How to support a struggling friend
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say or do. Use these five strategies for providing effective emotional support
by Elise Kalokerinos
Therapeutic relationships
Adventures of an agony uncle
What I’ve learned from 10 years of sifting through other people’s problems
by James McConnachie
More than survival
I suffered from PTSD for 10 years without knowing it. Psychodynamic therapy set me free
by Lucia Osborne-Crowley
How to get ready for therapy
Whatever brings you to a therapist’s office, taking these proactive steps as you begin can help you make the most of it
by Rochelle Frank
How to support a loved one through psychosis
Navigating disruptions in shared reality can be distressing. The way forward isn’t intuitive but is powerfully effective
by Akansha Vaswani-Bye
Psychotherapy under the microscope: how exactly does it work?
To improve psychotherapy, researchers are looking beyond what happens in a session to learn exactly how change is achieved
by Ciarán O’Driscoll
Life coaching is unregulated and growing rapidly. Should it be reined in?
Anybody can call themselves a life coach, and then offer what amounts to serious therapy. Should life coaching be regulated?
by Elias Aboujaoude
How to choose a therapist
It’s time for change but who should you see? The choice can be baffling but asking the right questions will make it clearer
by Kate Smith
Feeling nothing can be as devastating as feeling too much
Emotional ‘emptiness’ is a damaging, underexplored phenomenon. Better understanding it could help steer people to fulfilment
by Christopher J Hopwood
The power of slow therapy, revealed in two pioneering memoirs
Two therapy memoirs by Lucy Freeman, an overlooked mental health pioneer, remind us of the value of slow, convoluted therapy
by Elliot Jurist
Getting what we think we want can reveal just how complex desire is
Helping my clients probe their unspoken wants creates a space of freedom to express the possibilities that lie dormant
by Charlotte Fox Weber
My failed analysis gave me confidence and taught me when to quit
What does successful psychoanalysis look like? I’d read all around Freud and I didn’t know, but then neither did my analyst
by Lisa Levy
Slow medicine, like slow food, puts people ahead of profit
The physical and mental health of patients are deeply intertwined. GPs are best-placed to help, but they need more time
by Mariam Tokhi
How to know if hypnosis is for you
Even experts can be confused about clinical hypnosis. So here’s all you need to help decide if you might benefit from it
by Eric Spiegel
Some medical devices don’t mean to be racist, but they are
Oppression can get built into anything, including medical devices. How do they influence us, and what can we do about them?
by Vanessa Carbonell & Shen-yi Liao
Either/or questions are part of psychotherapy’s language games
When a patient poses a binary question, it’s tempting to give a straight answer, but they are often seeking so much more
by Darren Haber