Health & care

  Navigating the Impact of Attachment Disorder on Relationships: Insights into Interpersonal Dynamics Attachment disorder, though often overlooked, can have profound effects on relationships, shaping the way individuals interact and connect with others. Whether in romantic partnerships or familial bonds, understanding the impact of attachment disorder is crucial for fostering healthy and fulfilling relationships. In Ireland, where access to support services like couples counselling and  relationship counselling  is vital, addressing attachment issues can pave the way for stronger interpersonal connections. At City Therapy in Dublin, Ireland, we offer comprehensive counselling and therapy services, including couples counselling and  relationship counselling , to support individuals and couples in navigating the complexities of attachment dynamics. From addressing attachment-related issues to exploring strategies for fostering secure attachments, our team of experience...

Integrative psychotherapy is a type of psychotherapy that incorporates a variety of different approaches and techniques to address mental health concerns. It recognizes that mental health is a complex and multifaceted issue that cannot be addressed by a single approach or technique. Integrative psychotherapy combines traditional talk therapy with alternative and complementary approaches, such as mindfulness, body-oriented techniques, and energy psychology. This holistic approach allows therapists to tailor their treatment to meet the unique needs and goals of each individual client. One of the benefits of integrative psychotherapy is that it provides a wide range of tools and strategies for addressing mental health concerns. For example, talk therapy may be used to explore past experiences and beliefs, while body-oriented techniques may be used to help clients connect with their feelings and emotions. This flexibility allows therapists to effectively address a wide range of mental hea...

Depression is a common mental health disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest in life activities. Depression can affect individuals of all ages, genders, and backgrounds, and it can have a significant impact on one's quality of life. Counselling for depression involves working with a mental health professional to understand and manage the symptoms of depression. Counselling for depression typically involves talk therapy, where individuals are encouraged to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This can include exploring the root causes of depression, such as past traumatic events, relationship difficulties, or stress, and developing coping strategies to manage symptoms. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a type of counselling that is often used to treat depression. CBT focuses on helping individuals identify and change negative thought patterns that contribute to depression. By recognizing and reframing negative thoughts...

Psychologist consultant services in Ireland are becoming increasingly popular as more people seek help for mental health issues. A psychologist consultant is a professional who provides expert advice, guidance, and support to individuals and organizations in need. These services can be beneficial for a variety of reasons, including improving mental well-being, addressing specific problems or issues, and increasing overall productivity and success. One of the key benefits of working with a psychologist consultant is the ability to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your behavior. Through various techniques, such as counseling and psychotherapy, a psychologist consultant can help you to identify patterns and behaviors that may be holding you back and preventing you from achieving your goals. They can also help you to develop coping mechanisms and strategies for dealing with stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Another benefit of working with a psychologist consultan...

So what are boundaries? And why are they important? Personal boundaries are guidelines, limits, rules that an individual creates to identify permissible ways for other people to behave towards them. Setting limits for acceptable behaviour from those around you. Because personal boundaries are unique to each person (and can often be invisible) they can be easily and often crossed (sometimes unbeknownst to the person crossing them). It can mean making what is implicit, explicit so that others’ know what is acceptable for you. Personal boundaries are informed by our values and beliefs and are directly linked to our self esteem. Weak Personal Boundaries can leave you feeling vulnerable, taken for granted and frustrated. It can often be the case that we shift our own boundaries to fit different relationships. Healthy boundaries keep people together in a healthy way by keeping out the destructive elements (such as abuse, cruelty or manipulation). Boundaries can be: Material – Lending things,...

Online therapy comes under different names like teletherapy or telemental health and although it seems quite recent to many it has been in situ for many years. I have always wondered if I could achieve that same level of ‘containment’, ‘holding’ and’ treatment’ for my clients through the medium of Zoom/Skype.  I am glad to say I have been pleasantly surprised at how well this new medium is working, not just as a support for but also as a space for some really deep work. While I had already built up a relationship with most of my clients previous to our online work, I have taken on new clients whose only experience of therapy is through technology. Whether online or in person, the first port of call is to assess where this individual is in their process and to determine if I am the best fit for them. As I move forward in my practice, I have had to find ways to transfer all of the fundamentals I use in in-person work to the online platform. I feel breaking down the different parts o...

Anybody can benefit from Psychotherapy, which does not necessarily mean they have some problem. Perhaps, it is like having a personal trainer for their mental health. It is vital to get the right therapist for you . The internet is your backyard, do your research. You can virtually kiss many frogs.  Turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones by bringing any fears you have about starting therapy and other issues into the sessions. They are invaluable for the work. It is becoming normal for people, including our friends and family, to be in Psychotherapy . TV shows such as ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘In Treatment’ have lessened the mystique of the shrink. However, there can still be a perception of a stigma attached to it, fuelling secrecy, shame, and guilt.  Recently, clients have been finding solace in beginning therapy and exploring heightened anxiety and boredom, both products of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Words such as prison and tunnel are used to convey feelings of stuckness and...

