Tag archive: trauma

    Tom had joined the army at the age of eighteen. He was a combat veteran, having served two tours of duty in Bosnia during the conflict there in the 1990’s. He’d continued to serve, rising to the rank of sergeant and took part in other conflicts around the world. Eventually he left the army in…

    Distress Tolerance Emotional dysregulation is a difficulty in managing difficult feelings. We all have uncomfortable feelings such as stress, anxiety, guilt, frustration and so on from time to time and in certain situations. We also have different levels of distress tolerance. Our reactions and responses are managed through emotional regulation to help keep a sense…

    Deep at our very core is a need to feel significant to someone. When we feel significant to someone who is significant to us there’s no feeling like it. Our heart skips a beat when we see the other person. We fantasize about them, we can’t take our eyes off them. We are fixated on…

    Erectile dysfunction (ED) is often associated with physical causes like circulatory problems. However there are also emotional and psychological problems associated with the condition. The dysfunction can not only cause emotional distress, but emotional factors can contribute to the dysfunction when the penis is capable of erection. The fear of ‘failing’ leads to an embarrassment…

    Psychodynamic counselling aims to help clients with a wide range of issues such as anxiety, phobias, OCD, addiction, trauma etc. It is also particularly helpful in relationship counselling as partners explore the conflicts within themselves and their relationships around them. It comes from the work of Freud and subsequent psychoanalytical theorists who followed; theorists such…

    A traumatic event is a shocking experience for which our normal ways of processing and coping become overwhelmed. Reactions to such events vary from person to person but often lead to feelings of confusion and fear. Usually unsettling thoughts and feelings dissipate over a few weeks as the brain begins to make sense of and…

    Trauma Bonding Trauma bonding refers to the attachment victims of abuse or neglect form with their abuser. Sometimes that attachment takes the form of obsessive thoughts of hatred or revenge. More commonly though it refers to a fear of, and loyalty towards the perpetrator. Because of that loyalty the victim may sometimes confuse this fear…

    Trauma bonding was a term first used by Patrick Carnes. Also referred to sometimes as Stockholm Syndrome, it is commonly associated with the submissive and loyal relationship that can sometimes develop between a hostage and their kidnapper. However the term actually refers to a wide range of emotions and reactions in any relationship where there…

    What do we mean by dissociation? Often our reality is often shaped by perceptions and beliefs. When these perceptions get a bit disconnected our sense of reality becomes uncertain and even blurred. For example sometimes we may be reading a book and forget what we’ve just read. Other times we may be having a conversation…

    Please see below a link to the Well Being website featuring an article I’ve written about the psychological impact of the troubles in Northern Ireland and it’s links with trauma and alcohol addiction. Psychological impact of the Troubles if you would like any further information on trauma, PTSD, alcoholism, addiction or anything else in the article,…

    MENU