It's been quite a week, politically and because a heatwave hit the UK. We all respond differently to these experiences and can sometimes find our responses seem out of sync or difficult to understand and express. Whatever your week's been like, I hope there's been some space to pause and express your thoughts and feelings in some way. I've found myself using an audio recorder for my diaries more and more as they take the (literal!) pressure off handwriting and seem to work for me. As a therapist, I've seen life become easier when we trust what works for us.
Here are some therapy links from around the web this week.
I found this article on intersectionality between race and mental health really eye opening, as are other people of colour's stories of unconscious bias when engaging health services about their mental health: Why are black women more likely to be diagnosed as bipolar in Britain?
Tom Clements' personal story of neurodiversity and autism diagnoses thoughtfully highlights the silenced experiences of non-verbal adults with autism with significant needs. He questions the validity of an autism diagnosis for such a wide spectrum of people.
There's been a really positive discussion in the counselling community recently about some of the fears around coming to counselling for the first time, and what we can do as professionals to help clients feel more comfortable about starting therapy. This video from School of Life gives a helpful and clear idea of what therapy is.
I sometimes use creative materials in my work with clients and find YouhJung's suggestions for brief exercises to be a gentle way to explore and reflect outside of therapy. Here's her video on art therapy for stress management.
Take care.