multiple roles. Anxiety often tags along, making everything feel urgent, scary, or impossible.
Why Therapy Helps (Even If You Think You Should “Push Through”)
Therapy isn’t just for crisis—it’s for clarity. A therapist can help you:
• Understand your anxiety triggers
• Learn how to set boundar... -
Youth Mental Health: What You’re Feeling Is Real
Whether you’re 13 or 23, life can feel like a pressure cooker. School stress, friendships, identity questions, family stuff, and social media—it’s a lot. If you’ve ever felt anxious, low, overwhelmed, or just “not yourself,” you’re not alone. Youth mental health matters, and talking about it helps.
Click Here
What Is Mental Health?
Mental health is how you feel, think, cope, and connect. It’s your emotional weather—sometimes sunny, sometimes stormy, always changing.
• Feeling anxious before exams? That’s mental health.
• Struggling with body image or identity? That’s mental health.
• Feeling numb, angry, or like you’re carrying too much? Still mental health.
Why It Matters (And Why It’s Not Just “Teen Drama”)
Young people today face pressures older generations didn’t. Social media, climate anxiety, identity exploration, and constant comparison can make it hard to breathe. Mental health challenges aren’t weakness—they’re signals.
Your brain and body are asking for care, not judgment.
Carers, parents, and professionals: if a young person opens up, listen first. Validate. Don’t rush to fix. Your presence matters more than perfect advice.
Signs You Might Need Support... -
What Did You Learn About Love from Your Caregivers?
Click Here
Our earliest lessons about love often come from the people who raised us. Whether those caregivers were parents, grandparents, guardians, or others, their words, actions, and emotional presence shaped how we understand connection, safety, and affection.
Sometimes those lessons were clear: love meant hugs, encouragement, or being listened to. Other times, love was more complicated—tied to approval, silence, or sacrifice.
For many people, especially those exploring emotional healing or therapy, reflecting on these early experiences can reveal patterns that still influence adult relationships and mental wellbeing.
Love as Safety—or Uncertainty
If your caregivers made you feel safe, seen, and supported, you may associate love with warmth and trust. But if love was conditional—based on achievement, obedience, or emotional caretaking—you might now struggle with boundaries, self-worth, or anxiety in relationships.
These early dynamics are central in therapy and emotional growth. They help us understand why we react the way we do, why certain relationships feel familiar, and what we’re still searching for.
Questions to Explore Your Own Story
Here are a few gentle prompts to help you reflect on what love looked like in... -
What Does “Being Okay” Mean to You, and How Has That Changed Over Time?
Click Here
We say “I’m okay” all the time. It’s quick, easy, and sometimes it feels safer than explaining what’s really going on. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what being okay actually means to you?
For many teens, being okay used to mean getting through the day without breaking down. It meant showing up to school, replying to texts, pretending everything was fine—even when it wasn’t. In mental health conversations, this version of okay is often linked to survival mode: doing what you need to do to keep going, even if you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally drained.
But as you grow and learn more about emotional wellbeing, your definition of okay might start to shift. It could begin to include things like:
• Feeling safe in your own thoughts and body
• Being able to name your emotions without feeling weird about it
• Taking breaks when you need them—without guilt
• Setting boundaries with people who drain your energy
• Asking for help and knowing that’s a strength, not a weakness
This shift is part of building emotional resilience. It’s not just about coping—it’s about healing, growing, and learning how to care for your mental health... -
Are There Specific Triggers That Affect Your Mental Wellbeing, and How Do You Manage Them?
Emotional triggers are moments when something external activates an internal emotional response. These triggers can significantly affect mental wellbeing, especially for individuals navigating anxiety, trauma, or emotional sensitivity.
Click Here
Common emotional triggers include changes in tone, crowded environments, missed communications, or unexpected disruptions. These reactions are not signs of weakness—they are signals that something within us needs attention.
Understanding and managing emotional triggers is a key part of emotional healing and mental health care. Below are five evidence-informed strategies that support emotional resilience and self-awareness when triggers arise:
1. Name the Feeling
Begin by identifying what you’re feeling. Ask yourself, “What’s happening inside me right now?” Naming the emotion—whether it’s anxiety, sadness, anger, or numbness—can reduce its intensity and help you respond with clarity. This practice supports emotional regulation and mental clarity, both essential for maintaining mental wellbeing.
2. Trace the Roots
Explore where the reaction might come from. Is it linked to a past experience, a relationship dynamic, or a belief you hold about yourself? Understanding the origin o... -
Who Was I Before I Lost Myself
A reflection on emotional healing, confidence building, and rediscovering your sense of self
Click Here
There are moments in life when we stop and ask a question that feels both simple and overwhelming: Who was I before all this?
Before the stress, the compromises, and the quiet drift away from what once felt true.
This question often marks the beginning of emotional healing. It’s not just about fixing what’s broken—it’s about reconnecting with the version of ourselves that felt whole, confident, and alive. The one who dreamed freely, spoke with clarity, and moved through life with purpose.
But life pulls us in different directions. We adapt. We take on new roles, meet new demands, and try to keep up. We become experts in survival, but sometimes lose sight of our deeper confidence building journey—the one that helps us feel grounded in who we are.
You might not notice it at first. It’s subtle. A dream postponed. A value compromised. A voice inside you that used to speak with certainty now whispers with hesitation.
You become good at coping, but less sure of what you’re coping for. And then one day, you realize: you don’t quite recognize yourself.
