Blog

"Nothing Bad Happened": The Hidden Wound of Childhood Emotional Neglect "The greatest source of suffering is the lies we tell ourselves about our own experience." — Alice Miller Many people come to therapy carrying a peculiar form of confusion. They know they are struggling. Relationships feel harder than they should. Self-doubt follows them everywhere. They are anxious, exhausted, lonely, or...[ read more ]

Why Trauma Changes Your Experience of Time The Hidden Link Between Trauma, Memory, and Feeling Stuck in the Past "In the region of trauma, all duration or stretching along collapses; past becomes present, and future loses all meaning other than endless repetition." — Robert Stolorow One of the most common things I hear in my consulting room is not, surprisingly,...[ read more ]

Why EMDR for Trauma Begins with Preparation, Not Processing The Importance of Safety, Stability and Careful Targeting in Trauma Therapy Many people come to EMDR because they want to get to the painful material quickly. This is understandable. When a memory still feels alive in the body, when sleep is disturbed, when panic arrives without permission, when a smell, voice,...[ read more ]

Complex Grief and the Psychology of Living After Loss When Loss Alters the Shape of a Life “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not leave it behind; you will learn to live within it.” — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross There are losses that the world immediately recognises. A death. A funeral. A name spoken softly at a wake....[ read more ]

Grief Therapy and the Arts: When Language Alone Cannot Reach the Loss Poetry, Music, Literature, and the Emotional Life of Mourning “Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence.” — Audre Lorde One of the most painful aspects of grief is that it so often exceeds language. People frequently arrive in therapy saying some version...[ read more ]

Do I Need a C-PTSD Assessment for a CICA Claim? Psychological Evidence for Survivors of Abuse, Assault and Violent Crime For many survivors of abuse, assault or violent crime, the question of compensation is not simply financial. It can also be part of a much wider process of recognition. Something happened. It had consequences. Those consequences were not imagined, exaggerated...[ read more ]

When Success Becomes a Place to Hide Therapy for Outwardly Capable People Who Are Quietly Struggling By Dr Comfort Shields, Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist in Harley Street, London “It is a joy to be hidden, and disaster not to be found.” — D. W. Winnicott The People Who Look Fine Some people come to therapy because their lives...[ read more ]

Can EMDR Help If Trauma Has Suddenly Come Back? By Dr Comfort Shields, Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist in Harley Street, London “Trauma is not simply an event that happened sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain and body.” — Bessel van der Kolk When the Past Suddenly Feels Present...[ read more ]

Why Trauma Suddenly Comes Back — and When EMDR Can Help You Move Through It If trauma symptoms have recently resurfaced, I offer EMDR sessions within 1–2 weeks in Harley Street or online. “IN THE REGION OF TRAUMA, ALL DURATION OR STRETCHING ALONG COLLAPSES; PAST BECOMES PRESENT, AND FUTURE LOSES ALL MEANING OTHER THAN ENDLESS REPETITION.” — Robert Stolorow, PhD...[ read more ]

AFCS Claim Rejected or Under-Awarded? Why Psychological Injuries Are Often Missed — and What You Can Do Next “TRAUMA IS NOT SIMPLY AN EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE PAST; IT IS ALSO THE IMPRINT LEFT BY THAT EXPERIENCE ON MIND, BRAIN, AND BODY.” — Bessel van der Kolk One of the most difficult moments in the Armed Forces Compensation...[ read more ]