Our blog
Valentine’s Day Special
I’ve been trying to figure out the connection between the original St Valentine, a Roman priest who was beheaded under Claudius II on 14 February in the year 270 AD, and the restaurant-and-rose-fest we practice every year in his name. Maybe it has something to do with him sheltering Christians from persecution and, in…
Getting up close and personalised
You may not have noticed it, but personalised medicine is about to be all the rage. It’s one of the biggest trends in modern medicine and what it may mean to the average punter is fewer side effects on medication. The idea is that the drug you will be prescribed will be tailored to your…
Depressed? Try popping an aspirin.
It’s a sad reality that depression is now being diagnosed in epidemic proportions, and equally sad that we seem so relatively helpless to treat it. According to popular figures, more than 50% of those who suffer from major depression do not respond to treatment. That’s why the latest piece of research from the Centre for…
STOP PRESS: Men and women are different!
We live in confusing times. So much so, that sometimes we lose track of the obvious. New research from the University of Basel is reassuringly supportive of something we women instinctively know to be true – that women experience a more potent response to emotional stimuli than men. This large scale study, the results of…
Of mice and men (and empathy)
Anyone who has trained in counselling knows that empathy is one of the most basic tenets of the therapeutic relationship. Psychologist Carl Rogers identified empathy and two other principles, congruence and unconditional positive regard, as the three essential pillars of his client-centred approach to psychotherapy. Empathy has recently been enjoying a relative resurgence of interest…
New Year’s resolutions and mental health
It’s a bit of a cliche, isn’t it, the whole new year’s resolution game? As natural as it is to start a brand new, shiny year with edifying intentions, does anyone ever persist for longer than it takes for the afterglow of the silly season (or possibly even the hangover) to wear off? According to…
Merry Christmas from all at 96 Harley Psychotherapy
Well, it’s that time of year again, when we let down our hair and hang up our stockings in preparation for Christmas and the festive season. It’s also an opportunity to acknowledge that we are coming to the end of another year and, as any good therapist will tell you, endings are a great time…
Sunlight each day keeps depression at bay
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), as the name suggests, has long been linked to the time of year; namely winter, when the days are short and the rays are in short supply. It seems reasonable to propose, then, that there may be a link between SAD and vitamin D, as sunlight is a direct precursor of…
