Anger is often spoken about as if it is mainly a difficulty to be managed. We hear about anger management, anger issues, angry outbursts, angry people. Of course anger can become harmful. It can be used to intimidate, control, punish or avoid responsibility. When...
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When Anger Is Trying to Protect Something Tender
Concerns About Gabor Maté’s Teachings Among People with ADHD
Gabor Maté continues to have a strong influence on trauma-informed psychotherapy. His work on addiction, attachment, trauma, stress, and emotional development has resonated deeply with many people seeking alternatives to purely biomedical explanations of psychological...
Why Questions Feel Like Criticism in the Schizoid Process
People whose internal world is organised around a schizoid process [this is jargon for people who need a lot of safety in their life] often experience ordinary questions as criticism. This reaction is not about being ‘overly sensitive’, nor is it a sign of...
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Identifying as ADHD
Self-identifying as having Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) means recognising in yourself a pattern of symptoms that seems to fit ADHD and using that label personally—often before (or instead of) a formal clinical diagnosis. In the UK, formal diagnosis...
Another Thought about Why We Put Things Off
Often when I really need to get something done I find that I don’t. Having spoken with many people, I find that there is a familiar set of circumstances: the creeping delay, the mental circling, the sudden urge to tidy the kitchen instead of starting the task that...
Therapy for the Overwhelmed – How to Begin When Everything Feels Too Much
When life feels unmanageable, even the thought of starting therapy can seem overwhelming. It can feel like justonemorething on top of a heap of things that are not getting done. So is not unusual for people to delay seeking help because they feel stuck in a cycle of...
Developments in Social GRRRAAACCEEESSS – Visible–Invisible and Voiced–Unvoiced A Balanced Review
John Burnham’s chapter Developments in Social GRRRAAACCEEESSS: visible–invisible and voiced–unvoiced extends the familiar Social GRACES mnemonic (originally with Alison Roper-Hall) and explores how aspects of identity/difference can be visible or invisible and voiced...
Addicted to Anxiety by Owen O’Kane – A Balanced Review
Owen O’Kane’s Addicted to Anxiety: How to Break the Habit (2025) proposes that anxiety functions like an addiction. Behaviours and thought patterns that initially feel protective become cyclical habits that reinforce fear and avoidance. His framework is structured...
Understanding the Window of Tolerance in Trauma Therapy
The concept of the Window of Tolerance, developed by Dr. Dan Siegel, has become an essential framework in trauma-informed psychotherapy. It describes the optimal zone of arousal in which a person can function effectively, think clearly, and engage socially. For those...
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