Within contemporary culture, diagnoses are helpful and necessary within certain fields and avenues. In the medical field, diagnoses aid in terms of being able to treat a particular set of symptoms which are refined down to a particular term, label or diagnosis in order to direct the treatment. When it comes to the area of [...]

Christmas is just around the corner, yet it may not feel exciting or bring with it feelings of joy. After all, we have been exposed to all things festive since before Halloween. The early signs of pressure, the sight of early decorations and overall feeling of being rushed may well have been accompanied by an [...]

What is play therapy? In a recent blog (Picture, Picture on the Wall) I spoke about art and creativity as an articulation of something of the unconscious mind, where something could not quite be put in to words, and so it took another form in order to be expressed. Similarly, when it comes to children [...]

It seems like it never ceases to be relevant as well as imperative to be reminded of the importance of expressing emotions. It is fascinating how such an obvious thing at first sight is easily overlooked or “forgotten”. It appears what we cannot say or express bears a huge amount of significance; it keeps simmering [...]

A symptom can generally be understood as an indication of the existence of something; a warning sign of a disturbance of some sort. The psychoanalytic symptom has a very different translation than that observed in other modalities such as medical or psychiatric. Within these modalities symptoms are usually met with an intent to eliminate via [...]

There is something mesmerising in artwork whether it is a painting, a song or a novel, it captures our attention so much that at times it is difficult to quite pin point why, and this will always differ from person to person. Why? The unconscious mind expresses itself through various forms of art. Art allows [...]

Today as I was sitting in the Cabhrú therapy room I found my self gazing up at some of the artwork on the walls. Naturally, my mind started to wander and I found myself thinking of all sorts of other thoughts sparked by these images. There are many different people that view these pictures every [...]

There is a certain delicate point one arrives at within their therapy, this crucial moment determines whether one is to continue or is to ‘run for the hills’. Are you brave enough to look in to the mirror and keep looking despite the unsettling feeling it will most certainly evoke? There it is; your answer, [...]

Let’s talk about phobias. Generally, a phobia is regarded as an irrational fear related to anything from objects, animals, insects, situations or even spaces that are of no objective danger or threat. Yet where do they come from? What are they all about? In psychoanalysis, the fear connected to a phobia does not come from [...]

Agnes Aflalo writes that “For psychoanalysis, the symptom is not a "disorder", it is a silenced truth that needs to be heard.” It is through allowing your truth to be articulated and be heard that you begin your journey. It should not however be mistaken for being an easy thing to do, for it is [...]