I have known for some time that we need to be kind to ourselves but I am only just appreciating how important self-compassion is in our development of stronger mental health. It can help us combat fear and shame, help us find healing from past trauma and help us connect with ourselves and others in healthier ways. I hope these insights inspire you to develop greater self-compassion as you interact with yourself and others.

In childhood we are dependent on our caregivers. When our physical and / or emotional needs are not met we do what we can to feel safe. We draw on a range of innate survival strategies and these become embedded as part of the way we are, usually out of our awareness. In this blog I explore these different adaptions and how they can affect our adult relationships today.

Do you feel as if everyone around you belongs, and yet you’re the outsider? In this blog I look at our natural need to belong and what strategies we often use to help when we feel like we don't. I explore a way forward so that you can feel connected with others without losing connection with yourself.

Do you worry that you are coming across as too needy? Alternatively, you may have long mastered the ability of pushing aside your needs to the point where you don't even notice them. Our needs don't go away, and often they are human natural needs which were not met in our childhoods and now leave a void which we unconsciously try and fill. In this blog I explore some of these needs, how they can still affect us and what we can do when we recognise the void left when they are not met.

Many of us carry life scripts, it’s as if at some point in early childhood were given our script, the role we were to play in our family. Both the giving and playing out of these scrips is often out of our awareness, but can form the way we interact with ourselves and others in adulthood. In this blog I explore my insights on life-scripts, including a scenario based on some frequenting occurring life-scripts and how it can be different between siblings.

We are all unique, and as such we are made up of different aspects of who we are; we which I refer to as our 'parts, a term often used in therapy. In a journey of self-acceptance, it is worth spending time becoming aware and accepting all of are parts. We can consider how are parts interact, which conflict and which complement each other. Which parts we try to deny and push away. Some parts we were born with, while others we developed along the way. This blog is all about parts and I hope it inspires you to go on your own journey to identify, connect with and embrace all aspects of who you are.

Being aware of your physical health is becoming the norm, yet our mental health can still be seen as a weakness. Something to be avoided, kept secret or suppressed. I often talk about our 'journey of awareness'; getting to know ourselves, accepting ourselves, and finding compassion for the way we are. I look at different aspects of this journey and why it is a strength to go on this journey and not a weakness.