 Anxiety is fear caused by a sense of doubt and vulnerability about future events.  The focus of anxious people tends to be always on what's lies ahead and the prospect that it could be bad.  The phrase “what if” is a common phrase triggered by anxiety.  What if I fail my exams, what if I don't get the interview, what if I can't become pregnant, what if I can't pay my mortgage,  what if I never meet anyone?  We can torture ourselves with what ifs and often we get into a pattern of thinking that spirals us into negative thoughts and anxiety.  There are times however when the what ifs are necessary in order to prepare and plan.  The leaving cert students who collected their results this week would have had to ask themselves what if I don't get enough points for the course I want.  Often it is important to ask the what ifs in order to have a strategy or plan B in place.  But most of the time the what ifs won't require a plan B until they ac...

CBT is effective for a wide range of emotional problems from relationship problems, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, anxiety, depression, compulsive gambling and eating disorders. Its efficacy has been proven through major research studies. In CBT, the client and cbt psychologis t work together toward understanding difficulties in terms of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, body responses and behaviour.  CBT helps clients break the vicious circle of altered and unhelpful thinking and behaviour. The therapy focus on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that we hold, the personal meaning we associate with these and how this relates to our behaviour. We work to help clients learn more useful ways of thinking and coping. The CBT process is usually of 6-8 week duration. The client works with the  psychologist cognitive behavioral therapy consultant to understand each problem and break it down into its component parts. This helps ident...

Is OCD affecting your life? Talk therapy and medical support can help you learn how to mange OCD. Here’s what you need to know! OCD is a common mental health disorder where a person has obsessive thoughts AND compulsive behaviours. OCD can be very distressing and cause significant impairment to daily life. An obsession is an unwanted and unpleasant thought, urge, or image that repeatedly enters your mind causing significant emotional distress, often resulting in feelings of anxiety, guilt, shame or disgust. A compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or mental act that is a response to obsessive thoughts, with the idea that engaging in the compulsion will ease the distress caused by the obsession. For example, someone with an irrational fear of contamination (obsession) may engage in excessive handwashing (compulsion). What causes OCD? There are no known causes of OCD, but there are several factors associated with its development. You are more likely to develop OCD, if there is a history of...

Psychoanalysis operates on the premise that there exists a knowledge not known to ourselves, an unconscious knowledge. If one worked in one’s own  best interests and if one is in control we wouldn’t be capable of our own destruction such as in cases of anorexia, addiction, gambling, puzzling anxiety or depression. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a practice that focuses primarily on speech. Language is our connection to reality as reality is grounded in speech. Psychoanalysis is an effective method of treatment for those experiencing disturbances in affect, thought or behaviour. Clinical experience shows that when one symptom disappears it is often replaced by another. Psychoanalysis aims to undo the identifications and fixations that have led to the repetition in symptom-formation. Clinical practice in the psychoanalytic orientation is preoccupied with the singularity of each client in a case-by-case tradition not a one solution fits all model. Speech provides the means to access ...

Psychotherapists who work in a Humanistic and integrative approach create a space for individual’s to develop an awareness around what is preventing them from living their life to its fullest. This approach runs counter to the scientific tenets of behaviourism and analytic approach of Freudian Psychoanalysis. The Humanistic and Integrative approach includes, in its process, those aspects that make up what it is to be human for example, love, values, self awareness, choice and human potential. Within the Humanistic and Integrative approach human beings are seen as a whole person living through a level of integration through their mind, psyche, body and feelings. This approach also believes that the responsibility for the individual’s life lies with the individual themselves. Individual’s make their own choices and are responsible for both their action and inaction. The practitioner sees the person as dynamic and as an entity unfolding in different stages. It is recognised that along th...

Walk and Talk Psychotherapy is a Professional Psychotherapy practice that takes place outdoors. There are a few different ways of working therapeutically using  Walk and Talk Psychotherapy. Most common is that the session takes place exactly like a session would indoors, clear boundaries are established and we talk just as we would normally, except we’re walking side by side. This can feel less intimidating than regular face to face office style Psychotherapy. Other ways are using the principles of Ecotherapy and Ecopsychology where we use nature to help the process. It may be slowing down to natures pace, using materials or drawing metaphors from the natural surroundings. I am a believer in client centred Psychotherapy and therefore will wait and see what way to work emerges.  No matter which way we work it is always Professional, Ethical and based on the most up to date research while drawing on my experience and natural wisdom that occurs when outdoors.  Ecotherapy i...

The counselor you are working with is trained to listen in a non-judgemental, genuine, and accepting way. The key aim is to allow the space and the freedom to express your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs that you may feel unable to express to your family, friends, or partner. It can be difficult and sometimes distressing to bring unexpressed emotions out into the open. It is the counsellor’s job to create a space that allows you to feel safe enough to express what you’re feeling and to accept them as part of who you are. Through the exploration of underlying feelings and emotions you can often gain an understanding of your present behaviour and in turn, get to the root of your problems. This process of learning about yourself and accepting the aspects that make you who you are can help provide you with a send of control over your life. This sense of control can also often lead to a feeling of empowerment, especially as you make choices that enhance your life and move forward. Counsell...

Getting a good night’s sleep will set you up for the day. It is essential to invest your time in sleep to develop a balanced sleep pattern that works for you- We know this will help decrease your emotional vulnerability. Stick to a schedule: It is essential to maintain a schedule even during the weekends. If you sleep late Saturday and Sunday, you will disrupt your sleep patterning. Try and go to bed and get up about the same time every day. Establish a bedtime routine: This might include shutting off screens (phones, TVs, laptops), changing into your pj’s, drinking herbal tea before bed, turning off bright lights or lowering the bright lights, and reducing noise and reading. Don’t eat or drink a lot before bed: Watch out for spicy foods which may cause heartburn and disrupt your sleep. Here’s a tip Eat a light dinner around 2 hours beforehand. And watch your liquid intake. You don’t want to be visiting the bathroom all night. Avoid Caffeine and Nicotine: As these are both stimulants, ...

Gender dysphoria is a term used to describe the distress that arises when a person believes that their biological sex does not match their gender identity. The level of distress experienced can lead to significant depression and anxiety and may impact daily life. Gender identity refers to who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we express ourselves. Most people identify as either ‘male’ or ‘female’, and these are called ‘binary’ identities. Some people identify as ‘non-binary’ meaning the concept of gender is not relevant to their identity. Many people with gender dysphoria have a strong desire to live a life that represents their gender identity. There are many ways to do this, including biological, psychological, and social changes. While gender dysphoria is no longer seen as a mental illness, the distress caused by gender dysphoria can often lead to mental illness. There has been a significant increase to gender clinics in the past decade and the reasons for this are unclear. Iss...

An attachment disorder manifests in either mood or behavioural difficulties associated with the ability to either build and/or maintain relationships with others. Attachment disorders develop in childhood, but their effects may continue into adulthood whereby an adult may have difficulty trusting others and/or feeling safe and secure in relationships. Attachment theory looks at how people form emotional bonds with others. How a person forms and maintains relationships is dictated by the interaction they had with their primary caregiver or parent in the early years of their lives. Attachment disorders manifest in childhood as a result of a child being unable to access a consistent and secure emotional relationship with their parent or primary caregiver. While there are no official attachment disorders in adulthood, many adults present with attachment-related difficulties due to attachment disorders not being diagnosed in childhood. The primary treatment for attachment difficulty is psyc...

Starting Therapy  Whatever reasons you have for going to speak to someone it can be less daunting if you have some idea what to expect. The first thing to note is that going to therapy is a brave step. In the past it may have been viewed as ‘Self Indulgent’ or ‘Selfish’ but more and more it is seen as resourceful. The following few lines will aim to shed some light on the first session, what you might expect and hopefully reduce some of the anxiety that has become a barrier to you seeking support. When thinking about that first session try to set aside the idea of having to ‘get it right’, there is not right or wrong way. In the first session you will be given the space to tell your story, at your own pace. You are in control and can say as little or as much as you like. In your first session, the therapist typically will ask certain questions about you and your life. This information helps the therapist make an initial assessment of your situation. Questions might include: • Why y...

Finding a therapist that you feel comfortable with Therapeutic Relationship is essential. If a friend, family member recommends a therapist, it is wise to speak to the therapist and get a feel whether they would work for you? Research tells us that a strong therapeutic relationship with have positive outcomes. Remember, it might take you a couple of sessions to get a feel whether you are comfortable with the therapist. However, if you don’t it’s Ok to say this to the therapist and maybe try a different therapist. Finding the right approach There are many different types of approaches to Psychotherapy . Therapist generally draws on one or more approaches. Each theoretical understanding acts as a road map for the therapist to help them understand the clients internal functioning, development of behaviours and emotions. The kind of treatment that will be offered to you will depend on a variety of factors; what does the evidence or research say would be the best form of treatment for the ...

7 Myths about Counselling and Psychotherapy 1. There is no difference between counselling and psychotherapy Counselling is normally considered short term and looking at a specific issue, whereas, Psychotherapy is considered long term and the therapist may look at the early childhood experiences and how this has influenced the current issues. 2. Therapy is for people with mental illness only Therapy is not only for people with mental illness, people come to therapy to get help with more specific issues such as stress at work, relationship breakdown, loss. 3. Any Counsellor/Therapist will do The relationship is vital in the successful outcomes of therapy. This is important because some people have gone to different therapist till the found the right fit. So, it is important to find the right therapist to support you on this journey. At City Therapy we pay particular attention in trying to get the best fit so the therapist will work where the client is at.  4. Its just a chat sure I...