Fortitude Psychological Therapy

In therapy, clients often tell me their life looks fine from the outside, but inside, something feels broken. What does this mean, and what can we do about it? What It Means When You Feel Broken On the Inside In my experience, ‘feeling broken on the inside’ is a really common way to describe something not being right internally, especially among those who’ve experienced trauma. When we dig into what people really mean by this, they usually feel like they’re carrying things no

What Does High Functioning Mean? According to the dictionary, high functioning means ‘performing or operating at a high level’. Until recently, it was most frequently used to describe individuals with autism, mental illness, or disabilities who outwardly meet societal expectations, such as maintaining employment, school, or social relationships, despite managing significant internal struggles. However, along with a range of clinical terms like ‘gaslighting’, ‘trauma dumping’

How do you feel about boundaries? It’s a complex topic, so my intention here is to cut through some of the noise and really get into what healthy boundaries look like and why they’re so important, particularly for people who’ve experienced trauma. What Do We Mean By ‘Healthy Boundaries’?   I like to describe boundaries as invisible lines that help us define what’s acceptable and what’s unacceptable for us as individuals. The line is your boundary, and things will sit on eith

When we talk about the fallout of trauma, people tend to think about things like flashbacks, nightmares and being triggered into anxiety. But there’s another side of trauma that’s even more insidious – the way it can impact your belief system. What is a Belief System? When I talk about belief systems, I’m describing how people see themselves, other people and the world around them. What we believe determines our whole outlook on life. It’s the lens through which we view and e

What is CPT? Cognitive Processing Therapy or CPT was designed by Patricia Resick and her team in the USA. It has a large evidence base which means there’s been lots of research and testing that shows this approach is effective in reducing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) . How Does It Work? CPT uses a very structured approach to examine and work with how trauma changes the way people think about themselves, others, and the world in general. Its primary focus

One of the things I’ve learnt during my time as a Clinical Supervisor for therapists is that myths and misconceptions are rife in the trauma field. Although some of these myths are well-meaning and aimed at protecting clients, they can also get in the way of good quality clinical practice. In supervision, I hear the same things over and over again. Today, I want to walk you through some common myths and explain why I think they’re misleading.   5 Common Myths About Trauma The

When I talk about trauma, people tend to think about big, obvious traumatic events – things like abuse, accidents, attacks and disasters. However, trauma isn’t always about what happened. Sometimes it’s about what DIDN’T happen. This is particularly true when it comes to childhood experiences. During these formative years, trauma can also stem from care you didn’t receive, a lack of safety, and the absence of love, protection and stability. Some people call these ‘hidden caus

Do you ever get the urge to avoid doing something that scares you? It could be speaking up at work, telling your server there’s a problem with your food in a restaurant, or having a difficult conversation with a family member. What do you do when this happens? Do you feel the fear and do it anyway? Or do you find a way to avoid the inevitable discomfort? In the short-term, avoiding things that feel uncomfortable, anxiety provoking, or scary can feel like the easiest option. H

Do You Feel Stuck?   When people say they feel stuck, it’s often because they want to move forward in a particular area of their life but find themselves unable to do so. This might look like: Feeling stuck in your relationship because you’re unable to change unhealthy patterns of behaviour. Feeling stuck at work because you’re unable to set goals or achieve the things you want. Feeling stuck in general because you find it hard to make decisions and fear making the wrong choi

Working with veterans and military personnel is different to working with civilians (to use the correct military jargon). Trauma is trauma, but the cultural context these clients come from is unique. If you overlook this, you risk misunderstanding this population entirely. The military shapes how these clients see the world and themselves within it, and therefore how they’re going to behave and respond in therapy. You don’t need to be a military expert to support them, but yo

One of the most common things people wrestle with after a traumatic experience is how they responded when the event (or series of events) occurred. Often, people are particularly troubled by the things they didn’t  do in the moment. This is where questions like ‘why didn’t I fight back?’ come from.      How Your Brain & Body Keep You Safe Our bodies have a series of automated responses designed to keep us safe in threatening situations. They’re generated by our autonomic nerv

What is Memory and How Does It Work? Memory is how your brain processes and stores information so you can access it later. This happens in four key stages: Gathering – You take in information from your environment. Encoding – Your brain translates the information into an easily stored format. Storage – Your brain organises and keeps the translated information in your brain. Retrieval – You select and find the stored information you want to remember. Your brain has a very sp

Every day, we have a constant stream of thoughts running through our mind. It starts when we wake up. What shall I have for breakfast? How long will it take to cook this piece of toast? Should I go and get the laundry while I’m waiting? What’s the weather forecast for today? I’m worried about that meeting later. Will it go well? What if it goes badly? Maybe I’ll have another cup of tea with my toast… and on and on it goes. Thinking is a multi-dimensional process. This means o

What is Military Trauma? Military trauma refers to the psychological distress and emotional suffering experienced by individuals serving in the armed forces as a result of exposure to traumatic events. This can include combat exposure, training accidents, military sexual trauma, and witnessing or experiencing the aftermath of violence and death. Historically, our awareness of military trauma originally emerged around the time of the first and second world wars when it was des

In the wake of trauma, we’re often left questioning how we responded. We try to apply logic to our actions, framing our behaviour as a series of choices we’ve made in the moment. What if I told you, it’s not as simple as that?   Evolution has endowed all humans with a continuum of innate, hard-wired, automatically activated defence behaviours known as the ‘defence cascade’. You’ve probably heard of the fight or flight response, but this is just one part of a much bigger mode

What Are Flashbacks? Flashbacks are one of the many symptoms of trauma. You don’t have to be experiencing flashbacks to have experienced trauma, but they are very common among people who’ve been through something traumatic. In simple terms, flashbacks are a psychological experience felt in the brain and the body. They can be really distressing and attempts to manage flashbacks and the things that trigger them can often lead to other problems. What Do Flashbacks Feel Like? Fla

What is Compassion Focused Therapy? Compassion Focused Therapy, or CFT, is probably one of the most helpful adjuncts I’ve come across in my therapy career. Developed by Professor Paul Gilbert, it’s a psychological therapy which aims to help reduce distress and psychological difficulties while also increasing happiness and wellbeing. CFT does this by helping people cultivate their compassionate minds. In turn, this allows them to engage with the difficulties they are facing in

Do you ever feel like your emotions are going to burst out of your body? They're so pent up or close to bubbling over, you don’t know...

I’ll be honest, the title of this blog post is somewhat misleading. As a therapist, you don’t need to choose between 1:1 or group...

For some, asking for help comes naturally. But for those with hyper-independence, it can be an extremely difficult thing to do. I’m not...