Personal ‘retreat’: third reflection – quietening down ... and do we need time to change?
22nd February 2016
I've already written a couple of blog posts during my "retreat" at this Study Centre - "Setting the scene" and "Settling & questioning". Now it's the start of the third day … yesterday was a strange mix of tastes. Out on a couple of walks … for over three hours …
Personal ‘retreat’: second reflection – settling & questioning
21st February 2016
I wrote a post yesterday about arriving here at the Krishnamurti Study Centre. Now it's early on the second morning – how was the first full day? It was fine. I wrote, thought, read, went on a two-hour walk (boots repeatedly clogging with the Hampshire clay), practised yoga, meditated, and …
Personal ‘retreat’: first reflection – setting the scene
20th February 2016
So here I am bright & early on the first full day of a ten-day personal retreat at the Krishnamurti Study Centre in Hampshire. Why? Well I was conscious of three intertwining reasons when I booked this time away several months ago. One is about doing & being, another about …
Social relationships, group memberships and health: what we can do
19th February 2016
I recently wrote a blog post "Social relationships, group memberships and health: background", where I described some of the mental & physical health benefits of group membership. I mentioned too the recent research study "Greater number of group identifications is associated with healthier behaviour" where the authors write:"What is already …
Recent research: articles from winter 2015/16 journals
17th February 2016
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - Endnote - which currently contains nearly 23,000 abstracts. I also regularly tweet about emerging research, so following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ (click on the relevant icon …
Workshop on couple therapy: slides and handouts
7th February 2016
A couple of days ago I ran a one day workshop on Couple Therapy for final year Counselling Psychology students at Glasgow's Caledonian University. Although I've run many workshops over the years around relationship themes, this is the first time I've taught one specifically on Couple Therapy. It's hard work …
Social relationships, group memberships and health: background
22nd November 2015
We know that relationships are important for wellbeing, for protection against & treatment of psychological disorders, and for improving mortality - see, for example, blog posts on this website such as "Strong relationships improve survival as much as quitting smoking", "Be the change you want to see in the world" …
Cognitive therapy versus exposure therapy for hypochondriasis (health anxiety): A randomized controlled trial
18th November 2015
Excessive health anxiety is associated with high levels of distress, disability and increased health care use. It is common. A recent study - "Health anxiety in Australia: prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service use" - reported "Health anxiety affects approximately 5.7% of the Australian population across the lifespan and 3.4% met …
Recent research: articles from late summer 2015 journals
10th November 2015
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - Endnote - which currently contains well over 22,500 abstracts. I also regularly tweet about emerging research, so following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ (click on the relevant …
A very impressive film about assisted dying: is it time for UK law to change?
24th October 2015
I watched a very impressive film last night called “How to die in Oregon” (tricky to get as a UK DVD, but easy to download on iTunes). It’s a 108 minute documentary that was released in 2012. The plot summary reads “In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalise …