Mental Health Week begins on October 7th, 2018. To celebrate, we are sharing a series of articles by seven different writers each of whom have chosen a verb that for them, relates to mental health. We’re calling this series ‘Doing Mental Health’ and you can look forward to reading ‘to Talk’ ‘to Be’ ‘to Self-Care’ ‘to Change’ ‘to Permit’ ’to Speak’ and ‘to Balance’. You’ll find one new article every day of Mental Health Week and we hope you enjoy each and every one. Yours in mental health, The Psychology of It. 

Formal relaxation practice is not only an effective way to manage life's stressors, but it has a magnitude of well-researched benefits. In this piece, you'll find a 25 minute relaxation tool to add to your own Coping Toolkit, to use for your own personal practice in both audio and audio-visual formats, for your convenience. 

Last week I received an email from one of my lovely clients - an urgent plea from a stressed out Year 12 student, overwhelmed by their workload. In a new move for me, I decided I'd send them therapy via email with the sole purpose of getting them through their next ten minutes! This is what I sent.

Ever feel like you're on the outside looking in? Are you shy? Do you find yourself wanting to crawl inside your shell?

Welcome to the second and final part of Mindful, with Dog, a thoughtful and reflective piece by American writer and editor of Penduline Press, Bonnie Ditlevsen, about her experiences of being mindful with her dog Chewbacca (Chewy) and her camera.

Welcome to the first of two parts of Mindful, with Dog, a thoughtful and reflective piece by American writer and editor of Penduline Press, Bonnie Ditlevsen, about her experiences of being mindful with her dog Chewbacca (Chewy) and her camera.

Welcome to the third article in a series of three related to chronic pain or chronic discomfort. The first two articles are located in the Analyse This category, titled A New Way to Explain Pain - The One by the Physiotherapist and The One by the Psychologist. Moving into the Moment is an Up Close & Personal account of how I used mindfulness to cope with extreme physical discomfort due to cancer treatment. The same strategies could apply to emotional discomfort. I hope you find it helpful.

I first met Tal when we were role playing a dysfunctional family as a part of Family Therapy training a few years ago - it's not often you get to say that! Since then, I've come to know him as an amazing ocean photographer.

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally. It’s about knowing what is on your mind.” Jon Kabat-Zinn