Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette is a game-changer. But I was almost a full half hour in and not quite sure why so many clients, friends and colleagues had gotten in touch: “You need to see Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up comedy special Nanette on Netflix. It’s [insert chosen magnificent superlative]”. I mean, it was good. It wasn’t hilarious…. Continue Reading
How our favourite fairy tales expose the secret tactics of abusive behaviour
*Guest post* Tangled happens to be both my favourite Disney princess movie, and my favourite interpretation of the fairy tale of Rapunzel. In this story, Mother Gothel raises Rapunzel in a tower, elevated and far away from the rest of the world. Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel that she is keeping her in the tower in order… Continue Reading
Do I have a Mental Illness? What ‘Borderline Personality Disorder’ actually feels like
Borderline Personality Disorder: what it really feels like from the voice of lived experience… I’m wary of diagnosis. Not because it’s not useful to understand more about what’s going on with you when things really aren’t right, but because often diagnoses are: Wrong Pathologising Used by professionals to make decisions about a person’s behaviour rather… Continue Reading
“No Hands Required”: A true story of emotional abuse
*Guest post* No Hands Required ‘That Look’ I know that look. It’s the jealous look. Dark brown eyes, filled with rage, glaring at me as if they are about to pierce me with a knife. It makes my heart pound, my chest tighten, and it feels like a huge cement slab is slowly crushing my… Continue Reading
An Open Letter to the Friends and Family of Trauma Survivors
When I first wrote this, I used the word ‘they’ to represent survivors of trauma. Because it’s absolutely not my story as a counsellor, it’s the collective stories of those I have supported and walked alongside, couched in ideas from counsellors (and activists) Michael White, Vikki Reynolds, and Judith Herman. I am not the survivor, they… Continue Reading
Trauma Survival Skills and How You Already Have Them
Trauma ‘survivor skills’ and ‘how you already have them’ are not words we often see together. We are all-too-often led to believe we need to do more and be more in order to be resilient. And yet, all of us already have survival skills. Rachel’s Purple Room Rachel came to see me when she was… Continue Reading
