Enmeshment describes family relationships, particularly between parents and children, that are intertwined in unhealthy ways. Enmeshed families may appear very loving from the outside, but that love is often based on a sense of guilt and obligation. Generally, we can…
While not an official diagnosis, Childhood Emotional Neglect (CEN) is becoming a more common term within the psychological sphere. It is different from childhood abuse in that there is no overt trauma, no physical involvement, no verbal abuse and name…
Self-esteem is built on a sense of compassion towards ourselves. When you can understand and accept yourself, you can see yourself clearly and stop rejecting parts of yourself or repeatedly criticize yourself for perceived inadequacies. When you make a mistake,…
Many people grow up in families with less than ideal parenting. While abusive parental behaviour is relatively easy to identify, often the emotional damage may come from less obvious behaviours such as parental neglect, unrealistic or developmentally inappropriate expectations put…
Very often in therapy I find myself discussing with clients the disappointment and self-blame they experience when their personal expectations are not met. In addition, many people have a lot of difficulty discriminating what is and what isn’t a realistic…
Saying No is one of the main ways through which we delineate and maintain our personal boundaries. The concept that we can refuse something is central to maintaining healthy relationships and to our understanding of what we are and aren’t…
Often clients come to therapy to deal with relationship difficulties. Even though we cannot engage in relationship counselling with only one individual in the room, there is much to discuss about the nature of relationships, communication patterns and power dynamics…
Others will only respect you to the degree you demonstrate respect for yourself Self-esteem refers to the way we view ourselves, our subjective perception of our worth as a person, our competence and our ability to succeed in life. It…
While there has been a lot more information and discussions on domestic violence and abuse in relationships in the last few years, there are still a plethora of myths and misconceptions that persist, including in the helping professions. Below are…
My friend and fellow psychologist Kerry Athanasiadis recently interviewed me for the Wattletree Psychology blog. In the interview we talked about my journey to the profession of psychology, developing a strong interest in domestic violence and abuse in relationships, and…