Beginning Again
This is where personal growth begins—not with perfecti... -
Understanding Shame: A Whole-Person Approach
Understanding Shame: A Whole-Person Approach
Click Here
Shame is the painful feeling that something about you is wrong, broken, or unworthy. It’s different from guilt, which is about actions (“I did something bad”). Shame goes deeper—it’s about identity (“I am bad”).
Therapists who work from an integrative perspective understand shame as layered and complex. It often shows up in four key ways:
• In relationships: Shame can begin in early experiences of rejection, criticism, or feeling unseen. It often grows in environments where love or safety felt conditional.
• In the body: Shame isn’t just a thought—it’s a physical experience. You might feel it as heaviness, tension, collapse, or the urge to hide.
• In your story: Shame can be tied to personal or family history, especially if you’ve been told you were “too much,” “not enough,” or had to hide parts of yourself.
• In culture: Shame is shaped by messages from society—about race, gender, ability, class, or other identities.
These messages can be internalized over time.
Getting Curious About Shame
Therapy invites you to explore shame gently and with compassion. Some questions we might explore together:
• Wh... -
Understanding Generational Trauma
Understanding Generational Trauma – A Whole-Person Approach
Click Here
What It Means:
Generational trauma refers to emotional pain, stress, or harmful patterns that are passed down from one generation to the next. This often happens when families experience major hardships—such as war, racism, forced migration, or abuse—and don’t have the opportunity to fully heal. Even if someone didn’t directly live through the trauma, its effects can show up in how they think, feel, relate to others, and respond to stress.
A whole-person approach to healing considers all parts of someone’s experience—not just thoughts and emotions, but also the body, relationships, culture, and spiritual beliefs.
Examples of Generational Trauma:
• When a family has experienced colonization or cultural loss, descendants may feel disconnected from their identity, carry grief, or feel shame about their heritage.
• Families affected by slavery or racism may pass down patterns of hypervigilance, mistrust of institutions, or chronic stress.
• If someone’s ancestors were forced to leave their home or country, later generations may feel rootless, guilty for surviving, or struggle to feel safe.
• A history of abuse or a... -
The Father Wound: How Unspoken Pain Shapes Men’s Relationships
Exploring Emotional Abandonment, Intimacy Struggles, and the Path to Healing
Click Here
You don’t have to hate your father to carry a father wound.
You don’t even have to remember what went wrong.
But if you’ve ever felt emotionally distant, afraid to trust, or unsure how to show up in relationships—you might be carrying pain that was never named.
This wound isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s the quiet ache of growing up without emotional safety.
A father who was physically present but emotionally absent.
A childhood shaped by criticism, silence, or unmet needs.
What Is the Father Wound?
The father wound refers to the emotional impact of having a father who couldn’t offer consistent love, attunement, or protection.
It’s often carried by men who were taught to suppress emotion, perform strength, and avoid vulnerability.
You might recognise it in thoughts like:
“I don’t know how to express myself.”
“I feel like I’m always performing.”
“I shut down when things get emotional.”
“I don’t know how to be close without losing myself.”
These patterns often surface in adulthood—especially in romantic relationships, friendships, and parenting.
They’re not flaws. They’re survival strateg... -
Reconnecting in a World That Feels Disconnected
Why Therapy Matters More Than Ever
Click Here
In recent years, our lives have been reshaped by forces beyond our control.
The Covid-19 pandemic left many of us feeling isolated and emotionally adrift.
The war in Ukraine shattered our sense of global stability.
And the climate crisis continues to challenge our way of life, reminding us that Earth’s resources—and our time to act—are finite.
These events haven’t just changed the world.
They’ve changed us.
We’re living in a state of near-constant flux.
Many people are searching for mental health support UK, therapy for anxiety and depression, or simply a space to breathe.
Because beneath the headlines, there’s a quiet grief.
A collective questioning.
A longing to feel safe, seen, and connected again.
The Emotional Impact of Uncertainty
For many, this season has brought:
• A sense of hopelessness or emotional numbness
• Anxiety about the future and our place in it
• A deep need to understand who we are and what matters most
This isn’t weakness—it’s a human response to prolonged stress and disconnection.
And it deserves care.
Why Connection Is Our Strength
In times of crisis, our greatest resource is each other.
I... -
Creative Therapy for Young People: Healing Through Art, Journaling, and Metaphor
How Expressive Therapy Supports Mental Health and Identity Exploration
Click Here
For many young people, traditional talk therapy can feel limiting. When emotions are tangled, words may not come easily. That’s where creative therapy steps in—not as a replacement, but as a doorway. Whether through art, journaling, music, or metaphor, expressive therapy offers young adults a way to process feelings, explore identity, and reclaim agency.
What Is Creative Therapy?
Creative therapy refers to styles of therapy that use artistic and symbolic expression to support emotional healing.
This includes:
Art therapy: Using drawing, painting, collage, or sculpture to explore inner experiences.
Journaling for mental health: Writing prompts, freewriting, or letter-writing to clarify thoughts and emotions.
Expressive therapy: A broader term that includes movement, drama, music, and storytelling.
Symbolic reframing: Using metaphor and imagery to reinterpret symptoms, memories, or relational patterns.
These styles of therapy are especially powerful for young people navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity shifts, or neurodivergent burnout.
Why Young People Choose Creative Therapy
Young adults often seek therapy not...