Opacity
Seven days notice, a garbled voicemail on the phone says that a therapist has had a cancellation and could I attend on Tuesday week to meet them. I can’t. I …
Once more with feeling
We made our way down the corridor, placing entry fobs to each door as we moved farther and farther away from natural light. On entering the room I was offered …
The spaces between
We sat on the balcony chatting. The view wasn’t majestic or awe inspiring as such, just looking over a courtyard, towards a high rise block of flats. The conversation …
The truth beneath your feet
I’m sure it’s just a suggestion in my mind but I’ve always sworn that I can feel when I’m home. The soft chalky soil of Dorset with the sharp hardness …
Bouncing off the world
I open the box and withdraw the contents. I slowly and carefully read the guidance leaflet, turning the small packet over and over in my hands as I do so. …
Talk to me
Last week I attended a conference. Nothing particularly unusual in that. This conference had soundbites like “Dialogue is the embodiment of love” or “The three key principles of dialogue are openness, …
Trusted?
I guess I should be glad I saw the locum doctor. This supremely disinterested man who hadn’t bothered to read my notes before seeing me, even though I’d given the …
Silent scream
When I finished my therapy in the summer I was told that I would be reviewed at six months and if I had any problem before that I should get …
Bob-a-job
It was interesting a few weeks ago to run a Mental Health First Aid course where many of the delegates were researchers, in fact some of them had worked on data …
Reversed polarity
I finished the resilience training and the delegate came over to talk to me. They admitted that they had been resistant to attending the course assuming that it would all be platitudes …