Walking in the Mamores: reflection (third post)
24th April 2010
Yesterday I wrote about climbing three of the Mamores here in the Highlands. For the last couple of years in the Spring (before the midges) I've gone camping and walking in the Scottish hills - last year in Glen Affric and the year before in the Fainnichs. I've written too …
Walking in the Mamores: three Munros in the mist (second post)
23rd April 2010
I'm woken by a particularly loud owl hoot close by. "HOOO. HER-HOOO". And again. And again. Becoming more distant. I lie listening to the dawn chorus. There are voices in it that we don't get at home. It's a bit after five in the morning and I feel I've slept …
Walking in the Mamores: anxiety as a friend (first post)
22nd April 2010
I woke a bit earlier than usual this morning. Anxiety. Some "foreboding" in my gut. Later today I plan to drive the three hours or so up to Fort William, then down Glen Nevis to a campsite. Tomorrow I aim to go walking in the Mamores. Anxiety can be a …
A better way to measure self-compassion
15th April 2010
(this short form of the self-compassion scale is downloadable both as a PDF file and as a Word doc) It's still early days, but there's an encouraging groundswell of research emerging on compassion and especially self-compassion. See for example this website's recent post on Willem Kuyken et al's "under review" …
BABCP spring meeting: the conference - a highlight (fifth post)
12th April 2010
In yesterday's post I talked generally about the presentations at the BABCP spring conference. Today I'd like to look more closely at what for me was the day's highlight - Willem Kuyken's talk on "Compassion in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: therapist embodiment and client change". One reason I liked the talk …
BABCP spring meeting: the conference - an overview (fourth post)
11th April 2010
Friday was the "conference" day. A real old fruit salad of presentations. Nearly always I find it hard to stay awake and focused during this kind of "educational event". It does however allow a lot of speakers to throw a lot of information at the audience! The 2007 Marinopoulos et …
BABCP spring meeting: collaborative case conceptualization - including positive psychology (third post)
10th April 2010
Yesterday - in "BABCP spring meeting, second post" - I described my reactions to the "Collaborative case conceptualization" key principle on levels of conceptualization. In today's post I talk about the other two key principles we were presented with - collaborative empiricism and incorporation of client strengths. Collaborative empiricism fits …
BABCP spring meeting: collaborative case conceptualization - cross-sectional & longitudinal (second post)
9th April 2010
Yesterday, in "BABCP spring meeting, first post", I described my initial thoughts arriving at the "Collaborative case conceptualization" workshop. Well, now it's Friday morning. A very social time yesterday evening after the workshop. Slept on a friend's couch. It's fairly bright and early now and their kids haven't yet emerged. …
BABCP spring meeting: collaborative case conceptualization - introduction (first post)
8th April 2010
So here I am sitting in a cafe at Euston station. I came in on the sleeper half an hour or so ago. I slept well, which was a blessing. I love it. A full day's work yesterday, travel while asleep, well set up for a full day today. Sleepers …
Three interesting websites: DSM-5 development, group therapy, and 'get self-help'
6th April 2010
Here are three websites that I have recently found interesting. The first two are possibly more for therapists, while the third can be very helpful for therapists and general public alike. The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 development site states "Publication of the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of …