For those of you who know me personally, you may recall that I started a food blog many years ago (pictured above, me in action!). I adore writing, and have dabbled in many mediums across the years, including self-publishing two books. Despite my passion, I have had these drafts sitting dormant on my website for a time I'll choose not to disclose...
Initially, I was put off writing any think pieces for fear of backlash, or some sort of professional impact. Really, it is the ever-present imposter syndrome that enjoys criticising me from the recesses of my brain: who am I to write about the world, about my observations as a psychotherapist in the world I live in? Who wants to read that? Why would you contribute to a heavily saturated market where every second person has a podcast and an opinion to share? However, I think it is important to lean into your passions. Whether one person reads these posts, or a million, the hope of sharing my words, designed to get you thinking, reflecting, and potentially growing, is what I hope for. I don't want to write from the perspective of right and wrong. Instead, I hope to share my professional and personal insight on what I see and hear, and bring forward questions that make you really think about yourself and the world you live in.
This post is to set out the boundaries of these blog posts and the content of them. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author, me, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or clinical practice of any organisation or employer affiliated to me. This content is for informational and educational purposes only, and does not constitute formal psychological advice, diagnosis, treatment, or a therapist-client relationship. Reading or engaging with this article is not a substitute for your mental health care. I reserve the right to remove any harmful or unhelpful comments and I do not need to respond to comments, emails etc if I choose not to.
None of my posts will contain client material - ever. Confidentiality is the key to a safe therapeutic relationship, so if you are a client that felt themselves struck with fear at being used as a case study online, fear not. If you were hoping for a case study based blog, this is not for you either. I will add links to articles, books and research papers where I can, so that you can follow up on my musings at your leisure. Or if you wanted to do your own research, I will have provided you your first stepping stone into the topic.
Much like my creative writing, the topics that I will write about will most likely appear at random, so I set no expectations for myself that I will be posting at a consistent frequency. I want to go for quality over quantity, and to lean into the enjoyment of writing again, instead of it becoming a chore.
Whilst I was studying, we were given a powerful parable about starfish. The story goes that a person is walking along a beach littered with starfish stranded by the tide. They see someone gently returning starfish to the sea. When questioned about this, and the futility of trying to save thousands of beached starfish, the rescuer replies that it is about those you can help and save that matters. With this new perspective, the observer joined in helping, as did many others as they walked along the beach. I love the moral of the story - that one person doing what they can to make the world a better, safer place can inspire others. Lots of small, positive changes can lead to significant change for the better. Maybe this blog serves as another way for me to return the starfish to the sea - another small contribution, with the hopes of bigger and better things to come.
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