This blog post is a follow up to my previous one titled ‘The Compassion Focused Therapy Model’ so please read that first then hop back over here to learn more about the Drive system. The Drive System is all about acquiring things, focusing on a goal and getting jobs done. We may experience feelings of … Read more
Compassion Focused Therapy, or CFT for short, is a branch of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which I’ve become really interested in over the past few years. People who come to Forrest Talking Therapies find it a really powerful way of working through all sorts of difficulties, and I often use the tools in my personal day … Read more
People often talk to me about anti-depressants, and whilst I am not a doctor or medical prescriber I thought a blog addressing the basics would be useful. Please bear in mind as you read this blog that I am not intending this as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have any questions or … Read more
I’ve been practising yoga for many years. When I’m ‘on the mat’ I feel centred, it’s space away from everything else in my life and a rare chance to pay attention to my body instead of my mind. Recently I’ve been attending classes led by Liz Walker. Liz is an experienced yoga teacher who specialises … Read more
At this time of year we see a lot of spiders in our gardens and our houses. In the past I really struggled with this as I had a phobia of spiders, but thanks to Exposure Therapy I’ve just been able to scroll through lots of images of our eight-legged friends to pick the one … Read more
Self-care has become quite the buzz word in the past few years with it ranking amongst one of the most frequently used hashtags on social media today. When we think about self-care, typical things which may spring to mind include … Bubble bathPainting your nailsMeeting up with a friendMindfulnessCoffee & cake (my personal favourite!)Watching an … Read more
June treated us to some beautiful warm weather, as we celebrated the Queens Jubilee, Glastonbury and the start of Wimbledon. The Summer Solstice and Midsummer have already been and gone so I think it’s safe to say that Summer is officially here (cue cold weather and rain!) It’s often the Winter months as the dark … Read more
All of a sudden your heart is pounding, you’re shaking from head to toe and you can’t catch your breath; it’s happening again, you’re having a panic attack. If you have ever experienced a panic attack then you will know just how horrible they are, scary, embarrassing and exhausting. A panic attack happens when our … Read more
I’ve written blog posts about all kinds of problems such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. What all these problems have in common is ‘Thinking Traps’. These are habitual negative ways of thinking about ourselves, others or the world which are unrealistic and lead us into a spiral of anxiety and … Read more
