Author: suziechick
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For richer or poorer- money and relationship (part two)

Welcome back one and all! If you recall last month, I was discussing the prickly topic of money and relationship, exploring why the topic can be fraught with potential trouble. And so, this month I’d like to conclude with how best to approach these discussions with our loved ones. Hope you find this useful. How…
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For richer or poorer – money and relationship (part one)

These days the topic of money is on a lot of people’s minds. Markets are volatile, governments and banks are scrambling, jobs feel insecure. There’s lots of unknowns, uncertainties and certainly lots of change. Understandably anxiety around money is pretty high. Households are having to roll with the financial punches (so to speak) and find…
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A room of one’s own.

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” Virginia Woolf Many years ago, when I first started training as a psychotherapist, I was slightly obsessed with watching the TV series, “In Treatment”. The show consists of real time fictional therapy sessions between clients and the same therapist…
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The vulnerable narcissist- getting hooked.

I recently found myself facing a personal dilemma. A favour was being asked of me by one family member on behalf of another. The favour was massive and hit a great deal of my psychic wounds. My initial reaction was confusion until I woke up. I realised I was being caught in a manipulative game…
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Why explore our past?

“If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past” Baruch Spinoza (Dutch philosopher) January has just been and gone, the first month of the year, named after the Roman god Janus. Janus is depicted with two heads, one which looks forward into the year and the other looking into the…
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Searching for our treasure

“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” Joseph Campbell As I sat down this month to write, I wasn’t sure what my direction would be. My mind wandered and landed on films and television shows I’ve enjoyed recently (namely The…
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The weight we carry.

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” Lou Holtz (former American football coach) These past few weeks I’ve been slightly hobbling about, wincing with pain and discomfort. My hot water bottle has become my new best friend and my soft mattress, my nemesis. The muscles in the left…
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Managing overwhelming change

“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” Maya Angelou Autumn has officially arrived, with the leaves catching ablaze, the weather being wetter and windier, and the nights drawing in.…
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My Burnout Story

“What is wrong with me?” I ask myself as I stare in the mirror. I’m in the toilets at work, holding onto the sink for support, my face all red and blotchy from crying. “This isn’t me” I tell myself. And yet the reality of my red, swollen eyes spoke of a different reality. This…
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Family estrangement- a deeper dive (part 2)

“Absence, the highest form of presence” James Joyce After starting to research the topic of family estrangement recently it became clear that this topic is not only huge but contains many layers, twists and turns. And so, as you may recall I wrote part one of this piece covering the basics of estrangement (what, why…