Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

THE 3C'S OF EATING DISORDER RECOVERY No-one ever chooses to have an eating disorder; however, there are choices still available to you. For me, recovery is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your eating disorder. The first stage of this empowerment involves separating your voice from the voice of Ed. Many of you will experience this via the internal argument that goes on between your voice and the voice of Ed. The internal dialogue between you ('I want to eat regularly and get better so I get a job; have a family; finish my education; start a business; travel the work [insert your own goals]) and Ed ('If you don't eat that meal you will feel better about yourself; if you purge you will get rid of those horrible emotions; hey you, exercise 5 minutes more and don't be so lazy [insert what your eating disorder voice says to you]). You have a choice of whether to listen to your voice or the voice of Ed. This is easier said than done; I know this from the

VACANCY: Experienced CBT Therapist for Glasgow Anxiety and Depression Counselling Service (GADS) This role is for in-person appointments at our offices in Glasgow city centre (it's not an online role). CLOSING DATE: FRIDAY 20TH MAY 2022, 5PM INTERVIEWS: week beginning Monday 23rd May START DATE: ASAP/by end of May 2022 The GADS team is growing and we are experiencing an increased demand for our services. We are looking to recruit another suitably qualified and experienced CBT Therapist to join the team to provide psychotherapy, counselling, support and therapy sessions to clients. The role involves providing in-person appointments to clients at our offices in Glasgow city centre. This role is NOT suitable for newly qualified practitioners (1-3 years). We are looking for experienced practitioners who have been qualified for at least 3 years. We are looking to see a minimum of 5 clients per week (although other work will be available here and at our other should you want extra

  AN INVITATION TO TAKE UP SPACE   Many of our clients - with, and without eating disorders/disordered eating - worry that they are a 'burden', 'too much' or 'take up too much space'. It's an experience we hear a lot and an experience we work through with many clients who experience this.   These feelings can take on many guises: social anxiety; body image; eating disorders and more. Imagine living life feeling you are 'too much', a 'burden' or that you 'take up too much space'? Imagine how difficult life must be; imagine the impact and consequences of feeling like that and seeing yourself in that way?    The little poem below comes from someone who writes about 'taking up space' and being proud of doing so. The motivational and inspirational poem below is by Annabelle Blythe and is called 'An Invitation to Take Up Space'. We hope you like it as much as we do.    Best wishes, Alexandra Talking EDs: Eating Disorder Supp

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2022   It's Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 this week and the theme is loneliness.   Loneliness and being 'alone' are not the same thing.    Sometimes it's helpful and nice to be alone, especially when life has perhaps become a bit busy or overwhelming. Having time to ourselves is important: it gives us time and space to do the things we enjoy and to do something for us. I think that there is sometimesa bit of a taboo about spending time alone: that it means we have no friends; or are in some way 'odd' or a 'loner'. Taking time to be alone doesn't mean any of those things: it just means that we value being present, with ourselves, whether we are reflecting, doing a task or engaging with a hobby we enjoy.   Loneliness, however, is different. Being lonely can have a big impact on mental, emotional, physical and social health. Not only does it lead to feelings of isolation but it can increase the incidence of, for example

CBT Therapy Student Placement available for in-person appointments in Glasgow city centre. Please see the poster below for more details:      

What's the Difference Between Physical and Emotional Hunger? This is something we often get asked by our clients in psychotherapy and counselling appointments. We've listed some of the differences to be aware of in our little poster below.