Therapy for Book Lovers

The pleasure we gain from leisure activities such as reading, art and music is something we are all aware of and maybe tend to take for granted. But have you ever considered that these can have real therapeutic value?

In the case of reading, this connection has been recognised in popular books such as The Novel Cure and The Poetry Pharmacy where novel or poetry recommendations are offered as remedies for specific emotional and psychological issues.

But a more personalised, hands-on, tailed approach to the use of books in therapy has also evolved in the form of a therapeutic approach known as Bibliotherapy, which has caught the attention of Michaela.

The opportunity to combine her pleasure in reading with her work as a therapist has now spurred her to embark upon a bibliotherapy course, with a view to offering this to interested clients in the future.

'I am so excited to have started on this very stimulating online course,' she says.

The course, entitled Bibliotherapy, Literature & Mental Health with Book Therapy, focuses on the therapeutic qualities of all kinds of literature & examines how literature can be utilised for the benefit of our mental and emotional wellbeing.

Bijal Shah, who developed the course, defines Bibliotherapy as ‘A form of art therapy that focuses on leveraging the power of stories to heal’.

Michaela is fascinated to learn more about how stories, poetry, letters and even graphic novels can be vehicles for therapeutic processing of emotion and ultimately, harnessed for learning, self-awareness and healing.

Doing the course over the past couple of weeks has already inspired her to read differently: 'I am actively changing my reading habits - reading more widely, more often and at times when I wouldn’t usually give myself permission to sit down with a good book. That feels good,' she says.

'I am doing the course both for my own personal development and for the benefit of my clients - exploring ways to integrate my learning into my counselling practice.'

Michaela will post updates over the coming months about any developments or additional services we might offer here at Whitley Bay Therapy.

On our FaceBook page she will also be posting regular book related recommendations for mental wellbeing.

#booktherapy #bibliotherapy #reading #literature #therapeuticreading

How the Languages of Love can help our Relationships with others - and with Ourselves

The idea that we all have different languages of love is one with which you may well be familiar. But did you know that it can also be used to help us to reflect on our own habits of self-care?

The principle behind the notion of love languages is that two people in a relationship – usually a partnership – will often express their love for each other in different ways.

So whilst one person may be more physically affectionate, another may show their feelings through the giving of gifts, the cooking of a good meal, or the completion of practical tasks around the house.

A recognition of these differences can help a person to understand that they are loved by their partner, but may not be fully aware of how that love is being expressed.

It may be that there is a need for a couple to bring their languages of love into closer alignment. But not recognising these differences at all can lead to feelings disaffection and neglect – basically a feeling of being unloved.

It can therefore be helpful in relationships to consider each other’s love languages to aid better communication and nurture appreciation between individuals.

Five languages of love are usually identified - physical touch, acts of service, the giving of gifts, quality time and words of affirmation.

But how can we apply these to our feelings of self-love? Well, rather than simply serving to identify ways in which we might already show ourselves love – this way of using love languages helps to highlight ways we can be more caring and compassion towards ourselves – something we often find so difficult.

This is well illustrated by the graphic above, which shows how insight around our own self-love language can generate a whole host of ideas for improved self-care.

We found this really interesting - a different way of thinking about our self-care needs.

Hopefully you will be able to identify ways in which you are already demonstrating good self-care. But just as importantly it might help to highlight ways in which you could care for yourself more.

And in this regard it’s always helpful to remember that if you can’t love yourself how can you be open to receiving the love of others. You need to know and feel that you are worthy of love and this great set of suggestions can help you on that path.

So what are your self-love languages and what more could you to do to show yourself some care and compassion?

For more information about love-languages in our relationships and for a quiz to identify your own preferred love language go to the 5 Love Languages website.

Four Years in Wonderful Whitley Bay!

It's four years ago this month that we took the huge decision to relocate from Manchester to the North East and to set up our private counselling practice in wonderful Whitley Bay!

It was a dream of ours to live by the coast within walking distance of the sea and Whitley Bay seemed to us an ideal location - especially with its proximity to Newcastle, a city that we loved. With Northumberland also on our doorstep, what could be better!

Since that time Michaela has worked as a counsellor for Newcastle University and for a local authority occupational health service. She has also volunteered at Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle whilst building up our new practice.

Julian has focused on establishing his private counselling work, creating and developing our website and expanding our business by offering couples counselling.

When the pandemic struck we thought that we would find ourselves struggling to continue with our client work. But like others we survived by moving all our therapy sessions online.

This was a major challenge for both of us, but seeing clients online, though not quite the same as face-to-face counselling, has since become second nature.

We are so happy now, to be exclusively working in our private counselling practice - seeing clients in person and online, offering individual and couples counselling and even ‘walk and talk’ therapy.

Whilst most of our clients now come in-person, video link can still provide a great alternative for those people who live further away or find it more convenient to work from they own home.

Taking the decision to uproot from Manchester was a huge risk, but the best decision we ever made. We are both passionate about what we do and where we live. We are just so grateful that we have had the opportunity to fulfil our shared dream of being counsellors at the coast.