The Spark Blog
Category: Counsellor
What is a Counselling Session Like?
Deciding to try counselling usually comes after a lengthy period trying to solve problems by yourself or as a couple. Depending on what type of person you are, the idea of talking to a ‘stranger’ about deeply personal issues in a counselling session can create anything between ‘a little’ to ‘off the scale’ levels of…
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Why I Became a Counsellor
The Spark counsellor Josie tells us why she became a relationship counsellor in this week’s blog. I had spent most of my life living in Australia before moving to Scotland with my family. While I waited for my work permit I thought volunteering on a helpline would be a worthwhile thing to do. As part…
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Who Cares for the Carers?
Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the UK struggled to attend to the emotional and mental wellbeing of the long-term ill. Science and medicine have allowed us to make great strides in dealing with the physical symptoms of long-term illness. How we handle the mental and emotional health of patients has…
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Literally Searching for Answers
Every day we pose thousands of difficult questions about many of life’s most challenging issues. But in 21st-century society, we do not put them to close friends, scientists, professional counsellors or medical professionals. We put them to Google. That’s right – we ask the world’s most famous and dominant search engine how to sort out…
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The Taboo of Men’s Mental Health
Great strides have been made in recent years in the promotion and awareness of men’s physical health and wellbeing. Multiple forms of cancer and the likes of heart and lung disease amongst men have started to lose their taboo status. Consequently, the discussion of such topics is more commonplace. Work is still to be done…
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Infant Mental Health & Our Earliest Relationships
Most mental health work in the UK focuses on reacting to problems once they have arisen. By contrast infant mental health initiatives look at the foundations of our relationships – our earliest years of infancy. By taking a ‘best start’ in life philosophy, it is possible to prevent mental health issues arising later in life…
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Counselling from the Perspective of a Counsellor
The Spark counsellor Cathie lifts the lid in this blog on what counselling is like from her perspective as a counsellor. Many people may avoid counselling because of a lack of understanding and information on what it is and what it can help them achieve. In this blog Cathie looks at some common misconceptions about…
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5 Ways to Good Mental Health
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics in 2015, nearly 10 million adults in the UK are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. That equates to nearly 1 in 4 people, with anxiety and depression making up the majority of cases. The impact of poor mental health Mental illness can be debilitating…
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Something Feels Wrong in our Relationship…
That sense that something is not right in a relationship – with our partner, kids, family or colleagues – often comes with a real difficulty in working out what it is. We can cause ourselves more upset and unhappiness by running over endless possibilities in our minds, tiptoeing around each other or just plain ignoring…
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