National Grief Awareness Week 2025

National Grief Awareness Week (December 2-8) is a time for everyone to raise awareness about grief and the impact it can have. When someone is grieving, there is so often the worry from other people about saying the wrong thing, upsetting them even more, or not knowing what to say at all. The most importantContinue reading “National Grief Awareness Week 2025”

Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a reminder that, for a lot of men, there is still the expectation to be strong, to not show emotion and not to acknowledge mental health as a legitimate concern.

Dying Matters Awareness Week

May 5th-11th is Dying Matters Awareness Week – a yearly campaign by Hospice UK to spread awareness of death and dying. It often comes up in conversation for me with friends, family and clients too, about the ‘British reserve’ – the reluctance to speak about death and dying, or more specifically, reach out for helpContinue reading “Dying Matters Awareness Week”

Happy Holidays?

When I’m working with bereaved and pre-bereaved people, the idea of making memories comes up in our sessions quite a lot. So too do the memories themselves, and those are quite often ones made on holidays in the client’s past. After all, it’s the time when we are escaping the daily grind for a coupleContinue reading “Happy Holidays?”

Settling into spring

Celebrated Lake District fell walker Alfred Wainwright once said “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”. And, while I’ve continued to hold walk and talk therapy sessions throughout the winter months in all weathers and in the evenings too, there’s something reassuring about knowing that my clients can now enjoy an eveningContinue reading “Settling into spring”

What is Walk and Talk Therapy?

There are lots of reasons why people choose counselling, and lots of different types of counselling to choose from. What’s a good fit for one person may not be the best fit for someone else, so it’s good to have as many options as possible. That’s why I offer walk and talk therapy in Chorley.Continue reading “What is Walk and Talk Therapy?”

Father’s Day & Men’s Mental Health

This week is #MensHealthWeek2023, especially fitting because it’s observed during the run-up to #Father’sDay on Sunday 18th June. Despite being a happy time for lots of dads and indeed, their children, Father’s Day can be an emotional time for different people for different reasons and can have an impact on their #mentalhealth as well. IfContinue reading “Father’s Day & Men’s Mental Health”

Struggling to make a positive start to 2023?

It could be that the month of January itself brings back some difficult memories, or that you find the prospect of dealing with the new year a little too overwhelming.

Take note of your memories

During a counselling session, it may be that you want to talk about some aspects of your past, if they’re relevant to what’s on your mind. The past isn’t just about those big moments in history, but our own lives as well. It’s often said that we should cherish our precious memories, but what doesContinue reading “Take note of your memories”