Live broadcast

I am looking forward to doing a live broadcast on line with John from wilson counselling at the end of July date to be confirmed the topic will be supervision, will come up with a better title than that.

When I know the details of the live online event I will post details here at twitter.

Start stop start stop

What has been happening to me as I write this blog, I have things I want to say about stuff that happened today when I was running some training. I found myself starting to write then I stopped and deleted everything, then started again, deleted and then decided to write about my process.

How do I feel right now?

Bloody frustrated! I just want to blog about what I observed and what happened. So I am thinking of away of writing about what I want to explain., so here goes.

See I started and deleted so what's that about! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! feeling even more frustrated now. Whats stopping me? confidentiality? maybe that's what it is. Maybe I need to own this then write.

I have seen some reactions today that has highlighted how skilled I am at dealing with people's issues. I have seen people (none counsellors) react to self harm, suicide and rape that really surprised me. I guess I was surprised as I deal with these issues on a day to day basis's and those issues don't surprise me, when someone tells me they are self harming etc.

I don't want to blow my own trumpet, I think it just comes from the training I have done and the experience I have gained over the past 7 years.

Again I have been typing and deleting. Time to close this entry.

I quess we all have different skills in the work place and they have skills that I don't have and I have skills that they don't have. So its not a reflection on the people, its a reflection on the training they have had. So I hope that the training they had today helped them gain a few more skills on how to deal with people.

More process! I have read and reread this enty for reasons I'm not sure about at this time. I have even changed and retyped parts of it and that something I dont do as I tent to write then publish....this has been a bizar procces for me.

If any one want to throw some light on my process please do....!

Online counselling

I have spent to day putting together a proposal forward for getting online counselling up and running in the organization I work in. I have this meeting this coming Friday.

I am a great believe that online counselling is really at the beginning in the counselling/supervision world. So I'm very excited to be part of it.

I spent time last week end talking to people that already have online support on offer. We need to drag our ass into the 21st century and support the clients are service doesn't reach at this time.

There are counsellors out there that are not interested in online counselling/supervision and that's fine by me. I just think as a service and a profession we need to move into other mediums as more and more people use the Internet to communicate.

I dont think the internet will ever replace face to face counselling or will it one day?

A evening with Keith Tudor and friends

I am now sat in a Premier Inn in Sheffield after spending the evening with Keith Tudor and also being in conversation with Colin Lago, Pete Sanders.. at Temenos in Sheffield.

What a Fantastic evening after driving up from Southampton this morning and meeting my good friend John Wilson from Wilson Counselling who also runs onlinevents which broadcasts live video and interviews with key people in the counselling world.

I have been speaking to people who are excited about on line counselling and online supervision. this got me to thinking that the Internet in counselling is so so under used and it seems that the counselling world is at the beginning of this Internet thing!

I'm so excited about the future in counselling when it comes to on line work.... there will be counsellors out there that will not be interested in on line work and that's fine, more work for me.

I have also heard people say we don't talk (Communicate) anymore! Hello! yes we do, we just use a different platform to do this...things move on keep up.

On Friday last week I had what I believe was my most challenging client to date. When I say challenging I mean the issues he talked about and the things I saw were very very extreme.


This all happened when I was called to deal with and emergency. I’m not going to say anything else about it as I don’t think it is important, what is important is the point I’m trying to make.


I am going to explain the following the best I can, I know what I mean, it just might be hard to explain in words.

The whole incident got me to thinking about am I desensitized to clients issues and the stories I hear?

When someone tells me for example, they are self harming I have a reaction to that, I feel whatever I feel and I think whatever I think, the most important thing from those words are, I recognise the feelings and my thoughts I am having, because I know that I am comfortable working with self harm.

With the client I saw on Friday, I had thoughts feelings and a reaction to what I had just seen and heard, and because as far as I am aware at this point in time I have not felt, heard and reacted in this way before. So the reactions were all new to me and this gave me new feelings, thoughts and reactions to the new issues I had not heard before.

So what the hell is the point to the blog post.............? I don’t think as a counsellor I become desensitized to certain issues, I think I am use to the feelings and thoughts I have with certain issues and it may seem I am desensitized to them because I recognise my responses.


What am I thinking about as I write this? I am wondering if the client picked up on my reaction and I guessing he did at some level and there are loads of reasons why he wouldn't have too due to is distress. I know inside I was going 'FUCK' and on the outside staying professional and calm at the same time. None verbal communication is a whole new subject.

Any comments would be welcome.

Training day!

The training day was a complete success!

It still surprises me that some counsellors are scared to use tools in counselling like pens and paper, playdoh, stones and sand box etc. It seems to be in some HND courses, there is no training on creative tools at all.

The day started with a bit of hypnotherapy as the counsellors attending the course asked how hypno could help their clients that present anxiety. Not so they can perform hypno but can refer clients to the hypno service we run.

We then moved on to creative tools, at this time there was a bit of anxiety in the room, we used a scaling handout between 1 and 10 to catch this, so they could plot their anxiety throughout the day.

Some of the counsellors wanted a demo on how to use the stones in counselling. So that was for me to stand up to the mark. What we did was to split into pairs the three facilitators joined in too.

It was really good to show someone how there is a place for creative tools in counselling along with all the other skills the counsellors they already have.

I may well add the hand outs to this blog so you can print them off if you would like them.

Of course all tools are there for the client to use if they chose too.

Tools in counselling!

I think using tools in counselling like pens paper, stones, playdo or clay and a white board help so much with the clients process. You may or may not agree.

I find it really hard to hear counsellors that are scared or worried about using tools in there work. I know its all down to the client if they want to use them they can, I would not force a client to use tools if they didn't want too. I would give the client a choice, therefore giving the client the power.

I hear from trainees from person centered courses scared to use tools and even asking questions to the client. I don't know where all this Um and ah, as a person centered counsellor comes from? Rogers? I don't think so!

Watch the following and see what you think?

Carl Rogers part 1

Carl Rogers part 2

Hope you enjoyed the videos.